Bearsville Theater Jazz Brunch with Karl Berger - Kirk Knuffke Quartet

Jazz Brunch at Bearsville with Karl Berger - Kirk Knuffke Quartet

11am - 2pm

Doors 11:00    Music from 12 Noon.

Enjoy

• Live Jazz Music from 12 noon.
• A Delicious Jazz Brunch
• Craft Beers, Summer Spritzers, Fresh Lemonade and more!?

We do ask for a small cover charge. Too often, local musicians are paid poorly (or not at all and expected to work for tips). We are leading the fight to pay for musicians a decent amount for their contribution. Respect our Musicians and Keep Music Alive!

Karl Berger played piano in Germany when he was ten and worked in his teens at a club in Heidelberg. He learned modern jazz from visiting American musicians, such as Don Ellis and Leo Wright. During the 1960s, he started playing vibraphone and received a doctoral degree in musicology. He worked as a member of Don Cherry's band in Paris.  When the band went to New York City to record Symphony for Improvisers, he recorded his debut album as a leader.

With Ornette Coleman and Ingrid Sertso, he founded the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York, in 1972, to encourage students to pursue their own ideas about music. Berger considered Coleman his friend and mentor, and like Coleman he was drawn to avant-garde jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation.

He has worked with Carla Bley, Dave Holland, Lee Konitz, John McLaughlin, Sam Rivers, Pharoah Sanders, Gunther Schuller, Clifford Thornton, the Mingus Epitaph Orchestra, and the Globe Unity Orchestra. He collaborated with Bill Laswell as musical arranger and conductor, thus contributing to albums by Jeff Buckley, Better Than Ezra, Buckethead, Natalie Merchant, Sly & Robbie, Angélique Kidjo, Hozan Yamamoto, and Shin Terai.

Originally from Colorado,  Karl Knuffke was self-taught on the trumpet and cornet, later benefiting from the private tutelage of Ornette Coleman, Art Lande and Ron Miles. Knuffke began playing with Butch Morris after moving to New York City in 2005. This friendship resulted in four recordings and several European tours. In 2009, he joined the Matt Wilson Quartet, recording Gathering Call featuring John Medeski. Knuffke’s flair for “balancing sly groove and meditative exploration,” in the words of Time Out New York, has been underscored via collaborations with such sage musicians as Roswell Rudd, Marshall Allen, Tootie Heath, Frank Kimbrough, William Parker, Myra Melford, Steve Swell and Billy Hart. 

Knuffke performs with Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom and in Sifter with Mary Halvorson and Matt Wilson, as well as groups led by Charlie Hunter, Ben Allison, Ray Anderson, Bill Goodwin, Karl Berger, Ted Brown and Michael Bisio. In 2015, Knuffke won the “Rising Star” category in the DownBeat Critics Poll. His album Arms & Hands, released by the label Royal Potato Family in 2015, earned wide acclaim, with The New York Times saying: “Cornetist Kirk Knuffke harbors a dual commitment to formal experimentation and bedrock tradition: There’s no either-or. Still, it’s not often that you encounter the harmony of forces found on Arms & Hands, his excellent new album.” The 2017 album Cherryco (Steeplechase) saw Knuffke interpret tunes associated with Don Cherry alongside bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Adam Nussbaum; it was hailed on both sides of the Atlantic, Jazzwise and NPR. NPR picked it as Jazz Record of the Year.

In 2020, Knuffke released two albums: Tight Like This (Steeplechase), featuring tuba player Bob Stewart and drummer Kenny Wollesen; and Brightness: Live in Amsterdam (Royal Potato Family), with bassist Mark Helias and drummer Bill Goodwin. Knuffke is also a recipient of the Jerome Foundation Composers grant. Dusted has said: “Knuffke isn’t the least bit reticent about following his restless muse wherever it leads him. The result is a ballooning body of work that is at once prolific, invitingly diverse and, perhaps most dependably, far from predictable.”

Tani Tabbal began playing drums professionally as a teen, performing with Oscar Brown Jr., Phil Cohran, and Sun Ra and his Arkestra. Tabbal has recorded, performed and toured with a wide range of musicians, including Roscoe Mitchell, David Murray, Geri Allen, Cassandra Wilson, James Carter, Karl Berger, Dewey Redman, David 'Fathead' Newman, Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, Douglas Ewart, Oliver Lake, Muhal Richard Abrams, Henry Threadgill, Richard Davis, Leroy Jenkins, Milt Jackson and Jackie McLean. Tani Tabbal is known as a dynamic, lyrical and energetic drummer. As a recording artist, he is on over 70 cd’s and has released six cd's as a bandleader: 'Before Time After’, ‘Wizards', 'Mixed Motion', ‘Triptych', 'Opposite Edge', and on the Tao Forms label, 'Now Then’. Tabbal has recorded, performed and toured with a wide range of musicians, including Roscoe Mitchell, David Murray, Geri Allen, Cassandra Wilson, James Carter, Karl Berger, Dewey Redman, David 'Fathead' Newman, Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, Douglas Ewart, Oliver Lake, Muhal Richard Abrams, Henry Threadgill, Richard Davis, Leroy Jenkins, Milt Jackson and Jackie McLean. Tani Tabbal is known as a dynamic, lyrical and energetic drummer. As a recording artist, he is on over 70 cd’s and has released six cd's as a bandleader: 'Before Time After’, ‘Wizards', 'Mixed Motion', ‘Triptych', 'Opposite Edge', and on the Tao Forms label, 'Now Then’. 

Bassist/composer, Jay Anderson, is among the most versatile and respected jazz artists performing today. He has performed/recorded with a wide range of jazz artists including Woody Herman, Carmen McRae, Michael Brecker, Paul Bley, Bob Mintzer, John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman, Joe Sample, Maria Schneider, Stanley Cowell, John Scofield, Lee Konitz, Vic Juris, Red Rodney, Ira Sullivan, Mike Stern, Anat Cohen, Toots Thielemans, Kenny Wheeler, Jay Clayton and non-jazz artists like Oswaldo Golijov, Dawn Upshaw, The Australian Chamber Orchestra, Robert Spano (Atlanta Symphony), Michael Franks, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Terre Roche, Chaka Khan, Michel Legrand, Allen Ginsberg, and Celine Dion. He has been featured on over 400 recordings, seven of which have received the Grammy Award. His original recordings  “NEXT EXIT” (DMP),  “LOCAL COLOR” (DMP), and "DEEPSCAPE" (Steeplechase) have received critical acclaim both in the U.S. and abroad. Jay has conducted clinics around the world and is a Professor of Jazz Bass Studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City and New Jersey City University.

 SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH MENU

Tomato & Pesto Pie    12

Bagel & Lox     18

Parmesan Quiche    14

Scrambled Eggs w/Bacon, Toast & Fresh Greens Vinaigrette   14

Assorted Pastry Plate   12          

(Gluten Free Options available upon request)