Karl Berger
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Karl Hanns Berger (born March 30, 1935 in Heidelberg, Germany) is a musicologist with a PhD in Music Sociology, jazz composer, jazz vibraphone and piano player. Together with Ornette Coleman and Ingrid Sertso he founded the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York. During the 1990's, he taught jazz music and ensemble playing as a professor in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2004-2005, he served as the Chairman of the Music Department of the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (USA).
Most of his output has been rather experimental. He has been active in Free Jazz circles, recording with Carla Bley, Don Cherry, Lee Konitz, John McLaughlin, Hōzan Yamamoto, Dave Holland, Gunther Schuller, the Mingus Epitaph Orchestra, Sam Rivers, Pharoah Sanders, Globe Unity Orchestra and many others. Berger continuously won the Down Beat critics poll in the category of the best jazz vibraphone player of the year between 1969 until 1975. Based on [gamelan]] patterns he is improvising in an abstract, but vividly manner. He dealt with world music very earlier and devised a unique system for understanding and playing in any meter, from standard time signatures to more exotic odd meters and polyrhythms. It was published as "Dr. B.'s Rhythmic Training'".
During the last years he collaborated with Bill Laswell as musical arranger and conductor, thus contributing to recordings of Natalie Merchant (Ophelia), Better Than Ezra, Sly & Robbie or Angelique Kidjo.
[edit] See also
www.KarlBerger.com www.CreativeMusicStudio.org www.MySpace./SertsoStudio
[edit] External links
- Karl Berger's website (archived)
