Spanning jazz, funk, Latin, Middle Eastern music, and selections from the Great American Songbook, the 2011-2012 Signature Series at Berklee features a stellar lineup of guest artists in performance with students, faculty, and alumni. The series takes place at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston. Concerts start at 8:15 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Purchase tickets at berkleebpc.com, by calling 617 747-2261, or at the Berklee Performance Center Box Office.
The New Gary Burton Quartet—featuring Burton on vibes, guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Antonio Sanchez—performs during the closing night concert of the 2011 Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival. The group released its debut album, Common Ground, on Mack Avenue Records in 2011.
Gary Burton's debut release on Mack Avenue Records, Common Ground, is Burton's first studio album since 2005, and introduces his latest band, the New Gary Burton Quartet, featuring guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Antonio Sanchez. The group performs during the closing night concert of the 2011 Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival.
Burton, the Grammy-winning pioneer of the four-mallet vibraphone technique, has been well-known throughout his five-decade career for his quartets (beginning with his 1967 group featuring Larry Coryell, Roy Haynes, and Steve Swallow). "Whenever I start a new group, I often wonder how things will work, to see if the musicians will enjoy playing together and are ready to take the music to a higher level," says Burton. "With the new band, I'm thrilled. It's proving to be one of the standout bands of my career and has already quickly developed its own identity."
Watch a video to learn more about the New Gary Burton Quartet and its new disc.
Listen to the New Gary Burton Quartet on the Sounds of Berklee podcast.
Ivan Lins has had many successes as a singer and composer, earning several Grammy Awards. The most-recorded Brazilian artist living abroad, the composer began playing piano at age 18 and was very influenced by music he heard in his childhood in the United States: jazz and bossa nova. Can't make it to the show? This event will stream live on Concert Window.
Ivan Lins has had many successes as a singer and composer. The most-recorded Brazilian artist living abroad, he began playing piano at age 18 and was very influenced by music he heard in his childhood in the United States: jazz and bossa nova.
Lins won two Latin Grammy Awards in 2005 for Album of the Year and Best MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) Album for Cantando Histórias. He is the first and only Brazilian artist to win the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year. In 2009, he was nominated for three Latin Grammys for his album Regência: Vince Mendoza with the Metropole Orchestra, winning the award for Best MPB Album.
He recorded several albums for EMI Brasil and Reprise, and wrote many Brazilian standards such as "Love Dance" ("Lembrança"), which has been covered by Barbra Streisand, George Benson, Diane Schuur, and many others; "Começar de Novo"; and "Velas Içadas." His music has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Sting, Betty Carter, Nancy Wilson, James Blood Ulmer, Patti Austin, Lee Ritenour, Terence Blanchard, Sérgio Mendes, and Michael Bublé, to name just a few.
Lins was born in Rio de Janeiro but spent several years in Boston while his father was a graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned a degree in industrial chemical engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and considered a career in volleyball before becoming a musician.
Can't make it to the show? This event will stream live on Concert Window.
$8 in advance (discount applied at checkout), $12 day of show
Hear the great alternative bands of the past few decades in groundbreaking new ways. Berklee student and alumni bands celebrate Under the Influence, the latest disc from student-run Heavy Rotation Records, covering seminal songs by REM, Radiohead, the Pixies, Mission of Burma, and others. Burma's Roger Miller will perform as the concert's special guest.
Hear the great alternative bands of the past few decades in groundbreaking new ways. Berklee student and alumni bands celebrate Under the Influence, the latest disc from student-run Heavy Rotation Records, covering seminal songs by REM, Radiohead, the Pixies, Mission of Burma, and others. Burma's Roger Miller will perform as the concert's special guest.
$8 in advance (discount applied at checkout), $12 day of show, general admission
Since 1980, Berklee professor Maggie Scott has hosted Jazz Vocal Night, an annual student recital where she handles all aspects of the event, from auditioning the performers to accompanying them on piano. Many of Scott's former students who appeared in the show have gone on to distinctive careers. On Thursday, December 8, five of them return to Berklee to pay tribute to their mentor at Celebrating Maggie Scott: 30 Years of Jazz Vocal Night with special guests Antonia Bennett, Lalah Hathaway, Robin McKelle, Esperanza Spalding, and Nadia Washington.
Since 1980, Berklee professor Maggie Scott has hosted Jazz Vocal Night, an annual student recital where she handles all aspects of the event, from auditioning the performers to accompanying them on piano. Many of Scott's former students who appeared in the show have gone on to distinctive careers. On Thursday, December 8, five of them return to Berklee to pay tribute to their mentor at Celebrating Maggie Scott: 30 Years of Jazz Vocal Night with special guests Antonia Bennett, Lalah Hathaway, Robin McKelle, Esperanza Spalding, and Nadia Washington.
Celebrating Maggie Scott: 30 Years of Jazz Vocal Night is part of the 2011-2012 Signature Series at Berklee. It takes place at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA. The concert is $20/$15 (reserved seating) and begins at 8:15 p.m. Tickets are available at berkleebpc.com or at the box office. The venue is wheelchair-accessible. Call 617 747-2261 for more information.
Scott and special guests Bennett, Hathaway, McKelle, Spalding, and Washington will perform jazz standards, and video of the alumnae from past Jazz Vocal nights will be shown during each artist's introduction. The concert band features faculty members Tim Ray on piano, Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, and Jon Lockwood on bass. Concert coproducer Greg Hopkins plans to have additional instrumentalists-including students-join on some tunes with guitar and trombone features, horn section, and a string quartet.
"I am truly honored and overwhelmed that this concert is happening," said Scott. "The recognition for my love of jazz and my work with the students, I feel I am being appreciated and respected for what I do and teach. That is a great feeling!"
Scott is aveteran jazz pianist, vocalist, recording artist and Julliard alumna who has been performing for six decades. She has mentored countless rising talents since coming to Berklee in 1978 to teach voice, stressing repertoire in her classes and encouraging students to develop a sense of style. "Maggie was more than a teacher to me," said McKelle. "She taught me the importance of the lyric, the melody, and the swing feel and how they all work together. She respects the tradition of jazz and where this great American art form came from. I'm honored to be a part of this performance."
"The performers chosen to pay tribute to me are a very special group of talented, wonderful musicians and singers who have worked very hard to become successful," added Scott. "I shared many wonderful moments working with them. I do have a certain amount of satisfaction seeing and hearing the results of the many lessons and rehearsals they all went through, and I'm very proud of them."
Scott is considered a trailblazer for female musicians. She began teaching at Berklee at a time when female instructors and students represented a small minority. Scott was also the first woman elected to the executive board of the Boston Musicians' Association, Local 9-535, American Federation of Musicians, where she served for 25 years. For many years, she has played as a soloist and with her trio at jazz clubs and hotels in Boston and the New England area. She has also accompanied greats such as Cab Calloway and Eartha Kitt, and appeared as a soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra.
The Berklee P-Funk Ensemble has been a popular ensemble since the 1990s. George Clinton made a surprise visit and directed the group for an MTV special a few years back. Now, one of the foremost innovators of funk music returns to Berklee for a four-day residency and a concert covering his artistic trajectory from Parliament in the 1960s to Funkadelic, and his amazing solo career.
Admission: Sold out
The Berklee P-Funk Ensemble has been a popular ensemble since the 1990s. George Clinton made a surprise visit and directed the group for an MTV special a few years back. Now, one of the foremost innovators of funk music returns to Berklee for a four-day residency and a concert covering his artistic trajectory from Parliament in the 1960s to Funkadelic, and his amazing solo career.
Admission: Sold out
Signature Series at Berklee
Great American Songbook: Music of Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer
Individually, Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer composed some of the greatest tunes in the American songbook. Together, they wrote time-tested standards such as "Skylark" and "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening." At Berklee's annual celebration of the American Songbook, student and faculty vocalists backed by a full orchestra interpret the individual and collaborative songs of these American masters. This concert will feature Berklee's own Livingston Taylor, Donna McElroy, Julian Lage, and Matt Glaser.
Individually, Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer composed some of the greatest tunes in the American songbook. Together, they wrote time-tested standards as "Skylark" and "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening." At Berklee's annual celebration of the American Songbook, student and faculty vocalists backed by a full orchestra interpret the individual and collaborative songs of these American masters. This concert will feature Berklee's own Livingston Taylor, Donna McElroy, Julian Lage, and Matt Glaser.
Can't make it to the show? This event will stream live on Concert Window.
The Middle Eastern Music Festival highlights flamenco music, from its Andalusian roots to current trends, and explores the connections between flamenco, Arabic, Mediterranean, and Balkan music. The program also reflects the journey Gypsies took from India all the way to the Mediterranean.
The Middle Eastern Music Festival highlights flamenco music, from its Andalusian roots to current trends, and explores the connections between flamenco, Arabic, Mediterranean, and Balkan music. The program also reflects the journey Gypsies took from India all the way to the Mediterranean.
Performers include Berklee's Flamenco and Balkan Vocal ensembles—both primarily women's choruses—and the Middle Eastern Fusion Ensemble, featuring student and alumni instrumentalists with surprise appearances by internationally acclaimed flamenco artists.
The program will include traditional and contemporary pieces, original arrangements created by the ensemble, and classics by flamenco masters Paco de Lucia and Pepe De Lucia. A special focus will be given to the music of Enrique Morente, who is known for creatively blending flamenco with other styles.
Can't make it to the show? This event will stream live on Concert Window.
Since completing his studies at Berklee, Kirill Gerstein has devoted his career to classical repertoire. In 2010, he was awarded the coveted Gilmore Artist Award, which is presented every four years to recognize extraordinary artistry. Gerstein returns to Berklee with a program that includes Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" in the original 1924 arrangement, with guest clarinetist and Berklee alumna Anat Cohen.
Since completing his studies at Berklee, Kirill Gerstein has devoted his career to classical repertoire. In 2010, he was awarded the coveted Gilmore Artist Award, which is presented every four years to recognize extraordinary artistry. Gerstein returns to Berklee with a program that includes Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" in the original 1924 arrangement, with guest clarinetist and Berklee alumna Anat Cohen.
Can't make it to the show? This event will stream live on Concert Window.
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