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	Mike Tucker
	Photo by Phil Farnsworth

Led by former Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition semifinalist Mike Tucker, the group brought a capacity Terrace Theater/Kennedy Center crowd to its feet last May, when they were invited to perform as part of the Conservatory Project, a showcase for the finest student work from the nation's leading music colleges and conservatories. The May performance was webcast and can be seen at kennedy-center.org/millennium.

With graduation still ahead, the members of Tucker's quintet are already highly sought after, with dozens of top-name professional credits, major awards, and concerts. In addition to the Blues Alley show, the group is in town to record a performance at XM Satellite Radio, for XM's Real Jazz channel. The live recording will be broadcast early in 2006.

No less an authority than Grammy-winning tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker has said, "Mike Tucker is a great young saxophonist with a mature approach, warm sound, and stunning technique."Tucker has just completed his first CD as a leader, Collage. His web site is www.tuckerjazz.com.

Mike Tucker '06, Tenor Saxophone

Mike began playing the saxophone at age 11 in his hometown of Danvers, Massachusetts, and by 15 he was already determined to become a jazz musician. By senior year of high school, Mike was playing professionally, and was selected  for the New England Grammy Band.

In 1998, he entered the jazz studies program at William Paterson University in New Jersey, which accepts just two saxophonists each year. There, Mike studied with Rufus Reid, Steve Wilson, and Gary Smulyan. However, a severe bout of tendonitis forced him to leave school.

After two years of study and practice of the "Alexander Technique," Mike was able to resume playing, and, in December 2002, was chosen as one of 15 worldwide semifinalists in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Saxophone Competition, juried by Greg Osby, David Murray, and Bobby Watson. Shortly thereafter, he auditioned at Berklee, which awarded him a full-tuition scholarship. In only his second semester at the college Gary Burton selected Mike for the Art: 21 quintet, a student group that recorded an album of original compositions, with Pat Metheny producing.

During the summer of 2004, Mike represented the college on a tour of Japan with his own quartet. That fall, Tucker was chosen by the college to perform Michael Brecker's "African Skies" in tribute to the saxophone giant when Brecker received his Berklee honorary doctorate of music. In May 2005, Mike led a quartet to play at the Kennedy Center, and later in the JVC Jazz Festival in New York. This group, augmented by trumpeter Igmar Thomas, toured France in October, 2005, winning a standing ovation at the Nancy Jazz Festival. In addition to his coursework, Mike currently tours with his Quartet, High Note recording artist Melvin Sparks, and with The Motet.

Press: to inquire about photo availability and usage, please e-mail us. Tucker Quintet, from left: Igmar Thomas, Lawrence Fields, Mike Tucker, Hogyu Hwang, Lee Fish Photo by Nick Balkin

Igmar Thomas '05, Trumpet

San Diego, California native Igmar Thomas has received full scholarships to attend both the Lionel Hampton School of Music, and Berklee College of Music. As a member of the Lionel Hampton Big Band, Thomas performed with Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove '89, Jon Faddis, Avery Sharp, and Jeremy Pelt '98, among many others. Igmar was honored to be chosen for the band representing Berklee at the jazz festival in Nancy in 2004, and as a member of the Mike Tucker Quintet, in 2005.

Back in Boston, he has led his own group each week at the historic Wally's Cafe in Boston, where generations of Berklee's finest young jazz players -- including Branford Marsalis '80, Mark Turner '90, Kurt Rosenwinkel '90, and Jaleel Shaw '96, to name a few -- have cut their teeth. Thomas is also a member of the jazz hip-hop group, Fundamental, and performed with them at the 2005 NBA All-Star Weekend.

Lawrence Fields '08, Piano

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Lawrence started on the snare drum in high school, but quickly gravitated toward the piano. Unable to get more than a few lessons, he began to study on his own with as many books and recordings as he could find, following an intense passion for the study of music, which is a driving force in his life to this day. He came to Berklee almost entirely self-taught. Now a second-semester student, Lawrence is the first-ever recipient of the college's James Williams Award, named after the late, former Berklee faculty member and beloved star jazz pianist/educator. 

Lawrence has already worked or played with several nationally known figures, including Jeff "Tain" Watts '80, drummer Rodney Green, Gregory Tardy, and the late songwriter and recording artist Oscar Brown Jr. He works frequently in New York and Boston with some of the best young players on the scene.

Lee Fish '06, Drums

From Stoneham, Massachusetts, Lee is one of the most highly sought after drummers at Berklee. He began playing the drums at the age of five, and (much) later attended the Berklee 5-Week Summer Performance Program, and the Vermont Jazz summer program. Lee is a member of Phil Wilson's Rainbow Band, and traveled to the International Assn. of Jazz Education Conference in Long Beach to play with the group earlier this year.

He has studied privately with noted drummer Bob Gullotti '76 (the Fringe, J.J. Johnson, Kenny Werner) for several years. A Performance major at Berklee, Lee is on the new CD by Vadim Neselovskyi '04, pianist in Gary Burton's Generations band, and he is recording and gigs regularly at Wally's Café with trumpeter Jason Palmer (Greg Osby '83), with Berklee Prof. Hal Crook's quartet, and with up-and-coming jazz/hip hop trumpeter, and Berklee classmate, Igmar Thomas.

Hogyu Hwang '06, Bass

Winner of multiple major scholarships at Berklee and in his native Korea, Hogyu came to Berklee in May 2002 from Dankook University, in Seoul, where he was awarded a bachelor's in Contemporary Music. Prior to Dankook, Hogyu studied at Seoul Jazz Academy, Berklee's International Network partner school in Korea. He has since presented a series of guest artist clinics there.

A dual major in Performance and Jazz Composition at Berklee, Hogyu has the distinction of holding the bass chair in both of the college's finest large ensembles: the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra, led by Prof. Greg Hopkins, and the Rainbow Band, led by Prof. Phil Wilson. Since coming to Boston, Hogyu has toured Spain and France, played the International Assn. of Jazz Educators annual conference, and performed in a live radio concert on Boston's NPR affiliate, WGBH-FM, and at XM Satellite Radio. Hogyu currently gigs in the quartet of trombonist, Prof. Hal Crook.

For editorial information or digital photos, the media may contact:

Rob Hayes
Office of Public Information
(617) 747-2566
rhayes@berklee.edu