Bern Nix
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Bern Nix | |
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Background information | |
Born | September 21, 1947 Toledo, Ohio, U.S. |
Died | May 31, 2017 New York City, U.S. | (aged 69)
Genres | Avant-garde jazz |
Occupation | Musician |
Years active | 1975–2017 |
Labels | Tompkins Square |
Bern Nix (September 21, 1947 – May 31, 2017)[1] was an American jazz guitarist. He is best known for recording and performing with Ornette Coleman from 1975 to 1987, notably with guitarist Charlie Ellerbee in Coleman's Prime Time group on recordings including Dancing in Your Head and In All Languages. Nix was voted among the top ten jazz guitarists in a poll by Down Beat magazine.[2][when?]
Career
[edit]A native of Toledo, Ohio, Nix was introduced to music in childhood and began playing the guitar at eleven years old. He listened intently to jazz guitarists including Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Raney, Barney Kessel, and Charlie Christian. He taught guitar upon his arrival to New York City.[when?] He attended the Berklee College of Music.[when?]
Nix led a trio with bassist William Parker and drummer David Cappello from 1985 until his death in 2017. In 1993, the trio released the album Alarms and Excursions.[3] Nix released the solo album Low Barometer on Tompkins Square Records in September 2006. His composition "Les is More" appears on Art and Money, an album released by 1687, Inc. in 2006. In 2013, the Bern Nix Quartet, featuring Francois Grillot, Reggie Sylvester, and Matt Lavelle, released Negative Capability.[4]
Nix's song "The Fire Within" was featured on the soundtrack of the 2015 film Tangerine.[citation needed]
Nix performed with James Chance and the Contortions and appeared on their 1981 album Live in New York. He also worked with Jayne Cortez, John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp, Jemeel Moondoc, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Kip Hanrahan, and Lenore Von Stein.[citation needed]
Discography
[edit]As leader
[edit]- Alarms and Excursions (New World/Counter Currents, 1993)
- Low Barometer (Tompkins Square, 2006)
- Negative Capability (56 Kitchen, 2013)
- Tangerine (Milan, 2015)
As sideman
[edit]With Ornette Coleman
- Dancing in Your Head (Horizon, 1977)
- Body Meta (Artists House, 1978)
- Of Human Feelings (Antilles, 1982)
- Opening the Caravan of Dreams (Caravan of Dreams, 1985)
- In All Languages (Caravan of Dreams, 1987)
- Virgin Beauty (Portrait, 1988)
- Prime Time Live (Repertoire, 1990)
With Jayne Cortez
- Unsubmissive Blues (Bola Press, 1980)
- There It Is (Bola Press, 1982)
- Maintain Control (Bola Press, 1986)
- Everywhere Drums (Bola Press, 1990)
- Poetry & Music (Tradition & Moderne, 1994)
- Cheerful & Optimistic (Bola Press, 1994)
- Taking the Blues Back Home (Harmolodic/Verve, 1996)[5]
- Borders of Disorderly Time (Bola Press, 2003)
With Jemeel Moondoc
- Nostalgia in Times Square (Soul Note, 1986)
- Spirit House (Eremite, 2000)
- Live at the Vision Festival (Ayler, 2003)
With others
- James Chance and the Contortions, Live in New York (ROIR, 1981)
- Ronald Shannon Jackson, Eye on You (About Time, 1980)
- Frank Lowe, Lowe-Down & Blue (CIMP, 2002)
- Hotel X, "Uncommon Ground", featuring Bern Nix and Greg Ginn (SST Records 2003)
References
[edit]- ^ Nate Chinen, "Bern Nix, Guitarist Steeped in Ornette Coleman's Harmolodic Language, Dies at 69", WBGO, June 1, 2017.
- ^ "Bern Nix @ All About Jazz". Musicians.allaboutjazz.com. July 14, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Alarms & Excursions - Bern Nix Trio | Album | AllMusic, retrieved July 23, 2024
- ^ "Bern Nix Quartet: Negative Capability". All About Jazz. July 14, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
- ^ "Taking the Blues Back Home". AllMusic. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
External links
[edit]- Media related to Bern Nix at Wikimedia Commons
- 1950 births
- 2017 deaths
- 20th-century American guitarists
- 20th-century American male musicians
- American jazz guitarists
- American male guitarists
- American male jazz musicians
- Avant-garde jazz musicians
- Berklee College of Music alumni
- Guitarists from New York City
- Jazz musicians from New York City
- Guitarists from Ohio
- Jazz musicians from Ohio
- Musicians from Toledo, Ohio
- Prime Time (band) members