Berklee Names Javier Limón Visiting Professor of Mediterranean Music

The master Latin producer will teach at Berklee in 2011–2012.
February 11, 2011

Noted composer and producer Javier Limón, a Grammy Award– and seven-time Latin Grammy Award–winner, has been appointed visiting professor at Berklee during 2011–2012. Limón will concentrate his efforts on teaching Mediterranean music, styles rooted in the cultures of the Mediterranean rim.

A graduate of New York's St. Francis Preparatory School and the Madrid Royal Conservatory, where he studied classical piano, oboe, and guitar, Limón began his career as a composer, working with various flamenco artists. After meeting Bebo Valdés and Jerry González, Limón began working in Latin jazz and with Cuban musicians, in addition to his first love, flamenco. He has recorded all over the world, including in the West Bank, Bogotá, Bristol, Paris, Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, New York, and Morocco.

"In this moment, Javier Limón is one of the most quietly influential figures in Latin music worldwide," said Lawrence Simpson, Berklee provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. "His aesthetic as a composer and producer are at the leading edge of music today, and his enthusiasm for working across musical genres is very much in keeping with the global nature of Berklee. We are thrilled to have him teaching with us this year, particularly as we begin the first programs at our new campus in Valencia, Spain."

Limón's many composition and production credits include major albums with artists including Paco de Lucía, Bebo Valdés, Diego El Cigala, Enrique Morente, Wynton Marsalis, Avishai Cohen, Alicia Keys, and the acclaimed Spanish singer Buika. In 2004, Limón was awarded the Latin Grammy for Producer of the Year for his work on five records: Lágrimas Negras by Diego El Cigala and Bebo Valdés, Cositas Buenas by Paco de Lucía, El Cantante by Andrés Calamaro, El Pequeño Reloj by Enrique Morente, Niño Josele by Niño Josele, and Tributo Flamenco A Don Juan Valderrama by various artists. In 2009, Limón was awarded his first Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album for recording Juntos Para Siempre, a series of father and son piano duets by Bebo and Chucho Valdés.