Joey approaches all aspects of his life as a musician with the highest skill and dedication to excellence.
Tenor Saxophone
Clarinet
Flute
Composer
Arranger
Recording Artist
Educator
Migrating south from Toronto, Canada in 1978, Joey Berkley immersed
himself in the
competitive
New York City jazz scene. The musician benefited from his experiences
in Manhattan, and
maintains
that these early years of struggling were not only necessary, but also
crucial to his musical
development. In fact, his CD that was released in 1999 and marks his
debut as the
bandleader of the
Joey Berkley Quartet, is aptly titled
Made in
NYC The disc,
which features many of Joey's original compositions, came out on A-
Records.
Both as a freelance musician on the NYC music scene or with his
groups The Joey
Berkley Quartet and Funkasaurus Rex,
Joey has
performed in many of the prestigious venues past and present-
Birdland, The Village Gate, The Apollo, Radio City Music Hall, The
Bottom Line and The Beacon Theatre.
Mouthpiecemusic LLC was formed by Joey in 2005
incorporating all of
Mr.
Berkley's musical activities. Whether sharing his knowledge with a
student, recording his
music or
frequenting the club and concert circuit with his various groups, Joey's
talent has
warranted fabulous
reviews from The Jazz Times to The New York Times.
Also in 2005 Joey created the exciting group Funkasaurus Rex
, a nine piece
jazz-funk band made up of some of the best known and talented NY
players. With two CD releases Etched in Stone and
I Hear Voices, writing, recording and
performing
with this band is an important part of an already busy schedule for Joey.
As a musician who needs variety for his musical talents Joey enjoys the
challenge of
performing with
Four Good Reeds, a saxophone quartet he put
together which plays a
mixture of
classical and jazz repertoire and demands a very high level of
musicianship from all its
members.
The Joey Berkley Quartet, Funkasaurus Rex and Four Good
Reeds are
the premier
performing groups contained within Mouthpiecemusic.
Under the
leadership of
saxophonist Joey Berkley they perform a wide variety of musical styles
from jazz to funk to
classical
with unmatched precision and style. From club to concert hall to
recording, each band also
serves as an
instrument for teaching by conducting master-classes and providing
students with the
highest level of
expertise and dedication to conveying all music as an art form.
In 2002 Joey co-founded the Westchester Jazz Orchestra. As a member
of this renowned
line up of
musicians from 2002 to 2007 Joey also served as its Artistic and
Educational Director.
In 2009 All Things Saxophone was produced and
released world-wide. This Joey Berkley instructional DVD has received
many
accolades from students and pro's alike. As well, while maintaining a
much in
demand private-teaching schedule,
Joey
Berkley is
the woodwind specialist at Fox Lane MS/HS
in Bedford,
NY.
