Denny Berthiaume
www.dennyberthiaume.com
At the age of five, Denny began playing piano and recognized a love of music. His father--a musician, teacher and composer-- saw to it that young Dennis studied Bach and Chopin, as well as the great American composers: Bernstein, Gershwin and Kern. An early memory is sitting on Arthur Fiedler's lap, surrounded by other young piano students.
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A move to
San Francisco
in the late ‘40s enabled Denny to begin study at the Conservatory of Music at age six. At seven he knew that life would always be governed by a love of piano and a need to express his more than abundant energy. The teen years brought classical recitals. But after being exposed to Brubeck, Previn, Miles and Monk, jazz took over. When a friend turned him on to Fats Domino and Little Richard, the blues was added to the enthusiasm for creating his own sound. In high school Denny put together several groups, The Digbeats and Taniers, as the family moved to remote areas in California due to his father’s teaching career. These were not happy years for Denny. Yet the isolation from city stimulation pushed his creative juices and he was soon “the only game in town” wherever the family moved, playing every gig offered.
Fast forward to the ‘70’s and the beginnings of a teaching career in both English and Music at
Foothill
College
,
Los Altos
,
California
. Denny began experimenting musically with trumpet player Randy Masters to form the fusion group SOLAR PLEXUS. From 1972-1980 Solar Plexus recorded five LP’s, the final three with Inner City Records. Hi-Fidelity Magazine called Solar Plexus “the most promising jazz group of the year”.
In 1980, along with his full time teaching career, Denny took a long standing gig at Garden City, the premier jazz venue on the
Peninsula
while accompanying many great jazz vocalists, such as Diane Schuur, Rosemary Cloony and many others. Denny also played keyboards in Bay Area musical productions with such shows as “West Side Story,” “ Sunday in the Park With George,” “Will Rogers Follies,” “ Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Evita” and “A Chorus Line.”
In 1985 Denny married vocalist Susan Berthiaume. The duo continued performing throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and in the ‘90s began recording selections from their broad repertoire of standards. Their CD “Love On Track” highlights Denny’s skillful and sensitive style as accompanist and dynamic arranger. Since then he has recorded three solo piano projects. And a new piece entitled Opera Jazz is in the works.
Recently retired from thirty-five years of teaching, and living in his beloved
San Francisco
, Denny devotes time to composing and arranging while continuing live performances. He is currently recording with the group Departure whose first CD, “Twelve Songs,” was released in 2003 through Open Path Productions. Denny has also written a full length Opera “Between The Darkness,” two full length plays, and two one- act plays. Four daughters and six grandchildren enrich every aspect of his life.
When asked about his influences, he names 20th century composers Henze, Finze, Turnage, Preisner and Argento. As with Solar Plexus and all his musical endeavors, Denny’s focus is to find new paths into “standards,” revoicing harmonies and changing rhythmic “feels”, creating a dynamic and energetic yet romantic style that reflects his early influences and rich musical history.
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