Will Bernard - Freelance Subversives '2020

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Pusher Danish
02. Back Channel
03. Raffle
04. Blue Chenille
05. Grunk
06. Clafunj
07. Freelance Subversive
08. Lifer
09. Garage A
10. Skill Set
11. We The People


Guitarist Will Bernard, a Berkeley, CA native and Brooklyn NY transplant,
studied guitar and piano from an early age with Dave Creamer, Art Lande and
Julian White, later developing an interest in classical music composition. He
received a degree in music from UC Berkeley where he studied with Andrew Imbrie
and others. He began playing and recording on an international level as a member
of Peter Apfelbaums Hieroglyphics Ensemble, who made their recorded debut with
Don Cherry on “Multikulti” (A&M 1989). Since then, Bernard has
participated in a host of boundary stretching groups, ranging from jazz, hip-hop
and world music to experimental music, with many stops in between.

In the 90’s Bernard recorded and performed with many projects under the
direction of acclaimed producer Lee Townsend, and worked with groups ranging
from the Hindustani-influenced Jai Uttal to the political hip-hop group the
Coup. The most commercially successful of these projects was the group T.J. Kirk
(with Charlie Hunter) whose sophomore album “If Four Was One” was
nominated for a Grammy in 1997. Will made further inroads with the Stanton Moore
Trio which toured extensively and made 3 albums on Telarc and a Hal Leonard drum
instructional video and book. Bernard broke out as a bandleader in 1998 with the
release of “Medicine Hat” (Antilles/Polygram), showcasing his expert
chops and flair for funky, bottom-heavy soul-jazz. He then followed up with two
self produced albums (“Motherbug” and “Directions To My
House”), before making two albums on Palmetto Records (“Party
Hats” and “Blue Plate Special”). “Party Hats”
garnered a nomination for a Grammy Award in 2008 for best contemporary jazz
album. The all-star “Blue Plate Special” includes performances by
Stanton Moore, Andy Hess and John Medeski.

In 2011, Bernard released an organ trio record titled “Outdoor
Living” to positive reviews with his own genre-bending style.
Bernard’s last two albums were released on Posi-tone Records -
“Just Like Downtown” (2013) which features John Ellis on tenor sax
and bass clarinet, Brian Charette on organ, and Rudy Royston on drums and
“Out and About” (2016), which features Ben Allison, Allison Miller,
Brian Charette and John Ellis. These recordings demonstrate Bernard’s
roots in straight-ahead jazz and more traditional styles.

As a touring artist, Bernard has hit the road extensively with his own bands or
as a member of the Stanton Moore Trio, Robert Walter’s 20th Congress,
Groundation, and numerous other lineups. As a leader Bernard has performed at
The Monterey, North Sea, SF Jazz, Jazz a Vienne, Bumbershoot, Be-Bop and Brew,
Montreal, Vancouver, Carribean Sea, and The High Sierra festivals, as well as
clubs and festivals across the US, Europe and Canada. They have opened for
Herbie Hancock and the Head Hunters, Jimmy McGriff, The Funky Meters, John
Scofield, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Zigaboo Modeliste and the Charlie Hunter
Quartet.

Will has performed and recorded with Dr Lonnie Smith, Tom Waits, Ben Sidran, Dr
John, Booker T. Jones, Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra,
Butler/ Bernstein and the Hot Nine, George Porter Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste, Global
Noize, Greyboy Allstars, Galactic, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Mike Clark, Idris
Muhammad and others. As well as leading his own groups, Will performs regularly
with the NY collaborative electro-funk band Pleasure Drones, the W-Beez (With
Wil Blades), Peter Apfelbaums Sparkler, San Francisco’s Clubfoot
orchestra, Joe Doria’s Mctuff from Seattle, and tours with John
Medeski’s Mad Skillet with Kirk Joseph and Terence Higgins and Revelator
featuring Bill Laswell.

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