Jeff Berlin – born in Queens, New York on January 17, 1953 – is a jazz fusion bassist best known for his work with the band Bruford. Berlin’s musical journey began when he was young, studying to play the violin until he was 14. After seeing the Beatles, he changed his focus to the bass guitar. He studied the bass while attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He became a session musician, playing bass on Patrick Moraz’s The Story of I (1976), Patti Austin’s End of a Rainbow (1976), and Ray Barretto’s Eye of the Beholder (1977) among others. In 1977, he was handpicked by British musician and Yes drummer Bill Bruford to join his solo band, Bruford. His first album with Bill Bruford was Feels Good to Me (1977), although the first official album by the band Bruford was 1979’s One of a Kind. There would be one more studio album by the group although Berlin appears on future live archive releases and compilations. Berlin’s first solo album was Champion (1985), followed by albums such as Pump It Up! (1986), Taking Notes (1997), Lumpy Jazz (2004), High Standards (2010), and Low Standards (2013). During his solo career, Berlin continued his session work, playing on albums by Passport, Herbie Mann, Allan Holdsworth (his Bruford bandmate), Kazumi Watanabe, k.d. lang, Richie Kotzen, and others.
