Karl Berger

Born in Heidelberg, Germany on March 30, 1935, Karl Berger was an avant-garde vibraphonist and pianist who co-founded the Creative Music Studio (CMS) with jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Karl Berger originally studied classical piano at the age of 10 but soon became interested in the vibraphone and free jazz. After obtaining a doctorate in musicology from the Free University of Berlin, he started his professional career by performing in local jazz clubs. After performing with visiting American jazz icons such as Don Ellis and Leo Wright, he joined Don Cherry’s orchestra and recorded three albums with the ensemble in 1966. Karl Berger released From Now On, his first album as a leader, in 1967 and collaborated with several other artists including Lee Konitz, John McLaughlin, Carla Bley, Alan Silva, Rolf Kühn, and Joachim Kühn. Karl Berger’s 1972 album We Are You featured singer Ingrid Sertso, who he would later marry. That same year, Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso, and jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman founded the Creative Music Studio, located in Woodstock, New York. The CSM was created to encourage young musicians to explore original ideas in music. While working as a music teacher, Karl Berger continued to release albums including With Silence (1972), All Kinds of Time with Dave Holland and Ed Blackwell (1976), Interludes (1977), New Moon (1980), Transit with Holland and Blackwell (1987), Synchronicity (2012), Moon (2015), the John Zorn-produced In a Moment (2018), and Sketches (2022). Karl Berger continued collaborating with other acclaimed musicians including Bill Laswell, Ivo Perelman, Better Than Ezra, Neneh Cherry, Slide Hampton, Charles Mingus, and many others. He taught at the New School in New York and the University of Music in Frankfurt, Germany and served as music director of the University of Dartmouth’s music department. Karl Berger died on Aprils 9, 2023, at the age of 88.

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