Some of the most daring artists of their (or any) generation, Tim Berne and his Acoustic Hard Cell bring their eclectic, often frenetic, over-the-edge music to North American venues in March—from Boston (March 6) to Ottawa (March 8), Seattle (March 9), Portland (March 10), Vancouver (March 12) and then to the Midwest, Minneapolis (March 13), Chicago (March 14), and Ann Arbor (March 15). This is a rare opportunity to not only see avant garde alto/bari sax giant Berne but also bandmates extraordinaire, Craig Taborn on keyboards and Tom Rainey on drums.

Tim Berne is one of the most influential improvisers to come out of the famed New York "downtown" scene of the 1980s. Over his 25-year career, Berne has recorded for Columbia records as well as his own Screwgun label, has collaborated with some of the biggest names in “out” music, and has established himself as a leader in the business of music as well as in its performance. Born in Syracuse, New York in 1954, he came late to music, which he didn’t really discover until his student days at Lewis and Clark College in Oregon. There, he impulsively bought a saxophone from a musician who was selling his alto. "There was just something about the sound of the saxophone that got to me," he says. Attracted to the music of Styx and Motown while growing up, Berne soon came across the music of Julius Hemphill, whom he describes as having a “Styx/R&B sensibility.” Back in New York in the mid 1970s, Berne sought out Hemphill who became his teacher and mentor. "From the beginning," Berne says, "even while I was still learning to play the saxophone, Julius always encouraged me to write my own music as well.”

Berne’s first recordings were released on his own Empire label in 1979; he went on to release five more recordings under his own name with Ed Schuller, Olu Dara, Paul Motian, John Carter, Glenn Ferris, and Bill Frisell; over the years he would also collaborate with John Zorn, Glenn Ferris, Herb Robertson, Mark Dresser, and the Copenhagen Art Ensemble.  Following two recordings for the Italian Soul Note label, Berne released Fulton Street Maul and Sanctified Dreams for Columbia while becoming increasingly active on the international touring circuit. Noted David Lynch (All Music Guide), Berne’s work during this period reflected “loosening and tightening rhythms, spiky melodic lines, and attention to textural detail.” Over the next decade, Berne was dropped by conservative Columbia and moved to the JMT label, organized the acclaimed band Blood Count (with clarinetist Chris Speed and drummer Jim Black), and continued a fast-paced touring schedule. He composed commissioned works for the Kronos Quartet and other ensembles, and increasingly composed music for specific musicians. Of the directions Berne went with Blood Count, David Lynch noted, “Extended-form compositions, now stretched to the 30- to 50-minute range, are filled with episodes of gradually escalating tension with sometimes intentionally muted, rather than explosive, resolution.” With the demise of JMT, Berne founded his current label, Screwgun Records, and made further recordings with Blood Count and a new group, Paraphrase, featuring bassist Drew Gress and drummer Tom Rainey. By 2003, Berne had established two new bands, Science Friction and Hard Cell.

In organizing Acoustic Hard Cell, Berne turned to his long-time cohorts Craig Taborn on keyboards and Tom Rainey on drums.  The trio has worked together on various projects, including Berne’s recordings The Shell Game (Thirsty Ear, 2001) and Science Friction (Screwgun, 2002) that included guitarist Mark Ducret.  Acoustic Hard Cell recently released Electric and Acoustic Hard Cell Live on Screwgun.  According to Downtown Music Gallery, “This new Hard Cell CD seems to be less gnarly, more melodic and more magical than any of Tim's other current projects.” Noted Chris Dahlen (All About Jazz), “Taborn and Rainey play each piece staccatissimo as they rattle together like rutting marionettes, switching from hammering patterns to improvised splashes while Berne squalls in the middle as the fulcrum… All three men have played this aggressively before, but they've never cut an entire album at this pace... The listener has the same experience flying through this record that the musicians had making it: How fast can we take this? What's around this corner?”

Drummer Tom Rainey has performed at festivals and clubs throughout North America and Europe with a wide range of artists, including John Abercrombie, Ray Anderson, Jane Ira Bloom, Marc Ducret, George Gruntz, Fred Hersch, Tom Varner, WDR Big Band, Bill Frisell, Tony Malaby, and Kenny Werner (with whom he worked in trio format for 15 years), in addition to his work with Tim Berne. Growing up in LA, Rainey started drum studies in junior high and was playing professionally at 16. He went on to the Berklee College of Music in Boston and moved to New York in 1979, where he has been in high demand ever since. Says Berne, “I think he’s probably one of the most underrated musicians of all time...and that’s why I like him, because he doesn’t attract attention to what he’s doing - he plays the music.”

Photo by Andrea Canter

Over the next two weeks, Tim Berne’s Acoustic Hard Cell will perform at venues from east to west to Midwest. In Minneapolis (March 13), FKG will provide the opening set at the Cedar Cultural Center. FKG is a cooperative improvising ensemble featuring Dean Granros on guitar, Scott Fultz on saxophones, David King on drums, and Adam Linz on bass. Since 1996, FKG has explored the musicians’ common interests in jazz, blues, and 20th century classical music.

For more information about Tim Berne and Acoustic Hard Cell, see www.screwgunrecords.com. Touring schedule for Acoustic Hard Cell:

• March 6—Boston Creative Music Alliance at the Institute of Contemporary Art, 955 Boylston Street; (617) 354-6898.
• March 8—Ottawa International Jazz Festival Winter Series, National Arts Center; Ottawa, ON; www.nac-cna.ca
• March 9—Seattle (Earshot Jazz series) at the Seattle Asian Art Museum; (206) 547–6763
• March 10—Portland, OR at the Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Avenue, (503) 222-2031
• March 12—Vancouver Community College, Vancouver BC, Auditorium at the King Edward Campus; www.coastaljazz.ca
• March 13—Minneapolis at the Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S; www.thecedar.com
• March 14—Chicago Cultural Center, Cassidy Theater, 78 E. Washington Street; (312) 743-0266.
• March 15— Ann Arbor, MI; Kerrytown Concert House "Jazz at the Edge,” 415 N. Fourth Ave; www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com