Dean Roubicek - Soprano Sax; Big Al - fretless Fender Jazz Bass, Fender Stratocaster, MIDI everything else.

After Berg recorded Blackbird with his trio consisting of equally top-notch, highly regarded musicians, Gregg Field and Chuck Berghofer, he considered shopping the recordings to several labels until Field, a Concord Records producer, brought it to the attention of Concord’s management. And the rest is history.

Now, Berg is being known as a sensitive interpreter of songs from jazz, pop, Latin and American songbook standards, mixing up the music with varying interpretations. Yet, Berg finds nuggets of beauty within each of the songs that previously may have been overlooked, or he finds a new way of presenting the songs. The overriding goal, though, is to have an effect on the audience, treating each song as a narrative, with introduction, thematic continuity, build-up of intensity and resolution. For instance, on “I Hear A Rhapsody,” typically upbeat with Berg’s characteristic joyousness, the first chorus and repeat involve an extension of the fourth measure’s rest for four more measure to allow for the interjection of an unexpected samba beat, before the song picks up the original beat again. Likewise, “Blackbird” elongates the melody as Berg twists and shapes it with reharmonization, unexpected accents and extended rests filled with sparkling decoration. Yet, after the signature interpretation, the tune evolves into a straight-four blues, allowing for lightly swinging improvisation. Rather than choosing one of Stevie Wonder’s universally known songs, Berg instead plays “Blame It On The Sun” as a sensitive ballad and exposing the harmonic values that attracted Berg to the song since he first heard it. “All My Tomorrows” begins with Berg’s and Berghofer’s characterizing bass lines before breaking into a swaying three-four version that’s notable not for its ease, but for the long crescendo within the performance that leads to an effective climax at the conclusion of the improvisation section.

These are musicians who make the difficult sound easy, so accomplished are they are investing any music they play with a coherent, meaningful sense of feeling. Berg wanted to choose two other musicians who were known for their other accomplishments, particularly in big bands and movie studios, and feature their ability to animate a piano trio at the same level as the better-known jazz bassists and drummer. And he succeeded.