Jerry Bergonzi | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | October 21, 1947 Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, educator |
| Instrument(s) | Tenor saxophone, piano |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Labels | Double-Time, Not Fat, Savant, Red, Label Bleu |
Jerry Bergonzi (born October 21, 1947) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator.[1]
Bergonzi received a B.A. in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1971 and is the founder of Not Fat Records.[1][2]
Bergonzi first gained recognition as he became a frequent guest-artist on several Dave Brubeck ensemble tours and recordings during the 1970s, and he held the saxophone chair in the Dave Brubeck quartet from 1979 - 1982.[3] He recorded nine albums with Brubeck, from 1973 to 1981.[4]
Bergonzi teaches at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.[1]
He is the author of Inside Improvisation, a multi-volume series of instructional books with play-along CDs and videos, and another series of books about improvisation published by Advance Music. He is also the author of the book/CD set Sound Advice, published by Jamey Aebersold Jazz.
He has recorded on the Blue Note, Red, Not Fat, Concord, Atlantic, Label Bleu, Enja, Columbia, Deux Z, Denon, Canyon, Cadence, Musidisc, Ram, Ninety One, Freelance and Savant recording labels.[2] He has recorded extensively for Double-Time Records.
| As a leader | As sideman |
|---|---|
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With Dave Brubeck
With Joey Calderazzo
With Miles Donahue
With Daniel Humair
With Hal Galper
With Bruce Gertz
With George Gruntz
With Bob Kaufman
With Eartha Kitt
With Andy LaVerne
With Nando Michelin
With Alex Riel
With Dave Santoro
With Brooke Sofferman
With Richard Sussman
With others
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Bergonzi is also a professional level pianist and bass guitarist.
He plays a mouthpiece by Aaron Drake (Drake "Jerry Bergonzi" Signature Mouthpiece).
Jeff Ellwood compiled and engraved nearly 200 of Bergonzi's original tunes.[8] Bergonzi decided to give the compiled PDF books away for free.[9]
