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Jazz Articles about David Berkman
David Berkman: Anecdotes
by George Colligan
[ Editor's Note: The following interview is reprinted from George Colligan's blog, Jazztruth] David Berkman is a jazz pianist who in the past few decades has played with many of the major names in jazz, including Tom Harrell, Cecil McBee, and the Vanguard Orchestra. He has released a number of CDs on the Palmetto Label, although his latest, Live At Smoke, is on Challenge Records. Berkman has developed a great reputation as an educator; he recently joined the ...
read moreDavid Berkman: Self-Portrait
by AAJ Italy Staff
Dopo tre decenni di attività professionale guidando organici con artisti come Tom Harrell, Chris Cheek, Brian Blade e Steve Wilson, il pianista di Cleveland (vive a New York dal 1985) debutta in piano solo, affrontando la prova più ardua per ogni tastierista. E lo fa con risultati molto positivi, confermando la sua estetica di riferimento, orientata a un modern mainstream con salde radici nella tradizione pre-boppistica e qualche ambizione verso la contemporaneità. Il repertorio è in gran parte costituito da ...
read moreNew York Standards Quartet: Unstandard
by AAJ Italy Staff
Unstandard è il secondo album del New York Standards Quartet, fondato dal sassofonista Tim Armacost nell'autunno del 2006. La formazione annovera quattro solidi ed affermati musicisti come David Berkman al piano, Yosuke Inoue al contrabbasso e Gene Jackson alla batteria. Ancora standards? Sì, e non ci stuferemo mai di ascoltarli. D'altronde è questo uno dei lati eccezionali del jazz, il continuo reinventare, riscoprire e realizzare in maniera diversa e, se possibile gradevole, un brano già straconosciuto. Il lavoro del quartetto ...
read moreNew York Standards Quartet: Unstandard
by Larry Taylor
It's a pleasure when a group of great jazz players take American standards and reshape them with their own unique stamp. This happens on New York Standards Quartet's Unstandard, where the musical gambit--the direction these musicians take the originals--is often surprising. Pianist David Berkman leads the way, handling arrangements and contributing originals, all the while taking impeccable solos. This is a joint effort, and veteran drummer Gene Jackson is invaluable, impressively powering the pace, aided by bassist Yosuke ...
read moreDavid Berkman: Live at Smoke
by Ken Dryden
David Berkman is one of many seasoned pianists with an extensive discography who deserves wider recognition from the jazz public, though he has achieved it with his fellow musicians. Berkman has lived in New York since 1985 and has long played Smoke (as well as earlier incarnation Augie's). Since he appreciates its audiences, attentive owners and first-rate, well tuned-piano, it makes sense that he would choose the club to record a live CD. Berkman's working quartet includes ...
read moreDavid Berkman Quartet: Start Here... Finish There
by Russ Musto
On his fourth outing as a leader, David Berkman displays commanding compositional capabilities. While Berkman’s earlier ensemble efforts have earned him considerable credit for his writing, this pared down quartet date, with saxophonist Dick Oatts, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Nasheet Waits, should bring him comparable commendation as an exceptional pianist and improvisor with a personal style marked by intelligence and restraint. These qualities, together with an assiduous avoidance of hackneyed structural strategies, have driven him to create music that ...
read moreDavid Berkman Quartet: Start Here - Finish There
by C. Michael Bailey
Pianist/composer David Berkman goes four deep into the Palmetto catalog with his new quartet release Start Here - Finish There. This new recording follows Leaving Home and Communication Theory, the latter of which was well received by All About Jazz critics Mark Corroto and David Adler . On this present recording, Berkman devotes the lion's share of his attention to his own compositions. That is with the exception of the disc closer, a folksy solo rumination on Woody Guthrie's “Mean ...
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