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Dick Berk

Richard Alan "Dick" Berk was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Berk was born in San Francisco, California. He studied at the Berklee College of Music and played in the Boston area early in the 1960s. In 1962 he moved to New York City and played there with Ted Curson and Bill Barron in a quintet from 1962 to 1964. Following this he played with Charles Mingus, Mose Allison, Freddie Hubbard, and Walter Bishop, Jr., among others. He moved to Los Angeles late in the 1960s, where he played with Milt Jackson, George Duke, Cal Tjader, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Blue Mitchell. He founded the Jazz Adoption Agency in the early 1980s, playing into the 2000s; among this group's alumni are Andy Martin, Mike Fahn, Nick Brignola, John Nagorney, Keith Saunders, Tad Weed, and John Patitucci.


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Album Review

Walter Bishop Jr.: Bish at the Bank: Live in Baltimore

Read "Bish at the Bank: Live in Baltimore" reviewed by Troy Dostert


Although he played with many of the icons of bebop's formative years from Bird to Miles, as well as those who were starting to reach for something beyond, including Ken McIntyre and Jackie McLean, pianist Walter Bishop Jr. never got his due as a leader, remaining woefully under-recorded until the 1970s. Most of his albums remain out of print, with the notable exceptions being The Walter Bishop Jr. Trio / 1965 (Prestige) and Coral Keys (Black Jazz, 1971)--and by the ...

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Obituary

Passings: Alice Babs, Dick Berk

Passings: Alice Babs, Dick Berk

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey

Alice Babs, the Swedish singer whom Duke Ellington once called “probably the most unique artist I know,” died today in her native Sweden. She was 90. Her breakthrough came in 1940 in the Swedishfilm Swing it magistern (Swing It, Teacher!) She went on to make her name in stage, motion picture and television work, singing in several genres and collaborating with violinist Svend Asmussen and other Scandinavian jazz artists. Her pure soprano voice and rhythmic ability brought her to Ellington’s ...

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Bish at the Bank:...

Reel to Real Records
2023

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