Finnish-born pianist and composer
Frank Carlberg has developed a musical vision that blends aspects of
Thelonious Monk and
Charles Mingus with contemporary classical and avant-garde influences. He has won numerous awards, performed all over the world with the likes of
Steve Lacy,
George Garzone,
Ron McClure,
the Either/Orchestra, and
Christine Correa, and taught at Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, and Oulunkyla Jazz Conservatory.
Carlberg's debut as a leader came in 1993 with Blind Drive. Ugly Beauty, a duo recording with
Christine Correa, followed in 1994. A quintet session titled Crazy Woman followed in 1996.
Variations on a Summer Day, Carlberg's particularly ambitious 2000 effort, is a song cycle for jazz ensemble and voice based entirely on the text of a poem by Wallace Stevens. ~ David R. Adler