Kenny Berger
Kenny Berger (born December 19, 1947 in New York City ) is an American jazz and studio musician ( alto and soprano saxophone , clarinet , arrangement , also flute ).
Live and act
Berger grew up in Brooklyn and began playing alto saxophone in 5th grade and baritone saxophone in junior high. His first appearances were at the Catskill Mountain Resorts in the mid-1960s and with weekend bands such as Les & Larry Elgart . He then performed with the Howard McGhee Big Band at Club Half Note , before working as a freelance jazz and studio musician in New York and briefly in Los Angeles in 1980/81. Since then he has played a. a. with the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra , in the Julius Hemphill Sextet, Duke Pearson , Bill Holman , Toshiko Akiyoshi , Paul Simon , Liza Minnelli , Dave Brubeck , Bobby Previte , Freddie Hubbard , Buck Clayton , Manny Albam , in the Gil Evans Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra , Rod Levitt Octet and the Westchester Jazz Orchestra .
The first recordings were made in 1971 when he accompanied the singer Howard Tate at the Hit Factory . In the following years he played a. a. He has worked on studio recordings for musicians and bands such as John Tropea , Chuck Israels ' National Jazz Ensemble , the Dave Matthews Big Band, the JC Sanford Orchestra, Lee Konitz Nonet, Jimmy Maxwell , Urbie Green , Mercer Ellington ( Remembering Duke's World ), Don Sebesky New York All Star Big Band , New York Voices and Ned Rothenberg ( Power Lines , 1995) with. In 1995 he took on the joint album Hip Deep with John McNeil , followed by Brooklyn Ritual (1997), with John Mosca (tb), Dean Johnson (bass) and Steve Johns (drums). Berger has also arranged for Dizzy Gillespie ’s United Nation Band , the Lee Konitz Nonet , the National Jazz Ensemble , Phil Woods , Bill Kirchner, hr-Bigband , DSM BigBand and the Westchester Jazz Orchestra .
From the 2000s onwards, Berger u. a. with Bill Kirchner , the Jack Cortner New York Big Band, Peter Hand Big Band, John Pizzarelli ( With a Song in My Heart ), Max Seigel , Billy Mintz , in the Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra and in the Tony Kadleck Big Band . In the field of jazz, according to Tom Lord , he was involved in 54 recording sessions between 1971 and 2014, most recently with John Pizzarelli's tribute album Salutes Johnny Mercer . He has taught composition, arrangement and jazz history at the Manhattan School of Music , The New School , William Paterson University , Rutgers University , Ramapo College and New Jersey City University .
Web links
- Web presence
- Kenny Berger at Allmusic (English)
- Kenny Berger at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Berger, Kenny |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz and studio musician (woodwind instruments, arrangement) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 19, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |