Karl Hans Berger (born March 30, 1935 in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, Germany) is a German jazz pianist, composer, and educator.

Career

Berger played piano in Germany when he was ten and worked in his teens at a club in Heidelberg. He learned modern jazz from visiting American musicians, such as

Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his lif ...

and

Leo Wright Leo Wright (December 14, 1933 in Wichita Falls, Texas – January 4, 1991 in Vienna) was an American jazz musician who played alto saxophone, flute and clarinet. He played with Charles Mingus, Booker Ervin, John Hardee, Kenny Burrell, Johnny Co ...

. During the 1960s, he started playing vibraphone and received a doctoral degree in

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

. He worked as a member of

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

's band in Paris. When the band went to New York City to record ''Symphony for Improvisers'', he recorded his debut album as a leader. With

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

and Ingrid Sertso, he founded the

Creative Music Studio The Creative Music Studio (CMS) was a premier study center for contemporary creative music during the 1970s and 1980s, based in Woodstock, New York. Founded in 1971 by Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso, and Ornette Coleman, it brought together leading i ...

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

, New York, in 1972, to encourage students to pursue their own ideas about music. Berger considered Coleman his friend and mentor, and like Coleman he was drawn to

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz and experimental jazz) is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through to the late 1960s. Ori ...

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

, and

free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...

. He has worked with Carla Bley,

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

, Lee Konitz,

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaug ...

, Sam Rivers, Pharoah Sanders,

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

Clifford Thornton Clifford Edward Thornton III (September 6, 1936 – November 25, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, trombonist, activist, and educator. He played free jazz and avant-garde jazz in the 1960s and '70s. Career Clifford was born in Philadelphia. ...

, the Mingus Epitaph Orchestra, and the

Globe Unity Orchestra The Globe Unity Orchestra is a free jazz ensemble. Globe Unity was formed in autumn 1966 with a commission received by Alexander von Schlippenbach from the Berlin Jazz Festival. It had its debut at the Berliner Philharmonie on 3 November combini ...

. He collaborated with

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, ...

as musical arranger and conductor, thus contributing to albums by

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

Better Than Ezra Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and signed with The End Records. The band formed in 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and consists of Kevin Griffin (vocals and guitar), Tom Drummond (bass ...

Buckethead Brian Patrick Carroll (born May 13, 1969), known professionally as Buckethead, is an American guitarist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has received critical acclaim for his innovative electric guitar playing. His music spans severa ...

, Natalie Merchant,

Sly & Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separ ...

Angélique Kidjo Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960), known as Angélique Kidjo, is a Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist who is noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. ...

Hōzan Yamamoto Hōzan Yamamoto (山本邦山, ''Yamamoto Hōzan''; October 6, 1937 - February 10, 2014 in Ōtsu, Shiga prefecture) was a Japanese shakuhachi player, composer and lecturer. Yamamoto started playing the Japanese bamboo flute shakuhachi at the ag ...

, and

Shin Terai Shin Terai is a Japanese musician and producer most known for his work with Bill Laswell and Buckethead. On his albums he combines ambient and electronic music with dub and avant-garde jazz. Biography Shin Terai gained some first publicity as ...

Discography

As leader

* ''From Now On'' (ESP Disk, 1967) * ''Tune In'' (Milestone, 1969) * ''We Are You'' (Calig, 1972) * ''With Silence'' (Enja, 1972) * ''All Kinds of Time'' (Sackville, 1976) * ''Interludes'' (FMP, 1977) * ''Changing the Time'' (Horo, 1977) * ''Just Play (1976)'' (Quark, 1979) * ''New Moon'' (Palcoscenico, 1980) * ''Live at the Donaueschingen Music Festival'' (MPS, 1980) * ''Transit'' (Black Saint, 1987) * ''Karl Berger + Paul Shigihara'' (L+R/Bellaphon, 1991) * ''Around'' (Black Saint, 1991) * ''Sudpool Jazz Project II: Moon Dance'' (L+R/Bellaphon, 1992) * ''Crystal Fire'' (Enja, 1992) * ''Conversations'' (In+Out, 1994) * ''No Man Is an Island'' (Douglas Music, 1997) * ''Stillpoint'' (Double Moon, 2002) * ''Strangely Familiar'' (Tzadik, 2010) * ''Synchronicity'' (Nacht, 2012) * ''After the Storm'' (FMR, 2013) * ''Gently Unfamiliar'' (Tzadik, 2014) * ''Moon'' (NoBusiness, 2015) * ''Live at the Classical Joint'' (Condition West, 2017) * ''In a Moment'' (Tzadik, 2018) * ''Conjure'' (True Sound, 2019)

As sideman

With

* '' Togetherness'' (Durium, 1966) * '' Live at Cafe Montmartre 1966'' Vols. 1–3 (ESP Disk, 1966) * ''

Symphony for Improvisers ''Symphony for Improvisers'' is an album by Don Cherry featuring Gato Barbieri, Henry Grimes, and Ed Blackwell, all of whom appeared on Cherry's previous album ''Complete Communion'', along with Karl Berger, Jean-François Jenny-Clark, and Pharoa ...

'' (Blue Note, 1967) * '' Eternal Rhythm'' (MPS, 1969) * ''

Multikulti Multikulti is a slogan of the multiculturalism public policy approach. Its etymological origin is with the German progressive movements of the 1970s and 1980s. It was popularised by the German Green Party and gained popularity throughout Europe. ...

'' ( A&M, 1990) With

* ''

Jazzonia ''Jazzonia'' is a cover album by American composer Bill Laswell, released on August 25, 1998, by Douglas Music. Track listing Personnel Adapted from the ''Jazzonia'' liner notes. ;Musicians *Asante – vocals (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8) *Karl ...

'' (Douglas Music, 1998) * ''

Filmtracks 2000 ''Filmtracks 2000'' is the thirteenth album by American composer Bill Laswell, released on September 25, 2001 by Tzadik Records. Despite the title's suggestion, the album is not a collection of Laswell's film scores. Instead it is an assemblage o ...

'' (Tzadik, 2001) * '' Points of Order'' (Innerhythmic, 2001) With

Ivo Perelman Ivo Perelman (born January 12, 1961) is a Brazilian free jazz saxophonist born in São Paulo. Career In his youth, Perelman learned to play guitar, cello, clarinet, trombone, and piano, concentrating on tenor sax since age 19. He attended the Be ...

* ''Reverie'' (Leo, 2014) * ''The Art of the Improv Trio Vol. 1'' (Leo, 2016) * ''The Hitchhiker'' (Leo, 2016) With others *

, '' How Does Your Garden Grow?'' (Elektra, 1998) * Carla Bley, '' Escalator Over the Hill'' (JCOA, 1971) *

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Ch ...

, '' Creative Orchestra Music 1976'' ( Arista, 1976) *

, '' Giant Robot'' (CyberOctave, 2000) *

, '' So Real: Songs from Jeff Buckley'' (Legacy/Columbia, 2007) * Neneh Cherry, ''

Broken Politics ''Broken Politics'' is the fifth solo album by singer Neneh Cherry, and her second to be produced by Four Tet. The album was released on 19 October 2018, and has been called "quieter and more reflective" than its predecessor '' Blank Project''. T ...

'' (Smalltown Supersound, 2018) *

Chocolate Genius Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civi ...

, ''

Black Music Black music is a sound created, produced, or inspired by black people, people of African descent, including African music traditions and African popular music as well as the music genres of the African diaspora, including Caribbean music, Lat ...

'' (Everlasting, 1998) *

Coheed and Cambria Coheed and Cambria are an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), ...

, ''Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV'' (Columbia, 2005) * Lajos Dudas, ''Talk of the Town'' (Double Moon, 2000) * Slide Hampton, ''Jazz Live Trio with Guests'' (TCB, 2013) * Theo Jorgensmann, ''Fellowship'' (hatOLOGY, 2005) * Kalaparusha, ''Kalaparusha'' (Trio, 1977) *

Hans Koller Antonio Hans Cyrill Koller (12 February 1921 in Vienna – 21 December 2003 in Vienna) was an Austrian jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader. Koller attended the University of Vienna from 1936 to 1939 and served in the armed forces from 1940 to 1 ...

, ''Big Sound Koller'' (Sonorama, 2016) * Lee Konitz, '' The Lee Konitz Duets'' (Milestone, 1968) * Lee Konitz, '' Seasons Change'' (Circle, 1980) *

Rolf Kuhn Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic name ''Hrolf'', itself a contraction of ''Hrodwulf'' ( Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words ''hrod'' ("renown") + ''wulf'' ("wolf"). The Old Norse cognate is ''Hrólfr''. ...

Joachim Kuhn Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...

, ''Transfiguration'' (SABA, 1967) * John Lindberg, ''Duets 1'' (Between the Lines, 2006) *

Machine Gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

, ''Machine Gun'' (MU, 1988) * Magpie Salute, ''The Magpie Salute'' (Eagle, 2017) * Albert Mangelsdorff, ''Albert Mangelsdorff and His Friends'' (MPS, 1971) * Kesang Marstrand, ''Our Myth'' (North Node, 2011) *

, ''

Where Fortune Smiles ''Where Fortune Smiles'' is a free jazz LP album, LP credited to John McLaughlin (musician), John McLaughlin, John Surman, Dave Holland, Karl Berger, and Stu Martin (drummer), Stu Martin, recorded in 1970 and released on Dawn Records in 1971. T ...

'' (Dawn, 1971) * Charles Mingus, ''

Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

'' (Columbia, 1989) *

Ryan Montbleau Ryan Michael Montbleau (born June 18, 1977, in Peabody, Massachusetts, United States) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He annually tours across the U.S. with the Ryan Montbleau Band. Background Although he received his first gui ...

, ''Patience On Friday'' (Blue's Mountain, 2007) *

Musica Elettronica Viva Musica Elettronica Viva (MEV) is a live acoustic/electronic improvisational group formed in Rome, Italy, in 1966. It is "something of an irregular institution, a band that has come together intermittently through the years". Its founding members ...

, ''United Patchwork'' (Horo, 1978) *

Robert Musso The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, ''Innermedium'' (DIW, 1999) *

Pete Namlook Pete Namlook (born 25 November 1960 as Peter Kuhlmann in Frankfurt, West Germany, died on 8 November 2012) was an ambient and electronic music producer and composer. In 1992, he founded the German record label FAX +49-69/450464, which he oversa ...

, ''Polytime'' (

Fax Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (the latter short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer o ...

, 1998) *

Rich Robinson Richard Spencer Robinson (born May 24, 1969) is an American musician and founding member of the rock and roll band the Black Crowes. Along with older brother Chris Robinson, Rich formed the band in 1984 (originally called ''Mr. Crowes Garden'' ...

, '' Through a Crooked Sun'' (Circle Sound 2011) *

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

, ''

Blown Bone ''Blown Bone'' is an album by trombonist Roswell Rudd. It was recorded in March 1976 at Blue Rock Studios in New York City, and was released on LP by Philips Japan in 1979. On the album, Rudd is joined by clarinetist Kenny Davern, saxophonists Ste ...

'' (Emanem, 2006) *

Frederic Rzewski Frederic Anthony Rzewski ( ; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time. His major compositions, which often incorporate social an ...

, ''Attica/Coming Together/Les Moutons De Panurge'' (Opus One, 1974) *

Alan Silva Alan Silva (born Alan Lee da Silva; January 22, 1939 in Bermuda) is an United States of America, American free jazz double bassist and Keyboard instrument, keyboard player. Biography Silva was born a British subject to an Azores, Azorean/Portug ...

, '' Skillfullness'' (ESP Disk, 1969) *

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...

, '' Rhythm Killers'' (Island, 1987) *

Swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

, '' The Burning World'' (UNI, 1989) * Swans, '' Forever Burned'' (Young God, 2003) *

Aki Takase (born January 26, 1948) is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer. Biography Takase was born in Osaka and started to play piano at age 3. Raised in Tokyo, she studied classical piano at Toho Gakuen School of Music.Ankeny, Jaso"Artist Biography".A ...

, ''

So Long, Eric! ''So Long, Eric! – Homage to Eric Dolphy'' is an album by Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach. Background Free jazz pioneer Eric Dolphy died in Berlin in 1964. Pianists Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach organised a Berlin music ...

Homage to Eric Dolphy'' (Intakt, 2014) *

John Tchicai John Martin Tchicai ( ; 28 April 1936 – 8 October 2012) was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Tchicai was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Danish mother and a Congolese father. The family moved to Aarhus, where he st ...

, ''2 X 2'' (Taso, 2001) *

, '' Freedom & Unity'' (Third World, 1969) *

Alexander von Schlippenbach Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orchest ...

, ''Globe Unity'' (SABA, 1967) * Alexander von Schlippenbach, ''Globe Unity 67 & 70'' (Atavistic, 2001) *

Marzette Watts Marzette Watts (March 9, 1938, Montgomery, Alabama – March 2, 1998, Nashville) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist. He performed and recorded on bass clarinet as well. He had a brief career in music and is revered for his 1966 sel ...

, ''

Marzette Watts and Company ''Marzette Watts and Company'', also known as ''Marzette and Company'', is the debut album by saxophonist and composer Marzette Watts. It was recorded in December 1966 in New York City, and was released by ESP-Disk in 1968. On the album, Watts is j ...

'' (ESP Disk, 1968) * Barney Wilen, ''Zodiac'' (Vogue, 1966) * Rachael Yamagata, '' EP'' (Private Music, 2003)

References

External links

Creative Music Studio

Sertso Studio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Karl 1935 births Living people Musicians from Heidelberg People from the Republic of Baden Post-bop pianists Post-bop composers German jazz composers Male jazz composers ESP-Disk artists Enja Records artists MPS Records artists Milestone Records artists Avant-garde jazz pianists Avant-garde jazz composers German musicologists German jazz pianists German jazz vibraphonists People from Woodstock, New York 20th-century German male pianists 21st-century German male pianists Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts faculty Machine Gun (band) members Sackville Records artists FMR Records artists Tzadik Records artists Black Saint/Soul Note artists NoBusiness Records artists Jazz vibraphonists