Jazz composer, arranger, and conductor David Berger is recognized internationally as a leading authority on the music of Duke Ellington and the Swing Era. Conductor and arranger for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra from its inception in 1988 through 1994, Berger has transcribed over 750 full scores of classic recordings, including more than 500 works by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn in addition to hundreds of other jazz recordings. The 15-piece David Berger Jazz Orchestra (DBJO) was formed in 1996 to tour Berger’s and choreographer Donald Byrd’s Harlem Nutcracker show, and the band has stayed together to continue performing Berger’s music. Tonight, the DBJO and special guest saxophonist Harry Allen celebrate the “Four Brothers” in a tribute to four iconic saxophonists who rose to prominence in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and whose careers continued to be intertwined over the next four decades. Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, and Gerry Mulligan were most significantly influenced by Lester Young, but each of them found his own unique voice. Berger has taken 24 of their signature small group recordings and arranged them for the DBJO while maintaining the spirit and character that made this music central to the jazz canon.
