BOB BERG : Saxophonist Mellows Out

There used to an explosive quality about saxophonist Bob Berg’s playing that inspired love or hate. From the early ‘70s until the late ‘80s, the hornman was renowned for unleashing thundershowers-of-notes solos that had a curl-your-hair intensity. While adored by some, these instrumental essays gave others Angst.

That’s all changed, says Berg, a native of Brooklyn who lives in Montauk on Long Island. “These days, I’ve mellowed. I’m less intense, less bombastic, more lyrical,” he says.

Which doesn’t mean you’ll find his albums in the New Age bin. Berg--who has played with Miles Davis, Horace Silver and Cedar Walton--is still a compelling, inventive saxophonist. But his recent “Back Roads” album showcases a side of Berg that barely, if ever, existed in the ‘70s and the mid-’80s.

Not only is his tenor tone rounder and fuller, his solos are more tuneful, less dense, more like a song than a shout. “I’m trying not to play so fast, to cut out the b.s. and get to the point,” he says. “And the more technique you use, the faster you play, the less you can sing through the horn, which I try to do.”

Berg, who has been deeply influenced by John Coltrane and, to a lesser extent, Sonny Rollins, says he’s now showcasing aspects of his playing that in the past he mostly kept under wraps.

“When I was playing with Horace Silver in the ‘70s, he used to tell me how much he liked my ballad work. I’ve never forgotten that,” says Berg, who also can be heard on such 1991-released albums as vibist Gary Burton’s “Cool Nights” and guitarist Mike Stern’s “Odds and Evens.”

Asked why he’s changed, Berg simply says, “I think I’m more mature.”

The hornman, who is touring the Caribbean and Central America for the U.S. State Department, likes where his music is headed. “ ‘Back Roads’ is the closest I’ve gotten on an album to my vision of where I am musically,” he says. “I’m expressing myself more clearly, and honestly, and not worrying about what other people think. I feel I’m very intuitive and this feels right.”