Jazz Articles about Will Bernard

Will Bernard: Blue Plate Special & Night for Day

by George Kanzler
March 8, 2009

Will BernardBlue Plate SpecialPalmetto2008 Bernard/Emer/Lackner/FerberNight for DayBrooklyn Jazz Underground Records2008 Guitarist Will Bernard is the common denominator on these two stylistically divergent CDs. On Blue Plate Special he's joined by keyboardist John Medeski, bassist Andy Hess and drummer Stanton Moore while Night for Day is with fellow Brooklyn Jazz Underground members Benny Lackner (piano), ...

Will Bernard: Blue Plate Special

by Doug Collette
December 21, 2008

Will Bernard's Blue Plate Special features a veritable supergroup of modern jazz, whose diverse talents on their respective instruments complements their collective experience and, perhaps more importantly, the range of material supplied by the bandleader. On paper, it looks too good to work, but work it does and splendidly at that.

“Baby Goats" may sound, at first, like a vintage variation on composer John Medeski's work with Medeski, Martin and Wood, but as Stanton Moore's syncopation deepens and ...

Will Bernard: Blue Plate Special

by Troy Collins
October 6, 2008

Blue Plate Special is San Francisco Bay Area guitarist Will Bernard's fifth release as a leader and his second for Palmetto Records, following the star-studded groove-fest, Party Hats (2007). Dispensing with the additional horns and guest instrumentalists of previous releases, this session features Bernard as the leader of a stripped-down quartet. The relatively spare setting allows greater focus on his highly rhythmic approach to the guitar, with an emphasis on the empathetic interplay with his principle sideman, keyboardist John Medeski. ...

Bernard - Emer - Lackner - Ferber: Night for Day

by AAJ Italy Staff
August 20, 2008

Night for Day è un buon esempio dell’equivoco, più o meno volontario, nel quale navigano molti musicisti delle nuove generazioni. Preparazione ferrea alle spalle, grande confidenza con i più disparati stili musicali, estrema scioltezza nel condividere l’esperienza musicale con colleghi dal diverso background formativo. Ma poi, alla resa dei conti, permane l’incertezza sulla direzione da prendere, sulla capacità di elaborare un linguaggio personale che faccia tesoro della massa di sollecitazioni e di input esterni, evitando operazioni di copia-incolla o di ...

Will Bernard Trio: Directions to My House

by John Kelman
August 8, 2005

Thanks to artists like Bill Frisell and Nels Cline, the definition of jazz guitar has broadened so far that heated discussions are a regular occurrence, on and off the web. Certainly if an album like Frisell's Nashville can win the Downbeat critic's poll for best jazz album, we're witnessing a significant shift that allows for considerably more latitude than ever before.

On the other hand, if you were to ask these artists if what they play is jazz, they'd likely ...

Will Bernard 4-tet: Medicine Hat

by Rick Bruner
February 1, 1998

On Medicine Hat, their first release, the Will Bernard 4-tet came to groove. The disc kicks off with “Close Shave (Pt. 1)," a James Brown inspired romp that introduces these fine San Francisco-based players. Will Bernard is a hot guitarist who was heard with T. J. Kirk, which included the now well-known Charlie Hunter and drummer Scott Amendola, also heard here laying down his rock solid rhythms with typical finesse. The 4-tet is rounded out with newcomers Rob Burger on ...