Bern Nix


Bern Nix was an American jazz guitarist. He recorded and performed with Ornette Coleman from 1975–87, notably with guitarist Charlie Ellerbee in Coleman's Prime Time group on their key recordings, including Dancing in Your Head and In All Languages in 1987. Nix was voted among the top ten jazz guitarists poll by Down Beat magazine.

Career

A native of Toledo, Ohio, Nix taught guitar upon his arrival to New York City. He is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. Nix led the Bern Nix trio from 1985 until his death in 2017 in New York City. In 1993, the band released the album Alarms and Excursions. The album made many critics' top ten lists. Nix released the solo album Low Barometer in September 2006. His composition "Les is More" appears on Art and Money, an album released by 1687, Inc. in 2006. In 2013, the Bern Nix Quartet released Negative Capability.
Nix's song "The Fire Within" was on the soundtrack of the film Tangerine directed by Sean Baker. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015.
His quartet included Francois Grillot, Reggie Sylvester, and Matt Lavelle and performed over 50 concerts, mostly in New York City.
Nix performed with James Chance and the Contortions and appeared on their album Live in New York. He also worked with Jayne Cortez, John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp, Jemeel Moondoc, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Kip Hanrahan, and Lenore Von Stein.

Discography

As a leader

With James Chance and the Contortions
With Ornette Coleman
With Jayne Cortez
With Ronald Shannon Jackson
With Frank Lowe
With Jemeel Moondoc
With Keith Yaun and Mat Maneri