German-born pianist, composer, vibraphonist, jazz instructor, and improviser Karl Berger died at the Albany Medical Center on April 9. He was 88.
As a young adult, he landed a gig as house pianist for jam sessions at Club 54 in Heidelberg. He and Ornette Coleman co-founded the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock in 1972. On his long career after developing his free jazz aesthetic, Berger played with Don Cherry, Jack DeJohnette, John McLaughlin, Ed Blackwell, Lee Konitz, Dave Holland, Anthony Braxton, Baba Olatunji and many others.
The Creative Music Studio in West Hurley was geared toward encouraging young students to explore their own creative ideas rather than imposing traditional jazz concepts upon them. Berger cut back on his teaching, shutting down the CMS facility in the mid-1980s. The CMS Archive Project, undertaken in collaboration with the Columbia University Center of Jazz Studies, included a series of CDs of historic recordings from In the years immediately following the CMS’ initial dissolution, Berger became more active as a player, first embarking on a world tour in 1985-1986, during which he served as a guest conductor and composer for the West German Radio Orchestra in Cologne. Berger also participated in percussion festivals in New Delhi and Bombay.
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