The Award Season

A Berklee presence at the Boston Music Awards and Latin Grammys.

September 5, 2003

The cover of Walter Beasley's award-winning album.
 
As students begin another school year, they are greeted with the good news that a Berklee education is as valuable as ever. Last night, several alumni, including Associate Professor of Ensemble Walter Beasley '84, walked away with the goods at the 2003 Boston Music Awards (BMA). And earlier in the week, another alumnus won a Latin Grammy.

In addition, rockers Bleu '97 and Tracy Bonham '89, both of whom were nominated for BMAs, performed last night at the popular annual showcase and ceremony at Boston's Wang Theater. BMA winners included:

  • John Mayer '98: Act of the Year and Song of the Year ("Your Body Is a Wonderland")
  • Walter Beasley '84: Jazz Album of the Year (Go with the Flow)
  • Susan Tedeschi '91: Outstanding Blues Act and Outstanding Blues Album (Wait for Me)
  • Melissa Ferrick '90: Outstanding Female Singer/Songwriter
  • Aimee Mann '80: Outstanding Female Vocalist

Former faculty member and current visiting professor Pat Metheny also won an award, for Outstanding Jazz Act.

Several other Berklee faculty, alumni, and students were nominated for BMAs, as either solo artists or members of a group, including Aerosmith, Executive Vice President Gary Burton '62, Professor of Jazz Composition Greg Hopkins, Associate Professor of Woodwinds George Garzone's The Fringe, Apollo Sunshine, Decifunk, Deb Pasternak, Meghan Toohey, and Patty Larkin.

At the Latin Grammy Awards in Miami on September 3, 2003, recording engineer Benny Faccone '78 won a Latin Grammy in the category of Best Engineered Album for Mana's Revolucion de Amor. Faccone had previously been recognized for his engineering work on three other Grammy Award winning albums. He has worked on recordings by dozens of popular artists, including Ricky Martin, Julio Iglesias, Sting, and Boyz II Men.

Berklee alumni who received nominations for Latin Grammy Awards included Nestor Torres '73 (Best Pop Instrumental Album for Mi Alma Latina) and Justo Almario '71 (Best Latin Jazz Album for Bongo de Van Gogh). Several others played as sideman on Latin Grammy-nominated recordings, including Claudio Roditi '70, Dario Eskenazi '88, and faculty member Oscar Stagnaro (Best Latin Jazz Album for Paquito D'Rivera's Brazilian Dreams); Vinnie Calaiuta '75 and Ozzie Melendez '81 (Best Latin Jazz Album for Gato Barbieri's The Shadow of the Cat); and Abraham Laboriel Sr. (Best Ranchero Album for Pedro Fernandez's De Corazon).

Berklee will hand out honors of its own at the 2003 Convocation tonight, when the college grants honorary doctor of music degrees to pianist Makoto Ozone and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, both of whom completed their Berklee studies in 1983.




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