(Born Robert Berg   7 April 1951 in Brooklyn, NY.  Died: 5 Dec. 2002 in Amagansett , NY)

Robert Berg, saxophonist killed in auto accident; at 51
By Samuel Bruchey, Newsday.

AMAGANSETT, N.Y. – Acclaimed tenor saxophonist Robert Berg was killed Thursday when a cement truck skidded across a snow-slicked road and rammed into his sport utility vehicle, East Hampton police said. Mr. Berg, whose career encompassed free jazz, soul jazz, jazz rock, and straight-ahead playing, was driving east on Route 27 with his wife when the cement truck approached from the opposite direction, Police Chief Todd Sarris said Thursday.  The driver of the truck, Dennis Walker Jr., swerved slightly toward the eastbound lane to maneuver around a car that was turning, Sarris said.  The slight turn on the slippery pavement was enough to cause the truck to slide across the road and ram Berg’s vehicle. ”This appears to have been caused by the weather,” Sarris said.  Mr. Berg, 51, who lived in East Hampton, Long Island, was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife, Arja Berg, 52, suffered facial lacerations and broken bones…Mr. Berg, who was born in Brooklyn, began his musical career in New York City in the 1960s at the High School of Performing Arts and the Juilliard School. For more than a decade, he toured the country and recorded regularly with several bands, playing for Horace Silver and Cedar Walton among others, and developing a hard bop style that echoed such legends as John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Wayne Shorter.  In 1984, Miles Davis invited Mr. Berg to join his fusion band, and after several worldwide tours, Mr. Berg left with the reputation as one of the more interesting tenor saxophonists in the New York music scene. Mr. Berg’s solo albums include ”In the Shadows,” ”Enter the Spirit,” ”Virtual Reality,” and ”Riddles.”