Randy Bernsen (born July 15, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist.
Career
Bernsen was born in
Needham, Massachusetts
Needham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. A suburb of Boston, its population was 32,091 at the 2020 U.S. Census. It is home of Olin College.
History
Early settlement
Needham was first settled in 1680 with the purchase of a ...
and grew up in Florida. He attended high school in
Plantation and was active in the clubs of
South Florida
South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...
, starting at age 17. He studied at the
University of Miami. During the mid-1970s, he was a part of the ''
Peter Graves Orchestra'', which played in ''Bachelors III'' with
Jaco Pastorius. In 1977, he was a part of
Blood, Sweat & Tears. Bernsen's debut album, ''Music for People, Planets & Washing Machines'' (1986), featured numerous greats of fusion jazz, including
Urszula Dudziak,
Bob James,
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
, Jaco Pastorius and
Peter Erskine. After good reviews, Bernsen managed to sign up for the follow-up album, ''Mo' Wasabi'', with
Wayne Shorter,
Michael Brecker,
Marcus Miller
William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...
,
Steve Gadd, and
Toots Thielemans.
Bernsen has toured since the 1990s with his own groups from
Fort Lauderdale. Occasionally he was on concert tours in
Europe, Southeast Asia and
Mexico. In 1992, he was involved in
Joe Zawinul
Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...
's album ''Lost Tribes''. In 2003 he recorded and edited a tribute to Jaco Pastorius, ''Word of Mouth Revisited'', with the Peter Graves Orchestra, followed in 2006 by ''The World is Out''.
Tom Lord recorded 42 recordings with Bernsen between 1979 and 2006.
[Tom Lor]
The Jazz Discography
/ref> He can also be heard on albums by Silvano Monasterios
Silvano Monasterios (born October 30, 1964) is a Venezuelan jazz musician, pianist, composer and orchestrator.Peñin, José; Guido, Walter (1998). ''Enciclopedia de la Música en Venezuela''. Tomo II. pp. 239. Fundación Bigott, Caracas. .
Early ...
, Dan Bonsanti, Mike Levine, Mark Colby and .
Bernsen has also been a professional private pilot since 1998 qualified on Learjets, Jetstar, PC-12 and Hondajet.
Discography
Albums
* ''Music for People, Planets & Washing Machines'' (Amc, 1984)
* ''Mo' Wasabi'' (Zebra, 1986)
* ''Paradise Citizens'' (Zebra, 1988)
* ''Calling Me Back Home'' (101 South, 1993)
* ''AppTeaser '' (self-released, 2012)
* ''Grace Notes'' (self-released, 2015)
Single download
* "Revelation 5:1"
* "Folksy"
* "Alone Together" (2021)
* "Abba Father" (2021)
Randy BernsenReferences
External links
Official site
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernsen, Randy
1954 births
Living people
Jazz fusion guitarists
American jazz composers
People from Plantation, Florida
The Zawinul Syndicate members