Greg Burk - As A River (2019)

Pianist/composer/educator Greg Burk has lived, studied, educated and performed around the world. Over the last decade, living and working in Detroit, Boston and now Rome, he has established himself not only as a vital sideman, but also as a leader with the rare ability to combine original compositions with memorable melodies and a desire to push the creative envelope as an improviser. He has been called "an exceptional pianist/composer" (All Music Guide), "a pianist and composer with vigorous, freewheeling ideas that always feel grounded within a well-reasoned structure" (Boston Herald), "a pianist with a gift for melody and a generous touch that makes you want to like him" (LA Weekly), and a musician that "plays with an apparent love and passion for his craft" (AllAboutJazz). At 25, Greg moved to Boston and enrolled at New England Conservatory (NEC), where he earned a Master's Degree in Jazz Studies, having studied composition with George Russell and piano with Danilo Perez and Paul Bley. Russell's concept had a profound impact on Greg's musical thinking, as did Bley's open approach to improvisation. He also had the opportunity to play as a student with Curtis Fuller, Sam Rivers, Cecil McBee and the George Russell Big Band. Greg credits the combination of this progressive education with the dues he paid playing bebop in Detroit as the catalyst for creating his own inside/outside approach to music. After earning his Master's, Greg continued to live in Boston, teaching at Berklee College of Music and working as an in-demand sideman with notable musicians like Jerry Bergonzi, Garrison Fewell, Steve Grossman, Benny Golson, Bob Moses, and others. He also joined the Grammy®-nominated Either/Orchestra, appearing on three of the group's recordings.