Summer 1999 Visiting Artists

Tenor saxophonist and alumnus Javon Jackson (currently signed to Blue Note Records), spoke about his career and performed tunes from his latest CD Good People.

The featured performer for the 1999 edition of Berklee Summer Guitar Sessions was jazz and fusion great Mike Stern. He presented an afternoon clinic and a Berklee Performance Center concert in the evening with drummer Ari Hoenig and bassist Ned Mann on August 24.

Vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Richard Bona who has worked with Michael Brecker, Joe Zawinul, and others came in on July 26. He discussed his new Columbia Jazz release titled Scenes from My Life.

The six-day World Percussion Festival brought an impressive roster of guest artists specializing in Afro-Cuban drumming, South Indian percussion, and numerous other international styles. Among the luminaries were Giovanni Hidalgo, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, Karl Perazzo, Raul Rekow, Trichy Sankaran, Bob Bloom, and Orestes Vilató.

Renowned film composer and jazz trumpeter Mark Isham showed clips from the movies Fire in the Sky and Fly Away Home, which he scored. Isham spoke of the challenges he had to overcome to successfully compose for each film and gave general tips about working with film directors.

The String Department's annual String Fling brought in violinists Darol Anger and John Blake as well as guitarist Grey Sargent and pianist Bevan Manson.

Guitarist Larry Coryell gave a clinic for guitar students on August 9, and then joined bandmates Alphonse Mouzon (drums), Richard Bona (bass), Shinzo Ono (trumpet), and son Julian Coryell '92 (guitar) for a Berklee Performance Center concert.

During the five-day Mallet Keyboard Festival in August, featured marimba soloists Valarie Naranjo, Leigh Howard Stevens, and Nanae Mimura gave clinics and shared tips on mallet mastery.

This year's Songwriting Workshop featured clinics with top songwriters Gary Nicholson, Jennifer Kimball, and Marshall Crenshaw, and a discussion with Gary Valletin of Bug Music.