Summa Cum Jazz, Vol. 2 - The Guitar Album (1999)

Summa Cum Jazz, Vol. 2 - The Guitar Album is the second disc of student music offered by Berklee with the support of a major record label. Released in 1999, the BMG Jazz Foundations CD featured several groups led by or featuring top student guitarists. The leaders and other members of these groups are among the top jazz players at the college, and if you listen to the CD, you will have you a good idea of what Berklee sounded like in 1999.

In the CD's liner notes, Executive Producer of the CD and Berklee Executive Vice President Gary Burton provided additional background on the disc:

"The student groups respresented in this recording are not formal ensembles led by faculty, but groups formed by students to rehearse for performance and play each other's tunes. This opportunity to play with students with common music interests is an important part of the Berklee education and our ensemble rooms are full of groups playing and rehearsing long after college hours.

The biggest thrill of this project for me has been sharing the music-making experience of these talented guitarists, many of whom are sure to follow in the footsteps of Berklee alumni like John Abercrombie, Al Di Meola, Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Steve Vai, Mark Whitefield and so many others."

Summa Cum Jazz, Vol. 2 - The Guitar Album was produced by Music Production and Engineering Chair Bill Scheniman, known beyond the college for his work with Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, and Diana Ross; and was engineered by Associate Professor Carl Beatty, whose credits include albums for Bill Evans, Elvin Jones, Aretha Franklin, and the B-52s. Executive Vice President Gary Burton acted as executive producer. You may purchase Summa Cum Jazz, Vol. 2 - The Guitar Album from the BMG Jazz Club. Proceeds will provide four $5,000 scholarships to continuing Berklee students majoring in performance studies with an emphasis on jazz.