Berger, Kenny
Berger, Kenny
Berger, Kenny, jazz baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist, bass clarinetist, bassoonist, composer; b. N.Y., Dec. 19, 1947. He grew up in Brooklyn, attended Mannes Coll. of Music as bassoon major (1965–8), Univ. of Ill. as a composition major (1986), and earned his B.A. at S.U.N.Y. Empire State Coll. He has been an active freelancer around N.Y. for many years, appearing with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orch., Lee Konitz Nonet, Julius Hemphill Sextet, National Jazz Ensemble, Bobby Previte Septet, Duke Ellington Orch., Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orch., Duke Pearson Big Band, Gil Goldstein Zebra Coast Orch., Ned Rothenberg’s Powerlines Ensemble, Phil Woods, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Roy Eldridge, Dr. John, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, Orch. of St. Luke’s, Liza Minelli, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Bill Cosby, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, the Saturday Night Live Band, and others. He has written and arranged for some of those groups as well. Berger teaches at Jersey City State Coll. and has taught at William Paterson Coll. (1993–5), at Western Wash. Univ. (1991), and Long Island Univ. (1991).
Discography
J. McNeil-K. Berger: Hip Deep (1996); Brooklyn Ritual (1997).
—Lewis Porter