Berklee Trustee Donates One Million Dollars to Endow Berklee's First-Ever Faculty Chair

Berklee President Lee Eliot Berk said, "On behalf of the entire Berklee College of Music community I would like to thank our trustee for his generous gift, which marks an historic milestone for the college: our very first endowed chair. We are particularly pleased and proud that the first chair established here has been given by a member of the college's Board of Trustees, that it recognizes prominent Berklee alumnus Gary Burton, and that the first appointment to the Gary Burton Chair in Jazz Performance is another alumnus and honorary degree recipient, Joe Lovano."

Endowing faculty chairs is a long-established tradition at colleges and universities. These major gifts recognize leading individuals by providing permanent funding for a high-ranking faculty appointment in their honor.

A member of the Berklee faculty since 1971, and Dean of Curriculum since 1986, Gary Burton was appointed Executive Vice President of the college in 1996. After his student years at Berklee, Burton began working with George Shearing and subsequently Stan Getz, with whom he played from 1964-1966. Since then, Burton has recorded more than 50 albums as a leader for RCA, ECM, GRP, and Concord. Burton's 1997 duet recording with Chick Corea, "Native Sense", and 1998's "Like Minds" (with Corea, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, and Roy Haynes) both received Grammy awards, bringing Burton's Grammy total to five. His most recent recording, "Libertango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla," was nominated for a 2001 Grammy as Best Latin Jazz Recording.

Regarding the endowed chair created in his honor, Gary Burton said, "Although I have won my share of awards throughout the years, this particular kind of honor is rare and unique. For me, it means that years after I'm gone, there will be a Gary Burton faculty chair, which will remind people that I was here for a while and made my contributions to the college as well. And Joe is the perfect choice. He's one of the leading jazz musicians of our day, and he was one of my students. The first year I was a teacher here was his first year as a student, so we've known each other all this time. I've been very proud of his many career accomplishments."

Renowned tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano said of the appointment, "I never really thought at this point in my career that this opportunity would be possible. Gary is one of the most virtuosic, amazing musicians in jazz, and his contributions as an educator and improviser have been as generous as can be. Gary was very influential on me in my own teaching. Studying with Gary, John LaPorta, and Herb Pomeroy early on as a Berklee student, gave me a strong foundation to develop as a musician and to learn how to communicate with young musicians."

A Cleveland native, Joe Lovano attended Berklee in the early 70's, where he met future collaborators such as Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Kenny Werner, Billy Drewes and Joey Baron. He began recording on the Blue Note label 10 years ago and has recorded in duo, trio, and quartet settings and with large ensembles, including 1994's "Rush Hour", scored by Gunther Schuller, and 1997's "Celebrating Sinatra", with arrangements by Manny Albam.

Lovano has received six Grammy nominations since 1994. His "52nd Street Themes" won the 2001 Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. Joe was named Jazz Artist of the Year in both 1995 and 1996 by Down Beat magazine, and scored a prestigious trifecta in 1998: Musician of the Year, Improviser of the Year, and Best Tenor Saxophonist in the New York Jazz Awards. He also topped both the Down Beat Readers and Critics polls as Tenor Player of the Year in 2000. He received an honorary doctor of music degree from Berklee in 1998.

Regarding Lovano's duties, Gary Burton said, "It's a real coup for us to get someone like Joe on the faculty on a full-time basis. We want him to have a very visible role in the college, and also a high degree of flexibility to do things that appeal to him and that will make the most meaningful contribution to the college. So the plan is for Joe to have a very flexible schedule. He'll do some kind of major event each year, such as a concert, or a CD recording in the Berklee studios with a student group. And he'll have two ensembles and an improvisation class that will involve some of our better students, so that many of the better players will have a chance to work with him, as opposed to only saxophone students. So this will give Joe wide exposure, which appealed to him, and also brings more meaning to the gift to the college: that it will really have a significant impact on how the school goes into the future."

"I'm excited to be coming back to Berklee in this capacity," said Lovano. "Berklee has been a big part of the Boston jazz scene and has always had an exciting creative energy. Being there prepared me to move to New York and integrate myself into its vast musical landscape. It's like coming full circle, returning to Boston and Berklee, to share my experiences and continue my study. There are always new beginnings out here, and this is one that I am extremely excited about, and I hope to live up to everyone's expectations."

Founded in 1945, Berklee College of Music has been advancing careers in contemporary music for more than 50 years. The world's largest independent college of music, Berklee has a multi-cultural enrollment of more than 3,300 students, 40 percent of whom are international. The college's alumni include some of the most respected figures in contemporary music, including many multi-Grammy award winners.

# # #

For more information, please contact:

Toni Ballard
Office of Public Information
(617) 747-2247
Fax: (617) 247-8788
tballard@berklee.edu