Though still in her twenties, vibraphonist Sasha Berliner is making waves with her modern approach to the vibraphone. In this KNKX studio session performance, Berliner brought in a forward-thinking original composition and fresh ideas to a pair of vintage jazz songs.
Berliner grew up in a musical family that was more interested in rock and roll than jazz. When she was just 13, her own focus on improvisational music began with a switch from rock drumming to the vibraphone.
An obvious difference between Berliner and her vibraphone mentors like Warren Wolf is her use of the MalletKAT. This electronic MIDI controller, or hardware device, is shaped like a vibraphone and creates a variety of percussive sounds and effects.
“It’s really fun,” Berliner said. “I get to control multiple parameters — filters, harmonizers, looping, things like that.”
Berliner confidently experiments with electronic effects and brings the sonic flexibility of a synthesizer to her own instrument. She layers sounds in real time, while also engaging in the creative give and take with her bandmates.
Mathis Picard’s acoustic and electric piano playing matched Berliner’s aesthetic while bassist Brandon Rose and drummer Anthony Fung set up a soulful, groovy rhythmic foundation.
Berliner's arrangements and compositions are innovative. Her original tune “Up on the Hill” is built around a vibraphone mantra.
“I just heard the melody in my head over and over again, which is something that doesn’t always happen. I usually start at the vibes or piano when I’m composing," she said.
She centers her arrangement of Thelonious Monk’s “Green Chimneys” around a “displaced harmonic rhythm, which is to say, the chords, where they come in,” Berliner said.
Berliner lets great musicians bring their own personality to the songs. The simple direction she gives her bandmates is "you do you."
Raised in San Francisco, Berliner started her career in New York City. She recently moved back to the west coast and the growing jazz community in Los Angeles.
“New York can feel claustrophobic at times. That was the kind of thing that I would have thrived on when I was 18!” she said.
Berliner appreciates the slower pace in L.A. and being closer to nature and family.
“L.A. has really facilitated a lot of original artists and points of view. I really resonated with that," she said.
Musicians:
- Sasha Berliner - vibraphone/MalletKAT
- Mathis Picard - piano/keyboards
- Brandon Rose - bass
- Anthony Fung - drums
Songs:
- Black Narcissus (J.Henderson)
- Green Chimneys (T.Monk)
- Up on the Hill (S.Berliner)
