Saxophone, Ewi, Educator, Composer, Author

Russell’s really developed an angle in his music making, and its always easy to tell its him playing, there's a style really developing now ! In a world teaming with saxophone players it is rare to find someone who is developing something genuine and personal. Russell van den Berg should be given every chance to do just this. To ignore this talent is to miss out on an expressive, creative and exciting new voice
Tim Garland (ex Chick Corea).

“I very much enjoyed working with Russell, he is a fine player and I am sure will rise to the top of the Jazz world”. “Your tunes are very interesting and very good”
Kenny Wheeler.

Congratulations to Russell and the group. The compositions are quite beautiful and the performances superb, very contemporary in rhythm and feel . Tenor and soprano solos have great flow, restraint and yet an abundance of ideas plus a passionate lyricism. The whole group seems to share these qualities! The benign spirits of “Jarrett hover over this haunting, gloriously sonorous music......
Ian Carr – for “All we Have” review.

I met Russell a few years ago when we worked together at the Guildhall. He showed himself then to be a very gifted instrumentalist and striking improviser and he demonstrates those skills on this, his recording as leader. His compositions are challenging and there’s some impressive individual playing! I look forward to Russell’s development as his potential is undoubtedly evident here.
John Taylor.

Russell van den Berg has impressed everyone who has heard him over the last few years. You can hear just why so many people are talking about him, as he crafts every solo with his trademark combination of wonderful control and lively, angular melodic ideas.
Jazz UK magazine.

Russell van den Berg is underrated, but one of our most inventive improvisers, with the ability to tell stories which keep you hooked as their plots twist and turn.
Jazz UK magazine – for “Plastic City” review.

Russell weaves in and out in a wonderfully creative and fresh way and the sax and drums in particular bounce off each other constantly. Russell’s tenor playing sounds masterful throughout, always musical and inventive, and although firmly based in the American tradition, plays with hugely strong character and humour.
Mark Lockheart. – for “Plastic City”.

…It’s brilliant. I love your compositions and the performance is very strong throughout.
I think you have a very fresh CD. I congratulate you on taking the initiative in making this CD. It’s a breath of fresh air to see musicians getting out there and producing there own works…
Jean Toussaint (ex Art Blakey). –for “17 west 32nd St.”.

“What will excite and inspire you much more than the latest media hype are the unsung heroes of UK Jazz,
such as Jim Mullen to name just one and any of the huge number of
brilliantly talented and committed
young musicians such as Russell van den Berg”
Jazzwise magazine 2005.

The pleasing bluster of Russell van den Berg is justly lauded as an ear-catching soloist in the tumultuous, multi-note Brecker mode,
The Vortex Jazz Club Review 2007

Centre Line's saxophonist Russell van den Berg takes the spotlight himself on two originals. His creamy horn blends with vibes on the mid tempo pieces.
Jazz Review.com 2007

Classy contemporary jazz with a personal stamp.
The Guardian 2007

On “Cold Winter” and elsewhere, Russell Van Den Berg highlights how owing some greater or lesser debt of allegiance to Wayne Shorter need not necessarily manifest itself in tonal reproduction. Instead, the influence manifests itself (particularly in his tenor sax work) in a certain knotty, sometimes intriguingly unresolved way with a phrase—as though even in the quicksilver business of putting out musical ideas, he is at the same time also engaged in a kind of editing process, rigorously tailoring his ideas the meet the demands of the fleeting musical moment.
Nic Jones, All About Jazz (10th Dec 2006) Taeko Kunishima’s album

Van Den Berg’s rich toned soprano dances elegantly across the jagged 5/4 tempo of “Night of the Hazy Moon” and the pensive “Misty Mountains”.
John Barron, JazzReview.Com (April 2007) Taeko Kunishima album

Van Den Berg a superb asset here, his playing ranging from the most poised soprano breaks to
 vigorously querulous tenor and the occasional throaty ballad
Chris Parker, the Vortex jazz webpage (9th Oct 2006)

Balanced by the wonderfully grooving rhythm section, it’s Outram’s chomping guitar and Berg’s explosive chops that maintain a sense of drama and surprise through every twisting bar, this is a band to watch.
Jazz Wise review of Centre-line 2008