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Jeff Berlin

Jeff Berlin is a legend of the electric bass. Simply put, he is considered by many to be the finest electric bass player in the world. Surprisingly, he is a pioneer of slap bass when he brought this new percussive-style bass playing in 1979 to the second Bill Bruford album, "One of a Kind", on the tune called 5G. Jeff also pioneered two handed tapping when he performed this style on Motherlode from his 1985 release of his first solo album called "Champion". When these styles began to catch on with other bass players, Jeff stopped playing these styles.

 

Jeff is known as a major innovator through his incisive playing through recordings and performances for the last thirty years.  Jaco Pastorius regarded Jeff as a better soloist than he was. Geddy Lee referred to Jeff as the "greatest bass player on the planet". Marcus Miller told people that he wanted to be the "Black Jeff Berlin".

The founder of The Players School of Music in Clearwater, Florida, Jeff has also been at the front of music education for almost 30 years. His column in Guitar Player and Bass Player magazines were the most read columns due to their controversial content of music education. He regularly puts down using electronic tuners, metronomes, handgrips, tablature, or any study method that does not include musical content. For this, the music world has polarized in two camps, either for, or against the principles that Jeff believes will make a great player out of a good one.

His numerous recording credits include albums with Bill Bruford, Yes, Allan Holdsworth, Kazumi Watanabe, and George Benson. Jeff has released six highly acclaimed solo records, Champion, Pump It!, Taking Notes, In Harmony's Way, Lumpy Jazz and Aneurythms. Jeff tours with his band that has featured Danny Gottlieb, Paul Wertico, Othello Molineaux, Randy Brecker and Richard Drexler. He also tours with BX3, a bass conglomeration that includes the great bass players Stuart Hamm and Billy Sheehan.

Jeff is performing all over the world to rave reviews. Many have said that they have never heard anyone play with Jeff’s melodic fluidity. Jeff's playing continues to influence a new generation of bass players. His teaching continues to inspire and advance players wishing to know about the language of their art. Jeff Berlin is a master.


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Liner Notes

Bill Bruford: The Winterfold Collection 1978-1986

Read "Bill Bruford: The Winterfold Collection 1978-1986" reviewed by John Kelman


It's often easy to judge artists based on where they are now, but when you have a recorded legacy as rich as that of Bill Bruford, it's far better to view the body of work as a whole. As divergent as the intrepid percussionist/composer/bandleader's career has been, there are common threads running through all his work, making the earlier, electrified and amplified material on this Winterfold Collection fit contextually as a logical antecedent to his more recent unplugged and improvisation-centric ...

24
Interview

Jeff Berlin: Making Jack Songs, Making Amends, Making A New Path

Read "Jeff Berlin: Making Jack Songs, Making Amends, Making A New Path" reviewed by Mike Jacobs


Chances are, if you know Jeff Berlin's name, you know at least some of the bassist's now-classic work with such seminal jazz/rock/fusion mainstays as Bill Bruford or Allan Holdsworth. If so, you may also know of his 10 albums as a leader or some of his many other sideman, supergroup and touring credits. If you're still saying yes, it's likely you also know about his longtime commitment and passion as a bass educator. And if you're still checking boxes in ...

29
Album Review

Jeff Berlin: Joe Frazier Round 3 (CD Single)

Read "Joe Frazier Round 3 (CD Single)" reviewed by John Kelman


In the world of music, there are plenty of “could have beens," but far fewer “should have beens." Count Jeff Berlin amongst the latter. The American electric bassist first made a number of marks in the second half of the musically innovative 1970s on a series of '76 recordings by singers Patti Austin and Esther Phillips, composer/arranger Gil Evans and Swiss progressive rock keyboardist Patrick Moraz, not to mention gigging with everyone from Pat Martino and George Benson to Dave ...

27
Album Review

Bruford: Seems Like a Lifetime Ago 1977 - 1980

Read "Seems Like a Lifetime Ago 1977 - 1980" reviewed by John Kelman


With the plethora of box sets being issued these days with new masters and, perhaps even more importantly, new mixes of classic recordings, it was inevitable that the small but significant discography of drummer Bill Bruford's first steps into a solo career with his band Bruford should finally get the deluxe treatment. Seems Like a Lifetime Ago 1977-1980 not only covers the three studio and one live recording that this at-the-time completely unexpected and utterly distinctive surprise of a group ...

4
Album Review

Jeff Berlin: Low Standards

Read "Low Standards" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Indeed, bassist and educator Jeff Berlin is a modern era pioneer amid accolades that have piled high, spanning several decades via his astounding technique and contributions to progressive-rock, jazz fusion and modern mainstream jazz. Following up his jazz trio outing High Standards (2010, M.A.J. Records) also featuring bassist, pianist Richard Drexler, the core differentiator on Low Standards is that renowned drummer Mike Clark takes over the drum chair from Danny Gottlieb. Yet Berlin's game-plan is similar as Drexler uses the ...

969
Interview

Jeff Berlin: Still the Ace of Bass

Read "Jeff Berlin: Still the Ace of Bass" reviewed by John Patten


Through the course of a four-decade career, Jeff Berlin has refused to end his musical quest. He crafted a popping, percussive style so thoroughly ingrained in the recordings of the 1980s, it's nearly ubiquitous. His work with Bill Bruford, whom he met during a stint with Yes, led to further innovations in playing.More recently, he's been developing a contrapuntal style of playing that allows him to approach bass guitar as a pianist, adding harmony and melody to his ...

1,209
In the Artist's Own Words

Bassist Jeff Berlin Pays Tribute to Charlie Banacos

Read "Bassist Jeff Berlin Pays Tribute to Charlie Banacos" reviewed by Jeff Berlin


[Editor's note: Bassist Jeff Berlin first emerged in the early 1970s with artists including Gil Evans, Ray Barretto, Pee Wee Ellis and Don Pullen. But it was his fusion work with British drummer Bill Bruford on albums including Feels Good to Me (Winterfold, 1977) and One of a Kind (Winterfold, 1979) that he gained greater international exposure and a reputation as one of jazz's finest (and undervalued) electric bassists. Since that time, Berlin has released a small but significant discography ...

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2

Recording

Bass Legend Jeff Berlin To Release 30th Anniversary Edition 12-inch Vinyl Joe Frazier - Round 3 Feat. Steve Vai & David Sancious

Bass Legend Jeff Berlin To Release 30th Anniversary Edition 12-inch Vinyl Joe Frazier - Round 3 Feat. Steve Vai & David Sancious

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Legendary bassist Jeff Berlin will be releasing on May 11th a 30th Anniversary Edition 12-inch vinyl of his signature song “Joe Frazier.” The EP “Joe Frazier- Round 3" will include a newly remastered version of the original song from his critically acclaimed 1987 album Pump It! and a completely re-imagined version, composed and performed by Jeff, Steve Vai (lead guitar), David Sancious (keys), Keith Carlock (drums) and Tom Hemby (rhythm guitar). This limited-edition EP will be available as signed audiophile ...

5

Crowdfunding Campaign

Bass Icon Jeff Berlin To Launch Pledge Music Campaign For New Tribute Album To Legendary Jack Bruce

Bass Icon Jeff Berlin To Launch Pledge Music Campaign For New Tribute Album To Legendary Jack Bruce

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Bass icon Jeff Berlin has launched a Pledge Music Campaign for a new tribute album to legendary Jack Bruce titled Jeff Berlin Plays Jack Bruce: Songs For A Wailer! Jack Bruce, best known for his work with classic rock legends Cream, as well as his critically acclaimed solo work, sadly passed away in 2014. Jeff Berlin, who has been called “the greatest bassist in the world”, was a personal friend of Jack's and felt the time was right for a ...

1

Performance / Tour

Bass Guitar Virtuoso Jeff Berlin To Tour Europe Fall 2014

Bass Guitar Virtuoso Jeff Berlin To Tour Europe Fall 2014

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Clearwater, FL – Much to the excitement of European music fans, bass legend Jeff Berlin will be touring Europe with his trio beginning mid-October! Jeff Berlin is internationally regarded as a legend, considered one of the greatest bass players in the world. The late Jaco Pastorius regarded Berlin as a better soloist than he was, and Geddy Lee famously referred to Berlin as “the best bassist on the planet!” Known worldwide for his innovative style, Jeff has graced bandstands and ...

1

Recording

Bassist Jeff Berlin To Release "Low Standards" On Random Act Records - Available April 16, 2013

Bassist Jeff Berlin To Release "Low Standards" On Random Act Records - Available April 16, 2013

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Tampa, FL: Jeff Berlin has been called the greatest electric bass soloist in the world. While the terms “great” and “genius” are bantered about much too frequently, the accolades for Jeff Berlin are not hyperbolical – Jeff is indisputably one of the best bass players to ever play his chosen instrument. Geddy Lee (bassist for RUSH) calls Jeff “The greatest bassist on the planet,” while the late Jaco Pastorius considered Berlin a better soloist than he was. Known worldwide for ...

1

Recording

Jazz-Fusion All-Star Trio Scott Henderson Jeff Berlin Dennis Chambers to Release New CD "HBC"

Jazz-Fusion All-Star Trio Scott Henderson Jeff Berlin Dennis Chambers to Release New CD "HBC"

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Much to the excitement of musicians and jazz aficiandos worldwide, the highly anticipated CD release by jazz-fusion legends Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin and Dennis Chambers, will be released on Tone Center Records (a division of Shrapnel Records) on October 16, 2012. Considered one of the most phenomenal trios in the history of jazz- fusion, HBC's debut CD delivers a full dose of virtuosic performances guaranteed to thrill and inspire all who listen. “The trio is all about interplay,” explains guitarist ...

70

Recording

Bass Legend Jeff Berlin Records An Astonishing New CD

Bass Legend Jeff Berlin Records An Astonishing New CD

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Clearwater, FL—Insiders who have heard bass legend Jeff Berlin's newest CD are buzzing about the forthcoming release—a release that they are saying could possibly be the greatest bass album of all time! The word is that Jeff Berlin has recorded a jazz CD so astonishing that the artist himself is in shock with what he played! “I prepared for it by practicing 5 hours a day for weeks," Jeff explains. “What came of my preparation was to record solos on ...

135

Performance / Tour

Jazz-Fusion All-Star Trio Scott Henderson Jeff Berlin Mike Clark To Tour The US

Jazz-Fusion All-Star Trio Scott Henderson Jeff Berlin Mike Clark To Tour The US

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Clearwater, FL—One of the most highly anticipated tours of 2011 featuring jazz-fusion legends Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin and Mike Clark will commence on Sept 14th. The power trio promises to deliver an evening full of depth-defying virtuosic performances guaranteed to thrill and inspire all that attend. “Henderson-Berlin-Clark are the Clapton-Bruce-Baker of fusion music!" says Jeff Berlin Scott Henderson is considered one of the premier jazz-fusion guitarists performing on the planet today. Although Henderson claims to be more of a blues-rock ...

330

Recording

Bass Legend Jeff Berlin's New CD Lives Up To Its "High Standards" With The Critics

Bass Legend Jeff Berlin's New CD Lives Up To Its "High Standards" With The Critics

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Clearwater, FL—The recent buzz surrounding bass legend Jeff Berlin's latest CD release High Standards has been nothing less-than spectacular. The new CD, featuring Danny Gottlieb and Richard Drexler, has been receiving rave reviews worldwide by fans and music press alike, much to the elation of Jeff Berlin the bass maestro himself. “It gets a bit depressing when the only person in the world telling people how special I am as a bassist is my mother," Jeff Berlin jokes. “These reviews ...

273

Recording

Jeff Berlin, "High Standards" (CD Review)

Jeff Berlin, "High Standards" (CD Review)

Source: Between the Grooves with Philip Booth

Virtuoso electric bassist Jeff Berlin is back with one of his strongest jazz releases ever. Jeff is something of a neighbor, as we both live in the Tampa Bay area, and his Players School of Music is located in Clearwater. I've had the chance to become acquainted with Jeff over the years, through a week-long stint at his school, and his participation in my Monk in the Sun CD project of several years ago. Jeff's site is here, and you ...

115

Interview

Bassist Jeff Berlin Interviewed at All About Jazz

Bassist Jeff Berlin Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: John Kelman

Through the course of a four-decade career, Jeff Berlin has refused to end his musical quest. He crafted a popping, percussive style so thoroughly ingrained in the recordings of the 1980s, it's nearly ubiquitous. His work with Bill Bruford, whom he met during a stint with Yes, led to further innovations in playing. More recently, he's been developing a contrapuntal style of playing that allows him to approach bass guitar as a pianist, adding harmony and melody to his steady ...

Christian de Mesones
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Clemens Rofner
bass, acoustic
Anthony Muthurajah
bass, electric

Photos

Concerts

Sep 21 Sat
Sep 22 Sun

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

One Of A Kind

Winterfold Records
2023

buy

Double Time

Winterfold Records
2020

buy

Rock Goes To College

Winterfold Records
2020

buy

Joe Frazier Round 3...

Self Produced
2018

buy

Seems Like a Lifetime...

Gonzo Multimedia
2017

buy

Low Standards

Random Act Records
2013

buy

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