Karl Berger Biography

Karl H. Berger (born March 19, 1935 in Heidelberg, Germany) is a musicologist with a PhD in Music Esthetics, jazz composer, jazz vibraphone and piano player. Together with Ornette Coleman and Ingrid Sertso he founded the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York. During the 1990's, he taught jazz music and ensemble playing as a professor in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2004-2005, he served as the Chairman of the Music Department of the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (USA).

Most of his output has been rather experimental, and he has been active in Free Jazz circles, recording with Carla Bley, Don Cherry, Lee Konitz, John McLaughlin, Gunther Schuller, the Mingus Epitaph Orchestra, Dave Holland, Pharoah Sanders and many others. Berger continuously won the Down Beat critics poll in the category of the best jazz vibraphone player of the year between 1969 until 1975.

• Escalator Over The Hill

• Karl Berger's website (archived)