Robert Berg (April 7, 1951 – December 5, 2002) 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 major ...

saxophonist.

Biography

Berg was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, United States. Berg started his musical education at the age of six when he began studying classical piano. He began playing the saxophone at the age of thirteen. He studied at the High School of Performing Arts and

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

before leaving school to tour. Berg was influenced by the late 1964–67 period of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

's music. A student from the

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

school, Berg played from 1973 to 1976 with

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...

and, from 1977 to 1983, with

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and com ...

. Berg became more widely known when he joined

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

band in 1984. After leaving Davis's band in 1987, Berg released a series of solo albums and also performed and recorded frequently in a group co-led with guitarist

Mike Stern Mike Stern (born January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, re ...

. On these albums he played a more accessible style of music, mixing funk, jazz and even country music, with many other diverse compositional elements to produce albums. He often played at the 7th Avenue South NYC club. He worked with

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the ''Modern D ...

and

Eddie Gómez Edgar Gómez (born October 4, 1944) is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist, known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1966 to 1977. Biography Gómez moved with his family from Puerto Rico at a young age to New York, where he was raised. ...

in a quartet. Berg's tenor saxophone sound was a synthesis of

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

players such as

Junior Walker Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr. (June 14, 1931 – November 23, 1995), known professionally as Junior Walker, was an American multi-instrumentalist (primarily saxophonist and vocalist) who recorded for Motown during the 1960s. He also performed as a ses ...

and

Arnett Cobb Arnett Cleophus Cobb (August 10, 1918 – March 24, 1989)
accessed July 2010. was an American tenor saxophonist, somet ...

with the lyricism, intellectual freedom and soul of

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

and

. Berg was killed in a traffic accident in East Hampton, New York, while driving near his home with Arja, his wife. The person who crashed into his car was driving a cement truck that skidded on ice.

Discography

As leader

* ''New Birth'' (Xanadu, 1978) * ''Steppin' Live in Europe'' (Red, 1982) * ''Short Stories'' (Denon, 1987) * ''Cycles'' (Denon, 1988) * ''In the Shadows'' (Denon, 1990) * ''Back Roads'' (Denon, 1991) * ''Virtual Reality'' (Denon, 1992) * ''Enter the Spirit'' (GRP, 1993) * ''Riddles'' (Stretch, 1994) * ''Another Standard'' (Stretch, 1997) * ''The Jazz Times Superband'' (Concord 2000) * ''The Meeting'' (Sound Hills 2009)

As sideman

With

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

* ''Aurora'' (Adamo, 1976) * ''Stories'' (Contemporary, 1988) * ''Visions'' (Contemporary, 1991) With Sam Jones * ''

Changes & Things ''Changes & Things'' is an album by bassist and cellist Sam Jones which was recorded in 1977 and released on the Xanadu label.Something in Common "Something in Common" is a song by American singers Bobby Brown and then-wife Whitney Houston, that was featured on Brown's third album, '' Bobby'' (1992). The single version was re-recorded and released in December 1993, and was also available ...

'' (Muse, 1978) * ''Visitation'' (SteepleChase, 1978) With

* '' Silver 'n Brass'' (Blue Note, 1975) * ''

Silver 'n Wood ''Silver 'n Wood'' is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver released on the Blue Note label in 1975 featuring performances by Silver with Tom Harrell, Bob Berg, Ron Carter and Al Foster, with an overdubbed horn section conducted by Wade Marcus f ...

'' (Blue Note, 1976) * '' Silver 'n Voices'' (Blue Note, 1977) With

Leni Stern Leni Stern (born 28 April 1952) is a German jazz guitarist and singer. Early life Stern was born Magdalena Thora, in Germany on 28 April 1952. She was interested in music from an early age, beginning piano studies at the age of six and takin ...

* ''Clairvoyant'' (Passport, 1986) * ''The Next Day'' (Passport, 1987) * ''Secrets'' (Enja, 1989) With

* ''

Upside Downside ''Upside Downside'' is the second studio album by guitarist Mike Stern, released in 1986 through Atlantic Records and reissued on August 21, 2007 through Wounded Bird Records.

'' (Atlantic, 1986) * '' Time in Place'' (Atlantic, 1988) * ''

Jigsaw Jigsaw may refer to: * Jigsaw (tool), a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves * Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces Arts and media Comics * Jigsaw (Marvel Comics), a supervillain and arch-enemy of ...

'' (Atlantic, 1989) * '' Odds or Evens'' (Atlantic, 1991) * ''Standards and Other Songs'' (Atlantic, 1992) With

*'' Eastern Rebellion 2'' ( Timeless, 1977) * ''

Animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

'' (Columbia/CBS, 1978) * '' First Set'' (SteepleChase, 1978) * ''

Eastern Rebellion 3 ''Eastern Rebellion 3'' is an album by Eastern Rebellion led by pianist Cedar Walton which was recorded in late 1979 and released on the Dutch Timeless label.

'' (Timeless, 1980) * ''

Soundscapes A soundscape is the acoustic environment as perceived by humans, in context. The term was originally coined by Michael Southworth, and popularised by R. Murray Schafer. There is a varied history of the use of soundscape depending on discipline, ...

'' (CBS, 1980) * '' The Maestro'' (Muse, 1981) * '' Second Set'' (SteepleChase, 1983) * '' Third Set'' (SteepleChase, 1983) * '' Eastern Rebellion 4'' (Timeless, 1984) * '' Cedar's Blues'' (Red, 1985) * ''Reliving the Moment'' (HighNote, 2014) With others *

Karrin Allyson Karrin Allyson (pronounced ''KAR-in''; born Karrin Allyson Schoonover on July 27, 1963) is an American jazz vocalist. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including the ' ...

, ''Ballads'' (Concord Jazz, 2001) *

Frans Bak Frans Bak (born 7 February 1958 Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish composer, choral conductor, saxophonist, and pianist. He is a graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Music and has worked as a jazz performer and composer of film music. In 1994, he ...

, ''Hymn to the Rainbow'' (L+R, 1992) *

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on Nov ...

, ''Live at Sweet Basil'' (Sonet, 1989) *

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...

, '' Cool Nights'' (GRP, 1991) *

, '' Six Pack'' (GRP, 1992) *

Dennis Chambers Dennis Milton Chambers (born May 9, 1959) is an American drummer. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Chambers was born on May 9, 1959. He began drumming at the age of four years, and was gigging in Bal ...

, ''Getting Even'' (Glass House, 1992) *

Joe Chambers Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

, ''Phantom of the City'' (Candid, 1992) *

Marc Copland Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

, ''Stompin' with Savoy'' (Savoy 1995) *

, ''

Time Warp Time travel is a common theme in fiction, mainly since the late 19th century, and has been depicted in a variety of media, such as literature, television, film, and advertisements. The concept of time travel by mechanical means was popularize ...

'' (Stretch, 1995) *

Tom Coster Tom Coster (born August 21, 1941) is an American keyboardist, composer, and longtime backing musician for Carlos Santana. Early years Detroit-born and San Francisco-raised, Coster played piano and accordion as a youth, continuing his studies ...

, ''Let's Set the Record Straight'' (JVC, 1993) *

, ''The Forbidden Zone'' (JVC, 1994) *

Pino Daniele Giuseppe Daniele (19 March 1955 – 4 January 2015), known as Pino Daniele, was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician. His influences covered a wide number of genres, including pop, blues, jazz, and Italian and Middle Eastern music. Biograp ...

, ''Scio'' (EMI, 1984) *

, '' You're Under Arrest'' (Columbia, 1985) *

Barbara Dennerlein Barbara Dennerlein (born 25 September 1964 in Munich) is a German jazz organist. She has achieved particular critical acclaim for using the bass pedalboard on a Hammond organ and for integrating synthesizer sounds onto the instrument, and was de ...

, ''That's Me'' (Enja, 1992) *

Niels Lan Doky Niels Lan Doky (born 3 October 1963) is a Danish jazz pianist, composer and producer. He is the older brother of jazz bassist Chris Minh Doky. Biography He was born in Copenhagen of a Danish mother and Vietnamese father. His father worked as a ...

, ''The Truth'' (Storyville, 1988) *

, ''Dreams'' (Milestone, 1990) *

Kenny Drew Jr. Kenny Drew Jr. (June 14, 1958 – August 3, 2014) was an American jazz pianist. His music is known for its Swing (genre), hard-swinging bluesy sound and large, two-handed root (chord), rooty chords contrasting with fast runs. The son of jazz pian ...

, ''The Flame Within'' (Jazz City, 1989) *

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler (2 ...

, '' Lite Flite'' (SteepleChase, 1977) *

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias
BrowseBiography.com, 20 November 2011; retrieved 10 September 2014. is a Brazilian jazz pianist, sin ...

, '' A Long Story'' (Manhattan, 1991) *

Al Foster Aloysius Tyrone Foster (born January 18, 1943) is an American jazz drummer. Foster's professional career began in the mid-60s, when he played and recorded with hard bop and swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and Illinois Jacquet. Foster pl ...

, ''Mr. Foster'' (Better Days, 1979) * Antonio Farao, ''Far Out'' (CAM Jazz, 2002) * Carl Filipiak, ''Right on Time'' (Geometric, 1993) * Carl Filipiak, ''Peripheral Vision'' (Geometric, 1997) *

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

, '' Rhythmstick'' (1990) *

Gerald Gradwohl Gerald Gradwohl (born 15 April 1967) is an Austrian guitarist who made guest appearances (studio and live) with Tangerine Dream at various points from 1995 to 2007. He attended the J.M. Hauer Music School in Vienna studying classical guitar and ja ...

, ''ABQ'' (EmArcy, 2003) * Eddie Henderson, ''So What'' (Eighty-Eight's, 2002) *

Monika Herzig Monika Herzig (born 1964) is a German-born jazz pianist. After receiving a scholarship in 1987 from the pedagogical institute in Weingarten, Germany for a one-year exchange program at the University of Alabama, she moved to the United States in A ...

, ''The Time Flies'' (Flavoredtune 2018) *

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...

, ''

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

'' (Red, 1979) * Billy Higgins, '' Once More'' (Red, 1980) *

Dieter Ilg Dieter Josef Ilg (born September 30, 1961 in Offenburg) is a German jazz double-bassist. He worked early in his career with Joe Viera in the early 1980s, then with Randy Brecker, the WDR Big Band, Bennie Wallace, Albert Mangelsdorff, Wolfgang D ...

, ''Summerhill'' (Lipstick, 1991) *

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

, ''Here & There'' (Hip-O, 2001) * Joe Locke, ''4 Walls of Freedom'' (Sirocco, 2003) *

Mike Mandel Mike Mandel (born 1950) is an American conceptual artist and photographer. According to his artist profile, his work "questions the meaning of photographic imagery within popular culture and draws from snapshots, advertising, news photographs, and ...

, ''Utopia Parkway'' (Vanguard, 1980) *

John McNeil John McNeil (February 14, 1813 – June 8, 1891) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for his role in the Palmyra Massacre and other acts of alleged brutality, as well as his participation in the Batt ...

, ''Embarkation'' (SteepleChase, 1978) *

Jason Miles Jason Miles (born June 30, 1951) is an American jazz keyboardist, composer, and record producer. Throughout his career, he has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, bassist Marcus Miller, and singer Luther Vandross, as well as maintaining a successfu ...

, ''World Tour'' (Lipstick, 1994) * Jason Miles, ''Miles to Miles'' (Narada, 2005) *

Idris Muhammad Idris Muhammad ( ar, إدريس محمد; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, R&B, and soul music and recorded with musicians such a ...

, ''House of the Rising Sun'' (Kudu, 1976) * Idris Muhammad, ''You Ain't No Friend of Mine!'' (Fantasy, 1978) *

Wolfgang Muthspiel Wolfgang Muthspiel (born 2 March 1965) is an Austrian jazz guitarist and record label owner. He is the brother of musician Christian Muthspiel. Music career When he was six, he began playing violin, and at fourteen he moved on to classical gui ...

, ''Timezones'' (Amadeo, 1989) * Wolfgang Muthspiel, ''The Promise'' (Amadeo, 1990) *

Players Association The Players Association was a New York based studio group, put together by drummer/arranger Chris Hills and producer Danny Weiss in 1977 on Vanguard Records. Overview The Players Association recordings brought in leading jazz session musician ...

, ''Turn the Music Up!'' (Vanguard, 1979) * Players Association, ''We Got the Groove!'' (Vanguard, 1980) *

Valery Ponomarev Valery Ponomarev, Russian: Вале́рий Миха́йлович Пономарёв, ''Valery Mikhaylovich Ponomaryov'', (born 1943) is a Russian-born jazz trumpeter. He has lived in the United States since 1973. Ponomarev became interested in j ...

, ''A Star for You'' (Reservoir, 1997) *

Tom Schuman Thomas William Schuman (born January 31, 1958) is an American jazz pianist, smooth jazz keyboardist, the co-leader, composer and arranger. of 13 Grammy nominated contemporary jazz group, Spyro Gyra. He has been the keyboardist for Spyro Gyra si ...

, ''Extremities'' (GRP, 1990) *

Ben Sidran Ben Hirsh Sidran (born August 14, 1943) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist, producer, label owner, and music writer. Early in his career he was a member of the Steve Miller Band and is the father of Grammy-nominated musician, composer and ...

, ''Life's a Lesson'' (Go Jazz, 1993) *

Steps Ahead Steps Ahead is an American jazz fusion group. History The group arose out of spontaneous sessions at Seventh Avenue South, a jazz club in New York City owned by saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter brother Randy Brecker. The first three al ...

, ''Holding Together'' (NYC, 2002) *

Ulf Wakenius Ulf, or Ulv is a masculine name common in Scandinavia and Germany. It derives from the Old Norse word for "wolf" (''úlfr'', see Wulf). The oldest written record of the name's occurrence in Sweden is from a runestone of the 11th century. The fe ...

, ''Venture'' (L+R, 1992) *

Gary Willis Gary Willis (born 28 March 1957) is an American bassist and composer known foremost as the co-founder (with Scott Henderson) of the jazz fusion band Tribal Tech. Aside from his work in Tribal Tech, Willis has worked with numerous other jazz musici ...

, ''Bent'' (Alchemy, 1998)

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Bob 1951 births 2002 deaths Jazz musicians from New York (state) Musicians from Brooklyn 20th-century saxophonists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Jewish American musicians Jewish jazz musicians American male jazz musicians Miles Davis Quintet members Steps Ahead members Xanadu Records artists 20th-century American male musicians