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Bert Seager

Pianist and composer Bert Seager has been a leading player on the jazz scene in Boston Massachusetts since 1981. His thirteen compact discs have won him unanimous critical acclaim from the New York Times, Keyboard Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe and many other publications.

He has toured extensively in the United States and internationally, including twelve tours to Japan. He has performed and recorded with Joe Lovano, Tim Hagans, George Garzone, Bob Moses, Joe Hunt, Richie Barshay, John Lockwood and Kazumi Ikenaga. He has performed in ensembles on stage with George Mraz, Miroslav Vitous, Mick Goodrick, Tom Harrell, Ben Street, Chris Speed, Billy Drewes and Jorge Roeder.

Bert is on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music.

For the past two years Bert has been selected for a residency in music composition at the prestigious MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Bert has been a recipient of a National Endowment of the Arts grant for jazz.

He is a graduate of Haverford College and earned a masters degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1984.

Bert’s compositions, improvisations and teaching reflect both an inward and outward-looking view of life and music. His trio plays a varied program of original music: always striving for transparency – framing each song’s improvised narrative in a playful three-way conversation.

Awards

MacDowell Colony Fellow, 2008, 2009, 2012

Bert Seager: Resonance

by John Sharpe
December 1, 1997

When it comes to music, don't make the mistake of assuming that the “big" labels have a monopoly on talent Accurate may be a “small" label but Seager is surely a musician worthy of your consideration. Working within the trio format, this Boston native has produced an album that's richly detailed and very rewarding. Bassist Dan Greenspan and drummer Dan Rieser share equal space with Seager and their creative interplay reminds me of the classic work of the late, great ...

Recording

Red Piano Records to release "Tetraptych" with Bert Seager, Hery Paz, Max Ridley and Dor Herskovits on April 14, 2017

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity
March 16, 2017

Tetraptych is Bert Seager (piano/compositions), Hery Paz (tenor saxophone), Max Ridley (upright bass) and Dor Herskovits (drums). Tetraptych is also the name of their new recording! “There’s not only smart and well-crafted modern jazz present, but innate beauty and serene confidence in Seager’s music." – Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide “Seager has distilled his lyrical approach into perfectly balanced and unfailingly beautiful music full of quiet subtleties.” –Ed Hazell, The Boston Phoenix “Seager's group balances fresh immediacy and a ...
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"Seager has distilled his lyrical approach into perfectly balanced and unfailingly beautiful music full of quiet subtleties." Boston Phoenix

Bert Seager leads a seasoned trio through a collection of highly personalized standards and finely etched originals. Although rhythm-mates Messrs. Barshay and Roeder are short on years they are long on talent and they have had the good fortune to have played with Seager for an extended period. The ensemble spirit that has evolved from that experience shows up well in this recording. Bert’s playing, while generally eschewing technical fireworks, is striking in its thoughtfulness and logic and the organic lines seem to naturally grow from the trio’s interactive frisson