Richard Alan Berk, born on May 22, 1939, in San Francisco, California, was an American drummer and bandleader. He studied at the Berklee College of Music and began his career performing in Boston during the 1960s. In 1962, Berk moved to New York City, where he played with notable musicians such as Ted Curson and Bill Barron. He later collaborated with Charles Mingus, Mose Allison, Freddie Hubbard, and Walter Bishop Jr. In the late 1960s, Berk relocated to Los Angeles and worked with artists like Milt Jackson, George Duke, Cal Tjader, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Blue Mitchell. In the 1980s, he founded the Jazz Adoption Agency, a band that continued into the 2000s. Berk released several albums as a leader, including Rare One (1983) and Let's Cool One (1991). He passed away on February 8, 2014, in Portland.
