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Jazz Articles about David Berger

About David Berger

119

Album Review

David Berger and the Sultans of Swing: Doin' the Do!

Read "Doin' the Do!" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
April 12, 2002

A generous helping of well-cooked nouveau swing by David Berger's undeniably talented Sultans of Swing that's easy to swallow but doesn't sharpen one's craving for more of the same.Berger arranged everything except the album's bonus track, Duke Ellington / Mildred Hill's “Birthday Jam," which he transcribed. While the charts are admirable, the music itself is on the whole less than exhilarating, especially the eight vocals (on thirteen tracks), half a dozen by Aria Hendricks, the others by trombonist ...

436

Album Review

David Berger and the Sultans of Swing: The Harlem Nutcracker

Read "The Harlem Nutcracker" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
February 1, 2002

Hearing The Harlem Nutcracker for the first time is akin to opening a Christmas present, expecting another drab necktie, and finding instead a silver-plated Swiss watch or 24-carat diamond bracelet.Composer / arranger / conductor David Berger has deftly assimilated and amplified Duke Ellington / Billy Strayhorn's luminous Nutcracker Suite, transposing Tchaikovsky's balletic themes into a contemporary framework that reharmonizes the holiday classic and places it in a thoroughly American environment. Five of the movements that comprise The Harlem ...