Tim Berne
| Tim Berne | |
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Photo by Matt Brown
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| Background information | |
| Born | October 16, 1954 |
| Genres | Avant-garde jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Saxophone |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | Empire, Soul Note, Columbia, JMT, Screwgun, Thirsty Ear, Clean Feed, ECM |
| Associated acts | Julius Hemphill, BB&C, Big Satan, Bloodcount, Miniature, Michael Formanek, Paraphrase, Snakeoil, Nels Cline, Buffalo Collision, Ethan Iverson, Ches Smith, Hank Roberts, Jim Black, Mr. Rencore, Ananda Gari, Alessio Riccio, Science Friction, The Shell Game, Craig Taborn |
Tim Berne (born 1954) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.
Described by critic Thom Jurek as commanding "considerable power as a composer and ... frighteningly deft ability as a soloist", Berne has composed and performed prolifically since the 1980s. His mainstream success has been limited – Berne recorded two albums for Columbia Records – but he has released a significant body of work over the decades spanning dozens of critically acclaimed recordings.
Though Berne was a music fan, he had no interest in playing a musical instrument until he was in college, when he purchased an alto saxophone. He was more interested in rhythm and blues music – Stax records releases and Aretha Franklin, especially – until he heard Julius Hemphill's 1972 recording Dogon A.D.
Hemphill was known for his integration of soul music and funk with free jazz. Berne moved to New York City in 1974. There Berne took lessons from Hemphill, and later recorded with him.
In 1979, Berne founded Empire Records to release his own recordings. He recorded Fulton Street Maul and Sanctified Dreams for Columbia Records, which generated some discussion and controversy, due in part to the fact that Berne's music had little in common with the neo-tradionalist hard bop performers prominent in the mid-1980s. Some regarded Berne's music as uncommercial. In the late 1990s Berne founded Screwgun Records, which has released his own recordings, as well as others' music.
Beyond his recordings as a bandleader, Berne has recorded and/or performed with guitarist Bill Frisell, avant-garde composer/sax player John Zorn, violinist Mat Maneri, guitarist David Torn, cellist Hank Roberts, trumpet player Herb Robertson, the ARTE Quartett and as a member of the cooperative trio Miniature.
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