Interviews

Jeff Berlin


ABOUT JEFF BERLIN

"Jeff Berlin is a legend of the electric bass. Simply put, he is considered by many to be the finest electric bass soloist in the world. In the 1970s, he gained worldwide recognition as one of America's foremost electric bass players.

Alongside of Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke and Alphonso Johnson, Jeff is known as a major innovator through his incisive playing through recordings and performances for the last twenty years. Jeff has performed with performers as diverse as Billy Cobham, John McLaughlin, Jermaine Jackson, Issac Hayes, Bill Bruford, Yes, Allan Holdsworth, Toots Thielemans, Larry Coryell, David Liebman, Arturo Sandoval, Michael and Randy Brecker, Mike Stern and Bill Frisell. He has jammed with the super-stars of jazz and rock, from Pat Metheny, Van Halen, Rush, pianist Bill Evans, Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke, and was even asked to do a television show with pop singer Donnie Osmond. He has performed throughout the world at all the major jazz festivals.." [...more]

- from The Official Jeff Berlin Website [www.JeffBerlinMusic.com]
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Mike Visceglia: You are considered one of the finest bass guitarists of our generation and one of its most outspoken. Can you give an overview on the state of the art of the instrument? Are there any young players that you see as notable?


Jeff Berlin: The potential for notability is always there. The reality is another thing. This is an era of anti-music. Some musicians are about as musical as professional wrestling is a sport. But, give these musicians and groups their due. They will sell more CD's in a week than I will ever sell in my entire career. People are enjoying their music. It seems to me that bass players today have gone backward in creating music. One reason is that the industry is not musician friendly these days. If there are potentially great bass players out there, in this era they're going to have a real up-hill battle to even be heard.

But, somewhere in the world there's a guy practicing really hard and thinking about music all the time. This is the guy that is going to say something special through his instrument.
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Mike: Do you feel that your outspokenness or opinions have affected your career in any particular way, positively or negatively?

Jeff: Gandhi once said that if a minority of one speaks the truth, it is still the truth. I have never been politically correct and I never will be. Not interested! Truth means a lot more to me than popularity. And, believe me! There are truths out there that apply to everyone, everywhere. Uncompromising, unchanging, unquestionable facts of life. If you like steak and I like chicken, the truth is, to stay alive and healthy, we both have to consume SOME kind of nourishment. Simple truth!

Music has some simple truths as well and I state them outright. In music, you can't play what you don't know, no matter how many handgrips or metronomes you use. Total truth! But it still annoys some guys that I say this in the face of the overwhelming majority of players who believe the
opposite.

At a clinic, one guy got mad at me because I didn't accept that if a majority of people felt a certain way about metronomes and handgrips, then why did I continue to believe that the overwhelming majority of them was wrong, and that all alone, I thought that I was right.

I answered him like this: in my lifetime, the overwhelming majority of citizens in this country felt that a person with darker skin color than mine did not have the right to sit at a lunch counter and eat a sandwich with me. Along comes a guy named King who proceeds to tell the entire nation that they are wrong in their collected belief. I asked the guy at the clinic who was right, the majority, or King. As I said, Truth will make you think and some musicians do not wish to think, especially in a practice room.

Yet, my career has never been affected negatively by my comments. I guess good playing wins out over any disagreement. More people have turned out for my concerts than ever before, God bless 'em! I guess I'm in a situation like Muhammad Ali used to be in. I have a big mouth so I have to play better than other bass players just to stay in the game.
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Mike: One of your main focuses seems to be retooling the musical education system. Can you talk about the Player's School that you've founded in Florida? In what way is it different than the New York Bass Collective or Victor Wooten's Bass Camp? Who are the staff instructors? Are there any guest teachers coming in?

Jeff: I don't really know what other schools or events subscribe to, musically speaking. But, I've heard a few comments from some guys who went to these places. Their comments told me that I am 100% on the right path regarding education. Our credo at The Players School is that we won't recruit famous guys to use their names to get you to come to the school because famous guys don't necessarily know what they are doing in a classroom. We will not ask you to participate in non-musical activities and then tell you that these activities are done in the name of musical growth. We won't jam for you suggesting that these jams will offer you some forms of musical enlightenment. We WILL play for you just for the joy of playing music, however. Let's be honest about it! What kind of an equitable exchange can it be for someone to pay whatever hundreds of dollars to learn music, and then believe that they are coming out ahead just by watching me play music that it took me years of practice to learn? It's a rip-off and I won't do it except in the name of entertainment.

We use guys who are fine teachers because this is the way to help you to grow in music. Their playing reps are totally beside the point. Besides! Who would you really like to study with; Billy Sheehan? Or the guy who taught him?

Practically all our students (and I'm going back to the beginning of the school now) have significantly improved as players (if they've done the work) and, most importantly, have learned how to teach themselves. If other schools are achieving the same kind of musical results with their students as ours has done, then I applaud and salute them.
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Mike: One of your stated main influences on the instrument is Jack Bruce. He's also one of mine. Could you elaborate on why he affected you so much?

Jeff: He is the very first virtuoso on the electric bass. He was the very first completely original voice on the electric bass. He was the very first bass player to vary the use of notes in "un-bass like" manners. He was the first at many elements that are taken for granted today. Plus, he is a terrific composer. He's been successful as a leader and a sideman in several styles of music. Also, he was history's first heavy metal electric bassist. Not bad for a guy who once was a jazz purist on up-right bass. Heck! He even sounds like himself on a fretless bass and this is practically unheard of.
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Mike: One other player seems as strongly voiced and influential as a player is Anthony Jackson. His work ethic and aesthetic is as bold as yours. How do you view his importance in the history of the instrument?

Jeff: Well, he is the very first 6-string player in history. Aside from this, the man can play his tail off. He stands for excellence in music and states it outright.

He is another guy who caught a whole lot of flack for stating truths publically. He referred to a group of bass players as amateur/hobbyists. The amateur/hobbyist group got bitchy at him for this. Imagine being mad for being identified for what you are!

Well, what's wrong with being an amateur? Everybody is an amateur if they don't do it for a living. You don't see a suburban tennis player or a weekend golfer get mad when they are referred to as amateurs. Only in music does this happen.

Ultimately amateurs just HATE being called this. And if you are angry at what I've said here, then I must be talking to you.

My final comment about this is that being an amateur is simply a stepping stone to becoming a professional, perhaps a really great professional. What's wrong with being inexperienced in the artform that you love so dearly? Musical growth is constant if you do the rights things to keep it moving along. If you do the right things in your art, then it is pretty much assured that you will move out of the amateur status into the professional world. Just quit being so ticked off when a truth is being stated about your present condition.
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Mike: Can you tell us about your newest CD "In Harmony's Way?" Who plays on it? Where can it be found? Will you tour to promote it? Who is in your touring band?
"In Harmony's Way"
Sound Samples
Purchase Now

Jeff: "In Harmony's Way" is my very best CD to date. George Carlin loves it and he hates everything these days.

A whole bunch of rock guys bought it and wrote in telling me how much they enjoyed it. Their comments meant a lot to me since jazz is not their cup of tea. Gary Burton, Mike Stern, and Dave Liebman are the guest musicians around the trio of drummer Danny Gottlieb, and pianist/bassist Richard Drexler.

It is only available through my website at www.JeffBerlinMusic.com.

I made my own website because when I used to be signed to record labels, no one could find my music. Now they can go directly to the site and get their CD in 10 days.

In a word, it's the best thing I ever recorded. Period! I am so proud of the bass playing, and everyone's playing their tails off on this CD. I've been touring with Richard and Danny to promote it already. But since I don't have a jazz booking agent here in America, gigs here are harder to come by.

In Europe, we play to a thousand people a night. In the States it's a different story. Still, the word is spreading about us and, as any new group, we have some dues to pay.
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Mike: You've said that therapy has helped you to get to a new and more insightful place in your life. How has this manifested itself in your new music?

Jeff: Therapy helped to put peace into my heart. I have peace in my life. I pray for it for everyone in the world. I really do. It's a bad thing to hold onto anger. When you let it go, you actually feel physically lighter. I remember one session where I gave up trying to control everything. I physically shook with the emotions of surrendering control. All of a sudden, I felt more relaxed than I ever did in my life. I practically fell asleep in my chair.

What a momentous day for me. I'll never forget it as long as I live. Interestingly, once I gave up trying to control everything, my music became a river coming out of me, especially on the bass. I am a free man for the first time in my life. I wake up happy everyday, glad for the gift of life and the peace in my heart. I really am a lucky man and my music is one reward because, I am telling you, I am playing bass like a demon. The music is pouring out of my instrument. This type of bass playing just doesn't come from anywhere else that I have heard. I'm in a zone that I never believed that I would enter. It is a miracle for me!
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Jeff, with his signature Dean Bass
[from the Dean Website]

Mike: Can you talk about the new Dean "Jeff Berlin Bass?"

Jeff: There is nothing innovative about it, except that it plays great. Low action, custom built Bartolini Pick-Ups that you cannot find on any other instrument in the world, Badass Bass Bridge. All of these elements are on every Standard and Exotic wood bass produced by Dean with my name on it. They are the best playing basses I ever played. I always alter any bass I own just a little to make them more the way that I like to play. I always lower the frets a little and raise the pick-ups as well. That's about it. Anyone who buys a Jeff Berlin Model Standard or Exotic Wood instrument will have exactly what I own. I only play stock instruments, because it wouldn't be honest to own my own fixed up guitar while I hawked an instrument that I didn't play. [See Dean Website for more info.]
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Mike: Is it a production model or a special order?

Jeff: Straight out of the factory with my own little touch-ups because that's how I like my instruments to play.
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Mike: You've spoken of aspiring to play not like a bass player as much as a saxophonist or a pianist. You mention Wayne Shorter as a soloistic influence. How are you exploring that? Is there a methodology to it or are you just immersing yourself in a few particular players' works?

Jeff: For me, to play the bass without exploiting different musical possibilities out of the instrument that are, let's say, unusual, makes little sense to me. I genuinely love being a rhythm section bass player when I am hired to be this. Simple. Straight-ahead R&B, rock, in the pocket bass. In the studio, I'm a killer sideman bass player. I play legitimately in several styles, I read anything put in front of me, and my time and feel are perfect. Yeah! I'm a happy bass player.

But, as a leader and as a musician responsible for my own artistic growth, it is out of my hands when I say that I am compelled to finding new ways to play the instrument. Because my ear is better than my playing, I get bored with myself quickly and therefore, I have a need to find new ways to play, if only to entertain myself. The growth part of my playing comes from the fact that I rarely put down the bass. It is always in my hands, and I am always looking for new ways to exploit it. I feel compelled to always try to catch up to the great melodic players. The great sax, trumpet, guitar, and piano players can play rings around the best bass players in the world, melodically speaking. Because I want what they have, I am always in musical pursuit, which gives me a reason to play, to try to accomplish what they have already accomplished in spades.
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Mike: You're a powerful advocate of practicing without a metronome. Can you talk of your philosophy of acquiring good time and how a metronome hinders you?

Jeff: Practicing with a metronome defeats the whole purpose of practicing because practicing is a fact finding event, not a performance event. When you play, you are supposed to play in time. When you practice, you are supposed to be learning new material or re-establishing contact with older studies. Reading new music should never, ever be done with a metronome because the click becomes the priority, not the music. Good time comes from the experience of playing your instrument on a regular basis and having a familiarity with your style. Every great musician knows this. If you ever listen to the smoking big bands from the 1930's and 1940' s, ask yourself how 15 guys played as one without ever dragging the time, always sitting dead on the quarter note and swinging the music like it was a living entity. Those bands played some of the hottest music in history and you can't tell me that a metronome EVER gave those musicians the sense of time that they put out in those bands. Their sense of time came from inside, and most players today don't know this or even how to find that internal place to draw from.

Gary Burton used a metronome as a teenager because he felt that his solos rushed too much. But, he was already a master player who wanted to deal with a specific element of his developing skills. Today, guys emphasize metronomes as the WAY to get good time. Bad mistake! The more you play, the better your time will become. Automatically!

James Jamerson, Jerry Jemmott, Rocco Prestia, Jaco Pastorius, Larry Graham, Stanley Clarke. They never used a metronome to give them what they all had, which is killer time. How do the advocates of metronomes explain that some of the greatest bass, drum, guitar, keyboard, string and horn players in music history didn't use metronomes and still have perfect time? As I said earlier, some musicians don't like to think because this question should shake up every musician who reads it.

My final word on this: a metronome is a tool. Use it as such!
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Mike: What are you practicing these days?

Jeff: Dave Liebman's great book, "A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody" [pictured right] is the only book that I am involved in right now. I've been in this book for about 18 months. It is the most compelling and stimulating piece of educational writing I have ever dealt with because it wasn't written for bass players. I do NOT recommend this book to beginners or intermediate players. It is a serious high-end lesson book that will pretty much give you a lot of headaches until you reach a level as a player where you can understand and use some of the lesson contained in the book. Charlie Banacos, the great jazz instructor is still sending me homework from time to time. I have a few of his older lessons and I still practice them, with continued moments of epiphany. Other than that, I play as much as I can, especially with my colleagues Richard Drexler and Danny Gottlieb because they continually push me to new musical heights.
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Mike: Do you have any tips on how to improve one's reading?

Jeff: Sure! If you can't read a note, then start with a note. You don't have to start with Vaughn Williams to get the idea that a G is forever going to be a G. Once you understand the small pieces, the big picture starts to look clearer. Read slowly, read everyday and for goodness sake, do not use a metronome. You don't need click time as you are trying to figure out where the F# minor triad is located on the neck and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
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Mike: Any general advice on how to become a successful bass guitarist in these tumultuous times?

Jeff: Love what you are doing. This is the only sustaining force that I know of that will maintain your energy focused on your music and your industry. I know that the better you play, the more people will know about it. I came out of a time where the single defining element of a musician was to play your butt off. Players my age used to practice 6 hours a day for fun. And it was great fun. Still is!

I grew up with Hendrix and Cream. I used to be a regular at The Fillmore East before I turned 18 years old. In the 70's, my running mates were the cream of the greatest jazz and rock players of the latter 20th Century. I've played with just about every great player in several styles of music, most of whom who practically died trying to find out different ways to make music on their instruments. They loved what they were doing. You should play for the love of it, not just to "make it". The love of music will keep you going if the business end of things gets a bit shaky.
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Mike: You've spoken of your son Jason's illness. You're obviously a concerned and dedicated father. How is he doing these days?

Jeff: He is doing great. He's completely cancer free and full of energy. When he was diagnosed with lymphoma a few years ago, I quit playing entirely and stayed home. This is when I started The Players School of Music. I had to make ends meet while I stayed in Clearwater waiting to see what was going to happen with Jason. Because he is doing so fantastically, I'm touring with my own group again. Jason is a tough little kid. He's also a natural at music. Whether or not he wishes to do something with it is up in the air. But, he comes home from school and goes into the piano room and starts jamming on the synth. I guess he picked up a little bit from the old man about the importance of practicing.


Thank You so much and best of luck!!