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. Orig ...
saxophonist and record label owner. His primary instruments are the alto and baritone saxophones.
Biography
Berne was born in Syracuse, New York, United States. He has said that he had no interest in playing an instrument until he attended
Lewis & Clark College
Lewis & Clark College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocate ...
in
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
. Hearing the album '' Dogon A.D.'' (1972) by Julius Hemphill turned his attention toward jazz. He was a fan of rhythm and blues, and it seemed to him that Hemphill was playing jazz with the soulfulness of R&B. In 1974, he went to New York to find Hemphill, who gave him saxophone lessons and advice on how to manage his career. Berne started the record label Empire in 1979.
For Empire, he recorded four albums with avant-garde jazz musicians such as John Carter, Alex Cline,
Nels Cline
Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004.
In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...
Vinny Golia
Vinny Golia (born March 1, 1946) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind instruments. He performs in the genres of contemporary music, jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation.
Career
As a composer, Golia fuse ...
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 ...
in the early 1980s. In these sessions he worked with trumpeter Herb Robertson. He then got a contract with
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
and recorded with Robertson,
Hank Roberts
Hank Roberts (born March 24, 1954, Terre Haute, Indiana) is an American jazz cellist and vocalist. He plays the electric cello, and his style is a mixture of rock, jazz, avant-garde, folk, and classical influences. He emerged with the downtown Ne ...
, and
Bill Frisell
William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of context ...
. After two albums, he signed with JMT, a label known for avant-garde jazz. In the 1990s, he recorded in the trio, Miniature, with Roberts and
Joey Baron
Bernard Joseph Baron (born June 26, 1955 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer who plays frequently with Bill Frisell and John Zorn.
Music career
Baron was born on June 26, 1955, in Richmond Virginia. When he was nine, h ...
PolyGram
PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...
bought JMT and closed it. This motivated Berne to start Screwgun Records as the outlet for his albums.
He is one-third of the group BBC (Berne/Black/Cline) with Jim Black and Nels Cline of
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...
. The group released a critically acclaimed album called ''The Veil'' in 2011.
Groups
* Miniature (Joey Baron, Hank Roberts)
* Caos Totale (Django Bates, Mark Dresser, Marc Ducret, Bobby Previte, Herb Robertson, Steve Swell)
* Bloodcount (Jim Black, Marc Ducret, Michael Formanek, Chris Speed)
*
Big Satan
Big Satan is a musical project headed by composer and alto saxophonist Tim Berne, featuring drummer Tom Rainey and electric guitarist Marc Ducret. Rainey and Ducret are regular Berne collaborators, and both contribute compositions as well.
His ...
(Marc Ducret,
Tom Rainey
Tom Rainey (born 1957) is an American jazz drummer.
Career
After attending Berklee College of Music he moved to New York in 1979. He has played with Tim Berne, Nels Cline, Drew Gress, Mark Helias, Fred Hersch, Tony Malaby, Simon Nabatov, ...
)
* Hard Cell (Tom Rainey, Craig Taborn)
* Science Friction (Marc Ducret, Tom Rainey, Craig Taborn)
* Paraphrase ( Drew Gress, Tom Rainey)
* Buffalo Collision (
Ethan Iverson
Ethan Iverson (born February 11, 1973) is a pianist, composer, and critic best known for his work in the avant-garde jazz trio The Bad Plus with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King.
Biography
Iverson was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin ...
, David King, Hank Roberts)
* BBC Trio (Jim Black, Nels Cline)
* Snakeoil (Marc Ducret, Matt Mitchell, Oscar Noriega, Ches Smith, formerly Ryan Ferreira)
* Broken Shadows ( Reid Anderson, David King, Chris Speed)
Discography
As leader/co-leader
* 1979 ''The Five Year Plan'' (Empire)
* 1980 ''7X'' (Empire)
* 1981 ''Spectres'' (Empire)
* 1982 ''
Songs and Rituals in Real Time
''Songs and Rituals in Real Time'' is a double LP album by Tim Berne released by Empire Productions (USA) in 1982 and re-released on CD as a part of ''The Empire Box'' on Screwgun Records (USA) in 1998. The album was Recorded live at Inroads, Ne ...
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 ...
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
Tim Berne's Fractured Fairy Tales
''Tim Berne's Fractured Fairy Tales'' is an album by saxophonist Tim Berne which was recorded in 1989 and released on the JMT label.Shimada, T.JMT label discography accessed October 14, 2014
Reception
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow said "T ...
Diminutive Mysteries (Mostly Hemphill)
''Diminutive Mysteries (Mostly Hemphill)'' is an album by saxophonist Tim Berne which was recorded in 1992 and released on the JMT label.Shimada, T.JMT label discography accessed October 7, 2014 The album is a tribute to Berne's mentor Julius Hem ...
'' (JMT)
* 1999 ''The Empire Box'' (Screwgun) CD box set reissue of ''The Five Year Plan'', ''7X'', ''Spectres'', and ''Songs and Rituals in Real Time''
* 2011 ''Insomnia'' (
Clean Feed
Clean may refer to:
* Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment
* Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt
Arts and media Music Al ...
Bill Frisell
William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of context ...
I Can't Put My Finger on It
''I Can't Put My Finger on It'' is the second and last album by Miniature, drummer Joey Baron, saxophonist Tim Berne and cellist Hank Roberts, which was recorded in 1991 and released on the JMT label.Pace Yourself'' (JMT)
* 1994 '' Nice View'' (JMT)
Marilyn Crispell
Marilyn Crispell (born March 30, 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Scott Yanow described her as "a powerful player... who has her own way of using space... She is near the top of her field." Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrot ...
* 1995 ''
Inference
Inferences are steps in reasoning, moving from premises to logical consequences; etymologically, the word '' infer'' means to "carry forward". Inference is theoretically traditionally divided into deduction and induction, a distinction that ...
'' (
Music & Arts
Music & Arts is a classical and jazz record label founded in Berkeley, California by Frederick Maroth.
It began in 1984 as a classical music label before adding jazz and world music. The catalog includes classical composers and musicians Milto ...
Unwound
Unwound is an American post-hardcore band. The band was formed in 1988 in Tumwater and Olympia, Washington by vocalist/guitartist Justin Trosper, bassist Vern Rumsey and drummer Brandt Sandeno, and was largely based in Olympia throughout the 1 ...
Please Advise
''Please Advise'' is a live album by saxophonist Tim Berne's Paraphrase which was recorded in Germany in 1998 and released on Berne's Screwgun Records, Screwgun label.Pre-Emptive Denial
''Pre-Emptive Denial'' is a live album by saxophonist Tim Berne's Paraphrase which was recorded at The Stone (music space), The Stone in 2005 and released on Berne's Screwgun Records, Screwgun label.Big Satan
Big Satan is a musical project headed by composer and alto saxophonist Tim Berne, featuring drummer Tom Rainey and electric guitarist Marc Ducret. Rainey and Ducret are regular Berne collaborators, and both contribute compositions as well.
His ...
'' (
Winter & Winter
Winter & Winter is a record label in Munich, Germany that specializes in jazz, classical and improvised music. It was founded by Stefan Winter following the demise of his JMT Records label.
Since 1997 Winter & Winter has released records by ...
)
* 2004 ''
Souls Saved Hear
Big Satan is a musical project headed by composer and alto saxophonist Tim Berne, featuring drummer Tom Rainey and electric guitarist Marc Ducret. Rainey and Ducret are regular Berne collaborators, and both contribute compositions as well.
His ...
'' (Thirsty Ear)
* 2006 ''
Livein Cognito
''Livein Cognito'' is a double live album by saxophonist Tim Berne's Big Satan. It was released in 2006 on Berne's Screwgun label.
Reception
An All About Jazz review by John Kelman said "Dark and spacious in places, visceral, dense and penetra ...
Electric and Acoustic Hard Cell Live
''Electric and Acoustic Hard Cell Live'' is a live album by saxophonist Tim Berne's Hard Cell which was recorded in 2005 and released on Berne's Screwgun Records, Screwgun label.Feign
Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...
The Sublime And
''The Sublime And'' is a live double album by saxophonist Tim Berne's Science Friction which was recorded in Switzerland in 2003 and originally released on the Thirsty Ear label. The album was rereleased in 2007 along with Berne's 2002 Science Fr ...
'' (Thirsty Ear)
* 2007 ''Mind Over Friction'' (Screwgun) Box set reissue of ''Science Friction'' and ''The Sublime And''
* 2020 ''Science Friction +size'' (Screwgun)
with ARTE Quartet
* 2002 ''The Sevens'' (
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
Snakeoil
Snake oil is a term used to describe False advertising, deceptive marketing, health care fraud, or a scam. Similarly, "snake oil salesman" is a common expression used to describe someone who sells, promotes, or is a general proponent of some v ...
'' (
ECM
ECM may refer to:
Economics and commerce
* Engineering change management
* Equity capital markets
* Error correction model, an econometric model
* European Common Market
Mathematics
* Elliptic curve method
* European Congress of Mathematics
...
You've Been Watching Me
''You've Been Watching Me'' is an album by the American composer and saxophonist Tim Berne's Snakoil which was released on the ECM label in 2015.
'' (ECM)
* 2015 ''Spare'' (Screwgun)
* 2017 ''
Incidentals
''Incidentals'' is an album by American composer and saxophonist Tim Berne's band Snakeoil which was released on the ECM label in 2017.
'' (ECM)
* 2020 ''The Fantastic Mrs. 10'' (
Intakt
inTAKT is a German ecumenical association (''Verein'') for the promotion of new Christian songs for church services (Neues Geistliches Lied, NGL), and of art, culture and musical education. Its members are mostly hymnwriters and composers intereste ...
* 2019 ''Broken Shadows'' (Newvelle, vinyl only; re-released on CD and digital with two additional tracks in 2021 on Intakt)
* 2020 ''Broken Shadows Live'' (Screwgun)
with
Nasheet Waits
Nasheet Waits is an American jazz drummer.
Son of percussionist Freddie Waits, Nasheet Waits is a New York native who has been active on the jazz scene since early in his life. Before pursuing a music career, he studied psychology and history a ...
With Ray Anderson
*'' Big Band Record'' ( Gramavision, 1994)
With Enten Eller
*''Melquiades'' (Splasc(H), 1999)
*''Auto da Fe'' (Splasc(H), 2001)
With Umberto Petrin
*''Ellessi'' (Splasc(H), 1999)
With Jazzophone Compagnie
*''Mosaiques'' (Yolk, 2000)
With
Nels Cline
Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004.
In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...
Enja
Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971.
The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and ...
, 1988)
With Marc Ducret
*''Tower Vol. 2'' (Ayler, 2011)
*''Tower Bridge'' (Ayler, 2014)
With Mr. Rencore
*''Intollerant'' (Auand, 2011)
With Simon Fell
*''Positions & Descriptions'' (Clean Feed, 2011)
With Figure 8
*''Pipe Dreams'' ( Black Saint, 1994)
With Michael Formanek
*''Extended Animation'' (Enja, 1992)
*''Low Profile'' (Enja, 1994)
*''Nature of the Beast'' (Enja, 1997)
*''The Rub and Spare Change'' (ECM, 2010)
*''Small Places'' (ECM, 2012)
*''The Distance'' (ECM, 2016)
*''Even Better'' (Intakt, 2019)
*''Pre-Apocalyptic'' (Out Of Your Head, 2020)
With
Vinny Golia
Vinny Golia (born March 1, 1946) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind instruments. He performs in the genres of contemporary music, jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation.
Career
As a composer, Golia fuse ...
*''Compositions for Large Ensemble'' ( Nine Winds, 1984)
*''Facts of Their Own Lives'' (Nine Winds, 1986)
With Drew Gress
*''Spin & Drift'' (Premonition, 2001)
*''7 Black Butterflies'' (Premonition, 2005)
*''The Irrational Numbers'' (Premonition, 2007)
*''The Sky Inside'' (Pirouet, 2013)
With Mark Helias
*''Split Image'' (Enja, 1985)
*''The Current Set'' (Enja, 1986)
With Julius Hemphill
*''
Five Chord Stud
''Five Chord Stud'' is an album by jazz saxophonist/composer Julius Hemphill recorded in 1993 for the Italian Black Saint label.
'' (Black Saint, 1994)
*''
One Atmosphere
''One Atmosphere'' is an album composed entirely by Texas-born saxophonist Julius Hemphill. Tzadik Records released the album in August 2003. It is considered experimental and avant-garde.
Reception
In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek called the ...
'' (
Tzadik
Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The ...
Hank Roberts
Hank Roberts (born March 24, 1954, Terre Haute, Indiana) is an American jazz cellist and vocalist. He plays the electric cello, and his style is a mixture of rock, jazz, avant-garde, folk, and classical influences. He emerged with the downtown Ne ...
Transparency
Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to:
* Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material
They may also refer to:
Literal uses
* Transparency (photography), a still ...
'' (JMT, 1985)
*'' X-Cerpts: Live at Willisau'' (JMT, 1987)
*''Elaboration'' (Clean Feed, 2005)
*''Real Aberration'' (Clean Feed, 2007)
With
Samo Salamon
Samo (–) founded the first recorded political union of Slavic tribes, known as Samo's Empire (''realm'', ''kingdom'', or ''tribal union''), stretching from Silesia to present-day Slovakia, ruling from 623 until his death in 658. According to ...
&
Tom Rainey
Tom Rainey (born 1957) is an American jazz drummer.
Career
After attending Berklee College of Music he moved to New York in 1979. He has played with Tim Berne, Nels Cline, Drew Gress, Mark Helias, Fred Hersch, Tony Malaby, Simon Nabatov, ...
*''Duality'' (Samo Records, 2012)
With
George Schuller
George Schuller (born December 29, 1958) is an American jazz drummer. He is the son of composer Gunther Schuller.
Biography
Schuller was born in New York City and raised in Boston. In 1982 he graduated from the New England Conservatory of Mus ...
*''Hellbent'' (Playscape, 2002)
With Ches Smith
*''Hammered'' (Clean Feed, 2013)
*''International Hoohah'' (For Tune, 2014)
With
Spring Heel Jack
Spring Heel Jack is an English electronic music duo, consisting of John Coxon and Ashley Wales.
Formed in 1993 in London, England, Spring Heel Jack began their career exploring drum and bass and jungle, but have since branched out into free ...
*''Masses'' (Thirsty Ear, 2001)
With David Torn
*''
Prezens
''Prezens'' is an album by guitarist David Torn recorded in 2005 and released on the ECM label.Yōsuke Yamashita
*''Ways of Time'' (Verve, 1995)
With
John Zorn
John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jazz ...