Interview: Corey Bernhard

March 14, 2025

Over the past decade or so, Corey Bernhard — pianist, producer, and composer — has made a name for himself in a range of music worlds, some of which might seem disparate. He’s performed with everyone from Ariana Grande and Pusha T to Ed Sheeran and Talib Kwali; produced and written for Bilal and DJ Jazzy Jeff; toured with Snarky Puppy, and, as of 2023, he’s been a part of The Late Show band, replacing Jon Batiste on keyboards.

When I interviewed Bernhard in 2020, I asked him about his influences (it’s the type of question that can be equally invigorating and nerve-wrecking for musicians given the sheer amount of deep listening that often occurs). He talked about how, growing up and playing piano, he spent a lot of time with Classical composers, like Bach, Chopin, and Bartok; how he spent time transcribing the likes of Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Oscar Peterson, and Charlie Parker; how his dad played Motown, The Beatles, and Bob Marley around the house; and how, as a child of the 1990s, he was really into Wu Tang, Dr. Dre, A Tribe Called Quest, and Biggie. The seemingly disparate worlds of Bernhard’s professional career begin to make sense when pieced together with this history.

On January 24th, Bernhard released A Blessed Leap into Eternity, a spiritual exploration of faith and love; grief and coping with grief; of hope, and much more. Across the album’s 7 songs, Bernhard offers a varied soundscape that is as broad as his influences: Classical, Hip-Hop, Jazz, and more are all in the room. It’s an exciting body of work that I’ve continued returning to, finding something new to appreciate each time: the deep breaths taken as Yesseh Furaha-Ali plays the bass clarinet at the beginning of Requiem for Saint James — a tribute to Bernhard’s friend and musician, James Casey; the Herbie Hancock-like moments in the final movement of Sagittarius; the Acknowledgement-like moments that open the album on Hallelujah.

This weekend, Bernhard will play a set of shows — in Brooklyn on the 15th, and in Philadelphia on the 16th — in support of his latest release. Following the release of his latest album, I got a chance to talk to him about a host of topics: how living in Philadelphia’s shaped his sound, working with Bilal, incorporating field recordings and the sounds of the city into his music, and more. Here’s our conversation:

Stanley: You’re originally from Boston, you’ve lived in New York, and still work there in the house band for The Late Show, but you’ve called Philadelphia home over the past decade.
How has Philadelphia influenced you as an artist? How has Philadelphia shaped your sound?

Corey Bernhard: When I was younger I felt a difference between the musical "scenes" in Philadelphia and New York - my impression was that the energy in Philadelphia was being drawn towards creation whereas New York was more focused on tradition. When I was living in New York, it was rare to go to a jam session and hear the band play anything besides actual existing tunes. In Philly, there were all these sessions where the whole point was not to play existing tunes and create in the moment. The whole musical atmosphere in Philly felt freer and more experimental. As I've gotten older, I realize the lines are actually a lot more blurred, but that spirit of experimentation that permeates Philly has stayed with me.

Plus, there's the rich musical tapestry of Philly's musical history that's woven into the scene. I can't overstate the effect playing in (Philadelphia singer) Bilal's band has had on my music - letting go of the desire to fill a traditional piano/keyboard player's role as an accompanist and thinking more like an orchestrator.

S: There are quite a few environmental sounds throughout the album — the sound of kids playing, people talking in the streets, sirens, etc. — as well as other samples. Can you talk about your process here, where you source them from, and how you decide to incorporate them into the compositions?

CB: Yeah, the more atmospheric or environmental samples are just textures that I added after the songs were recorded because they felt connected to the music, or gave it some more context. I try to keep my ears open at all times for interesting things going on during everyday life that I can grab and maybe use on a record at some point. And in this case all of the "field recordings" (voice memos) were captured in Philadelphia, which helps connect the music to a time and place, at least for me.

The vocal samples are similar, just spending a lot of time over the years chopping up records and grabbing interesting stuff that might fit or capture the theme of a song. On this album, since the music is all instrumental, I wanted the samples to be like sonic picture frames for the songs.

S: You worked with Yesseh Furaha-Ali (Flute, Bass Clarinet, Saxophones), Lenny Mobley (Drums), and Jon Smith (Bass) on this project, and have, in some combination, for your past few projects. Could you talk about what it’s like working with this group of musicians, what you all do for each other in the music-making process?

CB: Aside from being incredibly special musicians who each have a unique sound on their instruments, we've all been playing together around Philly for years in a million settings - so when we got in the studio to record there was no judgement and a lot of trust. For me, that created an atmosphere where being authentic, vulnerable, and open to experimentation came naturally.

S: This album was recorded at Treacle Mine Studios in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, and was engineered by Michael Cumming, who also owns the studio. What was it like working with Michael? What factored into your decision record here versus your own studio?

Working with Michael was incredible - besides being supreme technically, Michael brought a special enthusiasm to the recording process. Treacle Mine is bigger than my studio so we were able to record as a quartet in the same room, at the same time, without being cramped. It was also really nice being able to focus purely on the music and not think about engineering. Going back and forth between tape and Pro Tools on some stuff was also fun! Michael handles that kind of stuff with such ease, you forget it's becoming a lost art!

Michael also mixed the album and I think him being part of the recording process helped capture the spirit of the project in the mix.

Bernhard as the cover artist for *The Plug’n Play*, our monthly playlist highlighting new music

S: I’ve found the entire album really enjoyable from top to bottom (I texted anybody that would listen to me about Vita Nuova, the first single, when it dropped lol). Lately, I’ve been returning to Sagittarius and Requiem for Saint James a lot. Can you talk about how these songs, respectively, came together, both in terms of inspiration and composition?

CB: Thank you! The seed of Sagittarius started after my daughter was born. She's a Sag, so it's for her. For me, it deals with knowing she'll experience the beauty and excitement in the world while also existing in what can be such a sad and ugly place. Each section was basically a simple sketch that I had and we ended up developing them at the studio.

My dear friend James Casey passed in 2023 after battling colon cancer. After playing at a memorial concert for him that November, I returned home to Philly, sat down at the piano, and played Requiem for Saint James. It felt like the song was already written and I was just learning it. I was already feeling desolate about the tragic attacks in Israel on October 7th and the horrors continuing in Gaza, and seeing so many of James' loved ones sent me over the edge.

S: What does a “blessed leap into eternity” mean for you?

CB: In it's broadest sense, it represents life - trying to acknowledge, appreciate, or even create beauty while freefalling through space and time. More specifically, it deals with faith, but I'd rather anyone who listens reach their own interpretation without interference from my own.

Song Premiere: B.R.K.