Jeffrey Arthur Berlin (born January 17, 1953) is an American

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music Music genre, genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, a ...

bassist and composer. He first came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the band Bruford, led by drummer

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and tou ...

Musical career

Berlin was born on January 17, 1953, in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. He studied violin from 5 until 15 years of age, when he was inspired to play bass guitar after seeing

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. He attended

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

to study bass. After session work with

Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and the Moody Blues. Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age an ...

David Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a ...

and Patti Austin, he gained widespread international attention in 1977 when British musician

handpicked him for his debut album '' Feels Good to Me''. He played in Bruford's namesake band until 1980. His Bruford bandmate

Allan Holdsworth Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz and rock music, rock guitarist, violinist and composer. He contributed to numerous bands, including Soft Machine, U.K. (band), U.K., The Tony Williams Lifetime, Pierre Moerl ...

employed Berlin for his 1983 Warner Brothers album '' Road Games''. Berlin continued to record and tour throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

Style and appreciation

In a review for Berlin's album ''Low Standards'', '' Bass Musician Magazine'' said: "Anytime I mention eff Berlin there seems to be a ripple in the force and the wave of Berlin supporters or antagonists come to the surface and spout-off their opinions. No matter where you stand regarding Jeff's musical philosophy, no one can reasonably deny the simple fact that Jeff seriously knows his craft and is one of the major players of our time." Berlin's melodic, lead-bass playing style was heavily influenced by that of

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

; despite this, Berlin has repeatedly stated his distaste for Jaco imitators.

Personal life

On August 30, 2013, Berlin married Gabriela Sinagra, a jazz singer and vocal coach from Rosario, Argentina.

Discography

Solo

* 1985 ''Champion'' (Passport Jazz) * 1986 ''Pump It!'' (Passport Jazz) * 1997 ''Taking Notes'' (

Denon is a Japanese electronics company dealing with audio equipment. The Denon brand came from a merger of Denki Onkyo (not to be confused with the other Onkyo) and others in 1939. It originally started as Nippon Chikuonki Shoukai in 1910 by Freder ...

) * 1998 ''Crossroads'' (Denon) * 2000 ''Star Licks Master Sessions: Jeff Berlin'' ( Star Licks Productions) (VHS) * 2000 ''In Harmony's Way'' (M.A.J. Records, multiple re-releases) * 2004 ''Lumpy Jazz'' (M.A.J.) * 2006 ''Aneurythms/Ace of Bass'' (M.A.J.) * 2006 ''Mel Bay Jeff Berlin-Bass Logic from the Players School of Music'' (Mel Bay Publications) (DVD) * 2010 ''High Standards'' (King Japan / M.A.J.) * 2013 ''Low Standards'' (Random Act) * 2022 ''Jack Songs'' (Jeff Berlin Music Group)

References

External links

Official site
*
Jeff Berlin Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2021) {{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin, Jeff Jazz fusion musicians 1953 births Living people American jazz bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Jazz educators Berklee College of Music alumni Musicians Institute alumni 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Eleventh House members