Bern Nix (September 21, 1947 – May 31, 2017) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
ist. He recorded and performed with Ornette Coleman from 1975 to 1987, notably with guitarist Charlie Ellerbee in Coleman's Prime Time group on their key recordings, including ''
Dancing in Your Head
''Dancing in Your Head'' is a studio album by jazz artist Ornette Coleman, released in 1977 by Horizon Records.
Recording
"Theme from a Symphony" was the first recording to feature Coleman's electric band, which later became known as Prime ...
'' and '' In All Languages'' in 1987. Nix was voted among the top ten jazz guitarists poll by ''
Down Beat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'' magazine.
Career
A native of
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
, Nix taught guitar upon his arrival to New York City. He was a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. Nix led the Bern Nix trio from 1985 until his death in 2017 in New York City. In 1993, the band released the album ''Alarms and Excursions''. The album made many critics' top ten lists. Nix released the solo album ''Low Barometer'' (
Tompkins Square
Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on ...
) in September 2006. His composition "Les is More" appears on ''Art and Money'', an album released by 1687, Inc. in 2006. In 2013, the Bern Nix Quartet released ''Negative Capability''.
Nix's song "The Fire Within" was on the soundtrack of the film ''
Tangerine
The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...
'' directed by Sean Baker. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015.
His quartet included Francois Grillot, Reggie Sylvester, and
Matt Lavelle
Matt Lavelle (born 1970 in Paterson, New Jersey) is a jazz trumpet, flugelhorn, alto clarinet, and bass clarinet player.
Career
Lavelle began his music career with Hildred Humphries, a swing era veteran who played with Count Basie and Billie Holi ...
and performed over 50 concerts, mostly in New York City.
Nix performed with James Chance and the Contortions and appeared on their album ''Live in New York'' (1981). He also worked with
Jayne Cortez
Jayne Cortez (May 10, 1934 – December 28, 2012) was an African-American poet, activist, small press publisher and spoken-word performance artist whose voice is celebrated for its political, surrealistic and dynamic innovations in lyricism and ...
Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot (;
born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.
His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Wai ...
,
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer.
A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...
,
Jemeel Moondoc
Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano before s ...
,
Ronald Shannon Jackson
Ronald Shannon Jackson (January 12, 1940 – October 19, 2013) was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. A pioneer of avant-garde jazz, free funk, and jazz fusion, he appeared on over 50 albums as a bandleader, sideman, arranger, and ...
* ''Alarms and Excursions'' (New World/Counter Currents, 1993)
* ''Low Barometer'' (
Tompkins Square
Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on ...
Dancing in Your Head
''Dancing in Your Head'' is a studio album by jazz artist Ornette Coleman, released in 1977 by Horizon Records.
Recording
"Theme from a Symphony" was the first recording to feature Coleman's electric band, which later became known as Prime ...
Of Human Feelings
''Of Human Feelings'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Ornette Coleman. It was recorded on April 25, 1979, at CBS Studios in New York City with his band Prime Time, which featured guitarists Charlie Ellerbee ...
'' (
Antilles
The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...
Virgin Beauty
''Virgin Beauty'' is an album by Ornette Coleman and his Prime Time ensemble. It was released by Portrait Records in 1988.
Three of the album's tracks feature guitarist Jerry Garcia, whose involvement with the recording can be traced back to Se ...
'' (
Portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...
Repertoire
A repertoire () is a list or set of dramas, operas, musical compositions or roles which a company or person is prepared to perform.
Musicians often have a musical repertoire. The first known use of the word ''repertoire'' was in 1847. It is a ...
, 1990)
With
Jayne Cortez
Jayne Cortez (May 10, 1934 – December 28, 2012) was an African-American poet, activist, small press publisher and spoken-word performance artist whose voice is celebrated for its political, surrealistic and dynamic innovations in lyricism and ...
Harmolodic Harmolodics is a musical philosophy and method of musical composition and improvisation developed by American jazz saxophonist-composer Ornette Coleman. His work following this philosophy during the late 1970s and 1980s inspired a style of forwa ...
/
Verve
Verve may refer to:
Music
* The Verve, an English rock band
* ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve
* ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album)
* Verve Records, an American jazz record label
Businesses
* Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...
, 1996)
* ''Borders of Disorderly Time'' (Bola Press, 2003)
With
Jemeel Moondoc
Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano before s ...
* ''
Nostalgia in Times Square
''Nostalgia in Times Square'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, which was recorded in 1985 and released the following year on the Italian Soul Note label. He leads a quintet that features Ornette Coleman guitarist Bern Nix, ...
'' (
Soul Note
Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz.
History
Black S ...
, 1986)
* ''
Spirit House
A spirit house is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that is found in the Southeast Asian countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The spirit house is normally in the form of sma ...
'' (
Eremite
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
, 2000)
* ''
Live at the Vision Festival
''Live at the Vision Festival'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, which was recorded live at the 2001 Vision Festival and released on Ayler Records, a Swedish label founded by Jan Ström and Åke Bjurhamn.James Chance and the Contortions, ''Live in New York'' (ROIR, 1981)
*
Ronald Shannon Jackson
Ronald Shannon Jackson (January 12, 1940 – October 19, 2013) was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. A pioneer of avant-garde jazz, free funk, and jazz fusion, he appeared on over 50 albums as a bandleader, sideman, arranger, and ...
, ''Eye on You'' (About Time, 1980)
*
Frank Lowe
Frank Lowe (June 24, 1943 – September 19, 2003) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer.
Biography
Born and brought up in Memphis, Tennessee, Lowe took up the tenor saxophone at the age of 12. As an adult he moved to San Fra ...
, ''Lowe-Down & Blue'' (CIMP, 2002)
* Hotel X, "Uncommon Ground", featuring Bern Nix and Greg Ginn (SST Records 2003)