Jeff Berlin

Jeff Berlin was one of the main fusion bassists who burst onto the scene in the mid-1970s. His father was an opera singer and his mother a piano player. Jeff practised violin for nine years and was considered a brilliant child, making appearances in the lineups of New York orchestras. However, at the age of 14 he changed direction and began playing electric bass. Berlin attended the esteemed Berklee School for a time before returning to New York. For a brief period he was in a trio with Allan Holdsworth and Tony Williams. In the 1970s, he played regularly in clubs with some of the biggest names on one stage. When he moved to Los Angeles, he worked in clubs with Scott Henderson and Frank Gambale, became an educator (helping to found the Bass Institute of Technology), played rock (also with Frank Zappa) and turned down the opportunity to join a Van Halen band. In the 1990s he moved to Florida in 1990 and toured with Yes, John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Kazumi Watanabe and many others. In addition, he began teaching at the Players School.