Richard Alan Berk (May 22, 1939 – February 8, 2014) 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 ...

drummer and bandleader.

Career

A native of San Francisco, California, he studied at the Berklee College of Music and played in the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

area early in the 1960s. In 1962 he moved to New York City and played with

Ted Curson Theodore Curson (June 3, 1935 – November 4, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter. Life and career Curson was born in Philadelphia. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson's fath ...

and Bill Barron in a quintet from 1962 to 1964. Following this he played with Charles Mingus,

Mose Allison Mose John Allison Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano. After moving to N ...

, Freddie Hubbard, and

Walter Bishop, Jr. Walter Bishop Jr. (October 4, 1927 – January 24, 1998) was an American jazz pianist. Early life Bishop was born in New York City on October 4, 1927.Greene, Philip; Kernfeld, Barr"Bishop, Walter Jr." ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd ed ...

, among others. He moved to Los Angeles late in the 1960s, where he played with Milt Jackson,

Frank Rosolino Frank Rosolino (August 20, 1926 – November 26, 1978) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Rosolino was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, He performed with the big bands of Bob Chester, Glen Gray, Tony Pastor, Herbie Fields, Ge ...

, George Duke,

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, ...

Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz violinist and composer. Early life Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano. At sixteen, he was admitt ...

, and

Blue Mitchell Richard Allen "Blue" Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was an American trumpeter and composer who worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and funk. He recorded albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Mainstream Records, and ...

. He founded the Jazz Adoption Agency in the early 1980s, playing into the 2000s; the group included

Andy Martin Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona, usually known as Andy Martin (born 1945), is an American perennial candidate who has never been elected to office, running as both a Democrat and a Republican. He has filed over 250 political lawsuits nationwide ...

Mike Fahn Mike Fahn (born December 16, 1960) is an American jazz trombonist. Background Fahn was born and raised in Huntington, New York. His father played drums with Lionel Hampton and he started on drums himself. Mike played trumpet, baritone, then at a ...

Nick Brignola Nicholas Thomas "Nick" Brignola (July 17, 1936 – February 8, 2002) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist. Biography Brignola was born on July 17, 1936 in Troy, New York. He was born into a musical family in which his father played the tu ...

, Jon Nagorney,

Keith Saunders Keith Saunders (born December 23, 1984) is a former gridiron football linebacker for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at ...

Tad Weed Tad or TAD may refer to: Places * Tad, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Tad City, Texas, a coastal unincorporated community located on Olsovsky Road (Suburb of Ganado) * Tad, Isfahan, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran * Tad, Mark ...

, and

John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. When he was 12, he bought his first bass and decided on his career. He listened to bass parts in R ...

. He died in 2014 at the age of 74.

Discography

As leader

* ''Rare One'' (

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

, 1983) * ''Big Jake'' (Discovery, 1984) * ''More Birds Less Feathers'' (Discovery, 1986) * ''Music of Rodgers & Hart'' (

Trend A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period. Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve shor ...

, 1988) * ''Let's Cool One'' (

Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

, 1991) * ''Bouncin' With Berk'' ( Nine Winds, 1991) * ''East Coast Stroll'' (Reservoir, 1993) * ''One by One'' (Reservoir, 1995)

As sideman

With

* '' Bish Bash'' ( Xanadu, 1964

975 Year 975 ( CMLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor John I raids Mesopotamia and invades Syria, using ...

With

* ''

Tears for Dolphy ''Tears for Dolphy'' is a 1964 album by jazz trumpeter Ted Curson. The album's title track, an elegy for Eric Dolphy (who died at the end of June that year), has been used in many films. Reception Brian Morton and Richard Cook, writing for ...

'', ( Fontana, 1964) * ''

Flip Top ''Flip Top'' is an album by American trumpeter Ted Curson which has one side recorded in the studio in 1964 at the same sessions that produced '' Tears for Dolphy'' and one side recorded live at the Seventh Yugoslavia Jazz Festival in Ljubljana w ...

'' ( Freedom, 1964 977 * ''

The New Thing & the Blue Thing ''The New Thing & the Blue Thing'' is an album by American trumpeter Ted Curson which was recorded in 1965 and released on the Atlantic label.

'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1965) With Don Friedman * '' Flashback'' ( Riverside, 1963) * '' Dreams and Explorations'' (Riverside, 1964) With Milt Jackson * ''

That's the Way It Is That's the Way It Is may refer to: *'' Elvis: That's the Way It Is'', a 1970 documentary film about Elvis Presley * ''That's the Way It Is'' (Elvis Presley album), a 1970 album by Elvis Presley * "That's the Way It Is" (Mel and Kim song), a 1988 so ...

'' ( Impulse!, 1969) * ''

Just the Way It Had to Be ''Just the Way It Had to Be'' is a live album by American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson featuring performances recorded at Shelly's Manne-Hole in 1969 for the Impulse! Records, Impulse! label.

'' (Impulse!, 1969) With Jean Luc Ponty-George Duke * '' The Jean Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio'' (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, 1969) With

* ''

Stablemates ''Stablemates'' is a 1938 American sports drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Wallace Beery and Mickey Rooney. Plot Aspiring jockey Mickey idolizes hard-drinking former veterinarian Tom Terry, who shares advice about horses with Mickey ...

'' ( Candid, 1977) With

* '' Live at The Funky Quarters'' (

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

, 1972) * '' Puttin It Together'' (

, 1973)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berk, Dick 1939 births 2014 deaths Jazz musicians from San Francisco American jazz drummers American jazz bandleaders Berklee College of Music alumni Reservoir Records artists