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Tim Berne

Tim Berne was born in Syracuse, New York in 1954, and was subjected to a perfectly normal childhood. But he didn't decide to take up music until nearly twenty years later when he was attending Lewis and Clark College in Oregon, putting most of his energy into intramural basketball. At this point, while resting a sore ankle in his dormitory, Berne encountered a saxophonist who was selling his alto, and bought it on impulse. "There was just something about the sound of the saxophone that got to me," he says.

Musically, up to that point, Berne had always been motivated by all types of music, but especially by the great Stax artists like Sam and Dave and Johnnie Taylor, as well as Motown artists like Martha and the Vandellas and Gladys Knight. This passion for the soulful quality in music would follow him for the rest of his career, a career that he could not possibly foreseen at the time. "I hadn't listened to much jazz, but then I heard Julius Hemphill's album Dogon A.D., and that completely turned me around. It captured everything I liked in music. It had this Stax/R&B sensibility and it had this other wildness. It was incredible. That's when I started playing."

Berne moved to New York in 1974, sought Hemphill out, and entered into a sort-of apprenticeship with the elder musician. The "lessons" they had together lasted for hours and covered everything from composition to record promotion to recording to pasting up handbills to aspects of magic and spirituality and, sometimes, even playing the saxophone. "From the beginning," Berne says, "even while I was still learning to play the saxophone, Julius always encouraged me to write my own music as well. So it never occurred to me that most people don't play their own music or aren't bandleaders. I thought that was just part of it. You learn how to play music, you start a band, and that's it. Julius didn't offer me one system, but a lot of possibilities, with the emphasis always on ideas and sound."

Berne began issuing his own albums on his own Empire label in 1979. Over the next five years he would record and distribute five albums under his own name which included such musicians as Ed Schuller, Olu Dara, Paul Motian, John Carter, Glenn Ferris and Bill Frisell. Following two recordings for the Italian Soul Note label, Berne recorded Fulton Street Maul and Sanctified Dreams for Columbia Records. These recordings coincided with an increasingly active worldwide touring schedule.

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Radio & Podcasts

Chkifi, OFT, Berne And More

Read "Chkifi, OFT, Berne And More" reviewed by Bob Osborne


Another selection of excellent new jazz releases includes a couple of offerings from Tim Berne, one with Michael Formanek and the other with Bill Frisell. The programme commences with Nicolas Chkifi's excellent tribute to legendary drummer Paul Motian. Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Nicolas Chkifi “Blue Midnight" from Motian Love Dance (Ramble Records) 00:30 OJT “It's Not That Bad" from Ground Level (Jazz Daddy Records) 07:11 Tim Berne & Michael Formanek “Bass Voodoo" from Parlour Games (Relative Pitch Records) ...

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Album Review

Chloë Sobek, Tim Berne: Burning Up

Read "Burning Up" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian


Australian explorative composer and sound artist Chloë Sobek is a prodigious talent. For her second release Burning Up Sobek takes two bold chances both of which pay off well. She joins master improviser, saxophonist Tim Berne for an entirely spontaneous set. Sobek performs on the violone, the renaissance era ancestor to the contrabass. She not only keeps up with the more experienced Berne, she also commands her unusual instrument with skill. Sobek starts off “Scorpius" with furious refrains. ...

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Radio & Podcasts

All New Releases From Ephemeris, Science Friction, Toine Thys Orlando, And More

Read "All New Releases From Ephemeris, Science Friction, Toine Thys Orlando, And More" reviewed by Bob Osborne


All new releases from Ephemeris, Tim Berne Science Friction, Toine Thys Orlando, Dun-Dun Band, Ellie Lee, Håkon Skogstad, Francisco Mela featuring Leo Genovese and William Parker, Dan Weiss, Sam Wilson, and, Paul Dunmall with Paul Rogers and Mark Sanders.Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Ephemeris “Gnomon" from Ephemeris (Marsken Records) 00:53 Tim Berne Science Friction “Deadbeat Beyoncè--SciFry" from No Tamales On Wednesday (Screwgun) 18:54 Toine Thys Orlando “El Curandero" from Betterland (Hypnote) 44:42 Dun-Dun Band “No. 20 (Once Raw: The ...

47
Album Review

Sunny Five: Candid

Read "Candid" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


With the ever-evolving tapestry of experimental jazz, striking the perfect balance between familiar echoes and trailblazing sounds can be a delicate act. Intakt's latest release, Sunny Five, not only navigates this tightrope with finesse but also performs a dazzling dance across it. This album serves as a vibrant reminder of the joy and spontaneity that lie at the heart of jazz. Delivered by a collection of renowned New York-based musicians, each a master in their own right, the band offers ...

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Album Review

Ivo Perelman: Reed Rapture in Brooklyn

Read "Reed Rapture in Brooklyn" reviewed by Jeff Schwartz


Is this album fundamentally unreviewable? Are there jazz fans who do not immediately know if they need an 11-hour collection of 103 improvised duets between Ivo Perelman and a dozen saxophonists and clarinetists? It is at least describable. Perelman is faithful to his tenor, while his partners bring examples of nearly every type of saxophone, from soprillo to contrabass, as well as most of the clarinet family. Although all tracks are free improvisations, the default mode is ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Tim Berne, Geri Allen, Dave Holland + Solo Works

Read "Tim Berne, Geri Allen, Dave Holland + Solo Works" reviewed by David Brown


This week, let's visit some Tim Berne works as interpreted by soloists, as well as some duets with the man himself. Then, one time Sun Ra bassist Tyler Mitchel presents his Octet featuring alto saxophonist Marshall Allen, followed by some other recordings by Sun Ra Arkestra alumni. The program will continue with a set of solo works from a variety of artists from cellist Okkyung Lee to bassist Luke Stewart to pianist Fats Waller, and much more. Playlist ...

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Radio & Podcasts

More Reed Rapture WIth Tim Berne

Read "More Reed Rapture WIth Tim Berne" reviewed by Bob Osborne


On this show the third of twelve looks at Ivo Perelman's massive new set of saxophone duets, this time with Tim Berne. I am also featuring two recent albums from Tim with firstly Matt Mitchell and secondly Gregg Belisle-Chi. In addition I am playing tracks from three great new releases from Lauren Falls, Örjan Hulten Orion and Kerry Politzer.Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Ivo Perelman and Tim Berne “Two" from Reed Rapture In Brooklyn (Mahalaka Music) 00:53 Tim Berne ...

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Recording

Four New Releases From ECM Records: Vijay Iyer Sextet, Tim Berne's Snakeoil, Gary Peacock Trio, and David Virelles

Four New Releases From ECM Records: Vijay Iyer Sextet, Tim Berne's Snakeoil, Gary Peacock Trio, and David Virelles

Source: Universal Music Group

August 25 Vijay Iyer Sextet Far From Over Vijay Iyer: piano, fender rhodes; Graham Haynes: cornet, flugelhorn, electronics Steve Lehman: alto saxophone; Mark Shim: tenor saxophone; Stephan Crump: double bass Tyshawn Sorey: drums Keyboardist-composer Vijay Iyer’s energized sequence of ECM releases has garnered copious international praise. Yet his fifth for the label since 2014—Far From Over, featuring his dynamically commanding sextet—finds Iyer reaching a new peak, furthering an artistry that led The Guardian to call him “one of ...

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Festival

Beacon Jazz Festival To Feature World-Class Jazz, Hudson Valley Distilleries And More At Pete And Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park - Saturday, July 25, 12 To 6pm

Beacon Jazz Festival To Feature World-Class Jazz, Hudson Valley Distilleries And More At Pete And Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park - Saturday, July 25, 12 To 6pm

Source: James Keepnews

BEACON, NY — Celebrating the music, distilleries, artisan crafts, community and culture of the Hudson Valley, the inaugural Beacon Jazz Festival will take place on Saturday, July 25 from noon to 6 PM at The Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park in Beacon, NY. Presented by Six String Productions, the festival will offer a wealth of musical talent, many with long associations with Beacon and the surrounding region. In addition to presenting great jazz, the first Beacon Jazz Festival will ...

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Performance / Tour

The Lead Sheet: Twin Cities Live Jazz, May 8-14

The Lead Sheet: Twin Cities Live Jazz, May 8-14

Source: JazzINK by Andrea Canter

Some jazz giants visit this week (Tim Berne, Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez), and the weekend is filled with veterans and rising stars across the metro. Spring is here, and we're warming up for big sounds this summer. Big Gigs This Week Friday, May 8.  A Twin Cities favorite for the past decade, Red Planet plays less often these days but with no less intensity. Dean Magraw, Chris Bates and Jay Epstein invigorate Jazz Central Studios on the Bridge Series, now ...

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Festival

Jazz this week: Pedrito Martinez, Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, East West Fusion Fest with Michael Manring, and more

Jazz this week: Pedrito Martinez, Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, East West Fusion Fest with Michael Manring, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

View more events at stlouis.jazznearyou.com. This weekend offers St. Louis fans of jazz and creative music a nice opportunity to see four different touring acts in four days at four different venues, plus a variety of performances from local players. Let's go to the highlights... Thursday, May 7 Percussionist Pedrito Martinez and his group will make their St. Louis debut with a one-night stand at Jazz at the Bistro. Martinez is a 41-year-old Cuban native who moved his homeland first ...

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Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Buying in to Tim Berne's Snakeoil

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Buying in to Tim Berne's Snakeoil

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Today, let's have a look at some video clips featuring saxophonist Tim Berne and his band Snakeoil, who are coming to St. Louis to perform in a concert presented by New Music Circle next Friday, May 8 at the The Stage at KDHX. Snakeoil is the latest of several bands led by Berne, who's 60 years old and originally from Syracuse, NY. Something of a late bloomer musically, Berne didn't start playing saxophone until he was in college, focusing mostly ...

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Recording

Bruno Chevillon and Tim Berne, "Old and Unwise": Open Contrabass-Alto Sax Duets

Bruno Chevillon and Tim Berne, "Old and Unwise": Open Contrabass-Alto Sax Duets

Source: Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards

Freedom. Free-dom. What is it? And how do you get it? In music the word denotes something specific. At least in jazz. It means in part starting out a musical performance with the idea that what is going to happen will happen because the players spontaneously put their improvised parts together without a great deal of overt deliberation. They also, to whatever extent. play what they please, without someone dictating to them in some concrete sense. So it could be ...

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Recording

BB and C - The Veil (Cryptogramophone, 2011)

BB and C - The Veil (Cryptogramophone, 2011)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland

BB and C is a cooperative group consisting of alto saxophonist Tim Berne, drummer Jim Black and guitarist Nels Cline. This music is taken from a from a live recording at made at The Stone in New York City. This was a very exciting and continuously engaging album to listen to, moving between avant-garde squalls of noise and abstract passages of sound sculpture. The trio is very well integrated, but Nels Cline sounds particularly inspired, on a busman's holiday from ...

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Recording

Tim Berne Comes Back Strong with "Insomnia"

Tim Berne Comes Back Strong with "Insomnia"

Source: Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards

Anybody who follows the avant jazz scene knows that Tim Berne was a major force in the music a while ago. I guess the '90s were the most visible years for him. I don't know that he's been anywhere other than around after that, but it seems that his presence has been somewhat less. It could be that I've simply missed some of the releases and I don't get out clubbing much these days due to a poverty element in ...

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Recording

Tim Berne - Insomnia (Clean Feed 2011) ****a1/2

Tim Berne - Insomnia (Clean Feed 2011) ****a1/2

Source: Free Jazz by Stef Gijssels

By Joe Higham Tim Berne's international octet recorded INSOMNIA live in the studio, summer 1997, finally it gets to see the light of day now in 2011. If you know Tim Berne you're probably already aware of his compositional style, playing etc and this doesn't stray far from his normal territory. If however you're not so familiar here's your chance to enter into the world of Tim Berne in style. In recent years Tim Berne has often been working with ...

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Performance / Tour

Tim Berne's Return

Tim Berne's Return

Source: Ars Nova Workshop

It's been an excellent time for Tim Berne fans at Ars Nova Workshop this season!  In mid-December of last year we had two back-to-back nights of Tim Berne projects and works as part of our Composer Portrait Series.  On December 11, Berne performed with the Collide Saxophone Quartet, and then led his Big Satan trio of Marc Ducet and Tom Rainey through an amazingly raucous set.  The following night, after a pre-concert discussion with New York Times music writer Nate ...

Alberto Pinton
saxophone, baritone
Samo Salamon
guitar, electric
Piero Bittolo Bon
saxophone, alto
Mirco Ballabene
bass, acoustic
Goldbloom
band / ensemble / orchestra

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Candid

Intakt Records
2024

buy

Burning Up

Relative Pitch Records
2024

buy

Sounds Of Love

Sunnyside Records
2022

buy

Pond Life

Dreck to Disk Records
2022

buy

One More Please

Intakt Records
2022

buy

Reed Rapture in...

Mahakala Music
2022

buy

Videos

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