Warren Bernhardt (November 13, 1938 – August 19, 2022) was an American pianist in jazz, pop and classical music.

Early life

Bernhardt was born in

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Wisconsin River and had a population of 39,994 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the core city of the Wausau ...

. His father was a pianist, leading him to have early childhood exposure to piano, and he learned some rudiments of keyboarding from his friends. At five his parents moved to New York City, where he began studying seriously under varied instructors. After the death of his father in 1952 he suffered a period of depression and quit music for a time then studied chemistry and physics at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. In that city he was exposed to blues and jazz, which influenced the rest of his career.

Career

From 1961 to 1964 he worked in

Paul Winter Paul Winter (born August 31, 1939) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He is a pioneer of world music and earth music, which interweaves the voices of the wild with instrumental voices from classical, jazz and world music. The ...

's sextet, which led to his return to New York. Once in New York, he worked with

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing t ...

Jeremy Steig Jeremy Steig (September 23, 1942 – April 13, 2016)Peter Keepnews, "Jeremy ...

and others. He also developed a close relationship with the pianist

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

, who served as a mentor to Bernhardt. Bernhardt released several solo LPs in the 1970s, and eventually became a member of the

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

group Steps Ahead while continuing to work on solo projects. In 1971, he provided the piano accompaniment on the song "Crossroads" by

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail", he is best known for his 1971 hit "American Pie (song), American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minut ...

. Bernhardt released jazz and classical recordings over decades, and is also featured in teaching sessions in both audio and video formats from Homespun Tapes. Bernhardt toured as the musical director with

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...

in the United States from 1993 to 1994, and can be heard on Steely Dan's '' Alive in America'' album. He has performed with

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

's '' Old Friends'' tour, on Art Garfunkel's solo tours,''

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'' (Schenectady, N.Y.)
"Art Garfunkel scheduled for Egg concert Nov. 16"
September 28, 2002, p. C6. Retrieved on July 22, 2013. and can be seen on the

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...

DVD and HDTV presentation ''Across America''. In 2009, Bernhardt reunited with his band from 1973, L'Image, featuring Mike Mainieri, David Spinozza,

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...

and

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American jazz fusion drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and most highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction i ...

. The group performed at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City, toured Japan and Europe, and released the album ''L 'Image 2.0''.

Personal life and death

His father, Larry, was also a pianist. Bernhardt's mother encouraged Larry to teach their son to play piano as a toddler. Bernhardt met his first wife, Susan, in the Catskills, they had a son, Tim. Bernhardt's second wife was Jan, whom he married in 1976, they had a daughter, Nicole. Warren Bernhardt died on August 19, 2022, at the age of 83.''WBGO'', (Newark, NJ)
"Warren Bernhardt, pianist with Steps Ahead, Steely Dan and other bands, dies at 83"
August 24, 2022. Retrieved on August 24, 2022.

Discography

As leader

* 1977 ''Solo Piano'' (

Novus Novus (Latin, 'new') may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Novus Biologicals, later Bio-Techne, an American biotech company * Novus Entertainment, a Canadian telecommunications company * Novus International, an animal health and nutrition ...

) * 1978 ''Blue Montreux'' ( Arista) * 1978 ''Blue Montreux 2'' (Arista) * 1978 ''Free Smiles'' (Novus) * 1979 ''Floating'' (Arista/Novus) * 1979 ''Free Smile'' (Arista) * 1980 ''Manhattan Update'' * 1983 ''Warren Bernhardt Trio'' ( DMP) * 1987 ''Hands On'' (DMP) * 1990 ''Ain't Life Grand'' (DMP) * 1991 ''Heat of the Moment'' (DMP) * 1992 ''Reflections'' (DMP) * 1993 ''Family Album'' (DMP) * 2003 ''Amelia's Song'' (DMP) * 2003 ''So Real'' (DMP) * 2016 ''Lotus Night'' (Warner Music)

As sideman

With

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

* '' Night Song'' (Verve, 1969) With

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doub ...

* ''

Yama Yama (), also known as Kāla and Dharmarāja, is the Hindu god of death and justice, responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, Naraka. He is often identified with Dharmadeva, the personification of ''Dharm ...

'' with

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and very occasional flute player. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day an ...

( CTI, 1979) With

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk music and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his own success, his songs " If I Were a Carpenter", " Reason to Believe", " Misty Roses" and " ...

*'' Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert'' (Verve Forecast, 1968) With O'Donel Levy *'' Simba'' (Groove Merchant, 1974) With Mike Mainieri *'' Journey Thru an Electric Tube'' (Solid State, 1968) With Pat Martino * '' Starbright'' (Warner Bros., 1976) With

* '' Something Borrowed - Something Blue'' (

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, 1966) With

Jeremy Steig Jeremy Steig (September 23, 1942 – April 13, 2016)Peter Keepnews, "Jeremy ...

*'' Jeremy & The Satyrs'' (Reprise, 1968) *'' This Is Jeremy Steig'' (Solid State, 1969) With Steps Ahead *''Modern Times'' (Elektra, 1984) *''Magnetic'' (Elektra, 1986) (one track)

References

External links

Official website
*

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

* *
Homespun Tapes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernhardt, Warren 1938 births 2022 deaths American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists American people of German descent People from Wausau, Wisconsin Musicians from Wisconsin Novus Records artists 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians White Elephant Orchestra members Steely Dan members