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Will Bernard

Guitarist Will Bernard, a Berkeley, CA native and Brooklyn NY transplant studied guitar and piano from an early age with Dave Creamer, Art Lande and Julian White later developing and interest in classical music composition . He received a a degree in music from UC Berkeley where he studied with Andrew Imbrie and others.

He began playing and recording on an international level as a member of Peter Apfelbaum’s Hieroglyphics Ensemble,who made their recorded debut with Don Cherry on “Multikulti” (A&M 1989). Since then, Bernard has participated in a host of boundary stretching groups, ranging from jazz, hip-hop and world music to experimental music, with many stops in between. In the 90’s Bernard recorded and performed with many projects under the direction of acclaimed producer Lee Townsend and worked with groups ranging from the Hindustani-influenced Jai Uttal to the political hip-hop group the Coup. The most commercially successful of these projects was the group T.J. Kirk (with Charlie Hunter) whose sophomore album “If Four Was One” on Warner bros. was nominated for a Grammy in 1997. Will made further inroads with the Stanton Moore trio which toured extensively and made 3 albums on Telarc and a Hal Leonard drum instructional video and book.

Bernard broke out as a bandleader in 1998 with the release of “Medicine Hat” (Antilles/Polygram), showcasing his expert chops and flair for funky, bottom-heavy soul-jazz. He then followed up with two self produced albums (“Motherbug” and “Directions To My House”), before making two albums on Palmetto Records (“Party Hats” and “Blue Plate Special”). “Party Hats” garnered a nominated for a Grammy Award in 2008 for best contemporary jazz album.The all-star “Blue Plate Special” includes performances by Stanton Moore, Andy Hess and John Medeski. In 2011, Bernard released an organ trio record titled “Outdoor Living” to positive reviews with his own genre-bending style.

Bernard’s last two albums are on Posi-tone records  “Just Like Downtown” (Posi-Tone 2013) which features John Ellis on tenor sax and bass clarinet, Brian Charette on organ, and Rudy Royston on drums and “Out and About” (2016). which features Ben Allison, Allison Miller, Brian Charette and John Ellis. These recordings  demonstrates Bernard’s roots in straight-ahead jazz and more traditional styles as well as funk and free wheeling improv.

As a touring artist, Bernard has hit the road extensively with sin his own bands or as a member of the Stanton Moore Trio, Robert Walter’s 20th Congress, Groundation, and numerous other lineups. As a leader Bernard has performed at The Monterey, North Sea, SF Jazz, Jazz a Vienne, Bumbershoot, Be-Bop and Brew, Montreal, Vancouver, Carribean Sea, and The High Sierra festivals,as well as clubs and festivals across the US, Europe and Canada. They have opened for Herbie Hancock and the Head Hunters, Jimmy McGriff, The Funky Meters, John Scofield, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Zigaboo Modeliste and the Charlie Hunter Quartet.

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5
Album Review

Will Bernard & Beth Custer: Sky

Read "Sky" reviewed by Mark Corroto


Luckily there are no record producers or record executives for creative music these days, because clarinetist Beth Custer and guitarist Will Bernard would be out of a job or, at least, a recording contract. That is because neither of the artists' interests can be categorized, pigeonholed, or compartmentalized. Custer performs chamber music, jazz, trance, pop, blues, silent film soundtracks, trip-hop, rock, folk, tribal, and ambient music. Likewise, Bernard has his fingers in jazz (from straight ahead to soul and jazz-rock), ...

20
Catching Up With

Will Bernard Finds His Own Path To Jazz Career

Read "Will Bernard Finds His Own Path To Jazz Career" reviewed by Jim Trageser


Guitarist Will Bernard doesn't consider himself a “regular" jazz player. He says this occurred to him when he was being asked to play on some recording sessions in New York. “In New York, I've been doing some recording—I did three records for PosiTone, which is more of a jazz label. They're actually based in L.A., but they record mostly in New York. He was calling me in to do jazz sessions, and I think, 'I'm not ...

6
Album Review

Will Bernard: Pond Life

Read "Pond Life" reviewed by Mark Corroto


All great performances, be they athletic or musical, start with a solid base. For guitarist Will Bernard that is a trio with drummer Ches Smith (Ceramic Dog, Snakeoil) and completing Bernard's bass (sic) with both the acoustic and electric input of bassist Chris Lightcap. Upon this foundation Bernard is inspired to expand his music with the help of keyboardist John Medeski and saxophonist Tim Berne. Medeski can be heard on the guitarist's 2008 album Blue Plate Special (Palmetto Records) and ...

5
Album Review

Will Bernard: Ancient Grains

Read "Ancient Grains" reviewed by Kyle Simpler


In the culinary world, ancient grains is a term used to describe grains that have been virtually unchanged for centuries but are often used in modern recipes. Will Bernard uses this idea as a metaphor in his album Ancient Grains. The basic concept is that the instruments used in this recording, such as guitars, organ, amplifiers and drums, are vintage in different ways. Some are actually vintage instruments while others are based on designs of vintage instruments. As with the ...

5
Album Review

Will Bernard: Freelance Subversives

Read "Freelance Subversives" reviewed by Doug Collette


A native Californian currently headquartered in Brooklyn, Will Bernard's geographical touchpoints mirror the expanse of solo and collaborative projects to which he's contributed over the course of his career. Just a few of the names appearing in his discography are also indicative of the guitarist's broadly eclectic approach: eccentric singer/composer Tom Waits, drummer extraordinaire Stanton Moore and guitar wunderkind Charlie Hunter. And dating back to Will's membership with the latter in T.J. Kirk (with drummer Scott Amendola), there's been a ...

7
Album Review

Idle Hands: Solid Moments

Read "Solid Moments" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Producer and Posi-Tone co-head Marc Free wears a lot of hats, including those of curator and cooperative chemist. Since 2018, Free has been piecing together various outfits and concepts, tipping his hat to touchstones, adding new slants to his label's rich catalog and engaging in outreach and audience development in the process. Not content to simply settle for the stautus quo, Free has found a way to present a stable of important artists, both established and emerging, that draws on ...

5
Album Review

Will Bernard: Out & About

Read "Out & About" reviewed by Doug Collette


As if more proof was necessary Out & About confirms guitarist Will Bernard is as skilled a bandleader as he is an instrumentalist. And both roles require an artful approach as this album makes clear: it's one thing to find talented musicians--as Bernard most certainly does here--it's quite another to elicit that talent in such a way it complements the talent (and personality) of each of the other musicians involved. In this context then Out & About is ...

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26

Performance / Tour

Will Bernard: New Trio Album, Tour Dates

Will Bernard: New Trio Album, Tour Dates

Source: JamBase

NEW ALBUM OUTDOOR LIVING OUT MARCH 20 Guitarist Will Bernard has confirmed plans to release a new trio album, Outdoor Living on March 20 via Dreck to Disk/A-Train. The groove-Centric disc marks the recording debut of Bernard's touring trio with Wil Blades (B3) and Simon Lott (Drums). To support the record, the guys have announced East Coast, West Coast and New Orleans tour dates. Check out all the dates below. Will Bernard Tour Dates

February 24—Will Bernard Trio @ Jules ...

150

Performance / Tour

Will Bernard Trio June 2011 California Run

Will Bernard Trio June 2011 California Run

Source: Marshall Lamm Promotions & Public Relations

Grammy-nominated guitarist Will Bernard will be performing select dates in California in June with his trio featuring Hammond B3 organist Wil Blades and drummers Simon Lott and Scott Amendola. Sunday, June 19 Will Bernard Trio with Wil Blades and Simon Lott Live Oak Music Festival, San Luis Obispo, CA Thursday, June 23 Will Bernard Trio with Wil Blades and Simon Lott Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, CA Friday, June 24 ...

189

Recording

Will Bernard:blue Plate Special

Will Bernard:blue Plate Special

Source: JamBase

By: Sarah Moore

Blue Plate Special (Palmetto Records) serves up some well-rounded, tightly knit jazz funk with organ-heavy jams and finessed funk rhythms. Will Bernard, a fusion scene veteran, enlists the help of fellow jazz-funk heavyweights John Medeski (MMW, keys), Stanton Moore (Galactic, drums) and Andy Hess (Gov't Mule, bass). Bernard, however, is not necessarily the meat on this plate. Although the listener might expect Bernard's guitar to have the starring role, the organs and keyboards have more emphasis as ...

161

Performance / Tour

Will Bernard Brings Wily Jazz, and a Whole Lot More

Will Bernard Brings Wily Jazz, and a Whole Lot More

Source: All About Jazz

With grooves as thick and rich as mousse, a stream of murmuring organ notes and precise syncopations, the Will Bernard Trio sounds like it should be up on the main stage at the Telluride Jazz Celebration. But, hey, it’s September, the festival season has gone to bed, and besides, it’s getting cold out there. Instead, the Will Bernard Trio will play a show in the intimate glow (and heated interior) of Las Montañas. The free-jazz, soul-jazz, roots-jazz, anything goes show ...

105

Event

Will Bernard And Otherbug Mini East Coast Tour

Will Bernard And Otherbug Mini East Coast Tour

Source: All About Jazz

Will Bernard & Otherbug embark on a mini east coast tour which kicks off in Burlington VT on October 16th at Club Metronome. Followed by Boston on the 17th (opening for Lake Trout) & wrapping up back in NYC at Tobacco Road on the 18th

With that said, let me fill you in a little more on a band (and it's members) that you will soon be hearing an awful lot about...

A relatively new project to the ...

129

Performance / Tour

Will Bernard & Otherbug in NYC

Will Bernard & Otherbug in NYC

Source: All About Jazz


“…a player who clearly deserves a wider audience for his imaginative genrebusting aesthetic.” —John Kelman, All about Jazz

“…one of the most potent, if under recognized, guitarists on the post-Frisell/post-Scofield scene.”  —Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times

“Will Bernard is one of the best-kept jazz-guitar secrets on the planet.” —Dan Ouellette, Billboard

“...Bernard cruise(s) with the mercurial flow of Steve Cropper (Booker T & The MG’s) and obvious ancestor Grant Green. But, there’s more razor sharp teeth inside his bite than these touchstones.” —Dennis Cook, Jambase

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Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Sky

Dreck to Disk Records
2023

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Pond Life

Dreck to Disk Records
2022

buy

Keepin’ It Real

Self Produced
2021

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Ancient Grains

Posi-Tone Records
2021

buy

Solid Moments

Posi-Tone Records
2020

buy

You Are My Sunshine

From: Jazz, Baby!
By Will Bernard

Crab Apple Red

From: Directions To My House
By Will Bernard

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