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Thought I would take a moment to make a post here. I have not done much work on the site for some time. It seems that FB is an easier place to post updates and keep in contact with people. I recommend you connect with me there for the time being if you wish to stay in contact.There has been quite a bit going on since the last post in mid-2009. 2010 kicked off with a bevy of travel both for work and personally. It included locations such at New Delhi, Mumbai, Paris, Dublin, Athens, Istanbul, Quito, San Juan, Perurgia and Los Angeles. That took me up to the end of the summer. From there, I spent the fall in Quito, Seoul, Hong Kong, Lausanne, Montreux and Rome. Many of these places were new for me. Each trip covered a range of activities, including clinics and concerts, meetings with other activities. For a visual update, I recommend you check out a new photo page I am trying to use.
This spring, I have also been exploring new locales such as Lisbon, Madrid and Stockholm, while also returning to do work in places such as Tokyo, Kobe and Athens (at the end of this month). Needless to say, there is quite a bit going on.
A few highlights include the new programs Berklee will conduct in Valencia, Spain and the Berklee in Los Angeles Program being moved to LA-proper. Additionally, I have been busy writing and playing. I plan to premier a new suite for my octet on June 25th at Berklee. The suite is titled "Get It" and is comprised 5 movements. It is an interesting mixture of musics that influence me, including impressionistic jazz, rock, funk and Latin. Additionally, I have been playing with the Scratch Ambassadors a few times this spring and recording horns for a few albums.
Some news about these activities can be found online in the Berklee Today.
Vol. 22, Issue 3 - Spring 2011
Vol. 22, Issue 2 - Fall 2010
Vol. 22, Issue 1 - Summer 2010
Over the coming weeks, check back here for more news. I am currently learning more about the new web development techniques and options and plan to to some remodeling for the site.
December 2009 - The past 6 months have been very productive. I have had the opportunity to perform and record with some excellent musicians. These projects have been intermingled with travels to new locations and meeting some exceptional artists, students and educators. I have also had the chance to reconnect with people I have not seen for quite some time.
The recording projects run the gamut of styles and started in the early summer and wrapped up in early December. These included a jazz orchestra album for trombonist, composer, sound warrior Bob Pilkiington. Spin doctor, composer, guitarist, engineer, producer, educator and guru Stephen Webber invited me to be the trombone section on his studio recording of his Stylus Symphony. Be sure to check out the You Tube link for the symphony. These projects will be released sometime in 2010.Additionally, I had the opportunity to play on a few tracks on a new release from Kim Trusty titled "I Will Be Waiting". This disc is already available. "Kim has spent the last three decades refining her remarkable musical skills and crafting her own brand of jazz, R&B and gospel with bluesy, smoky soul. Over the last twenty years, her reputation has moved well beyond the Ocean State as a consummate technician, lyricist and songstress." (kimtrusty.wordpress.com). This new recording is a culmination Kim's musical and life experiences.
The sessions closed out this December with with recordings of some new compositions by composer, saxophonist Florencia Gonzalez. She writes for various sized groups and configurations. The music is eclectic, fusing together a wide range of influences. Florencia is well on her way to developing a unique original sound that can be presenting in various ways and settings.
The summer months provided some opportunities to perform with the Big Band Evolutionary Big Band (BBEBB). The group performed three shows, one each in June, July and September. The final concert was in the Berklee Performance Center and featured a fine group of faculty, staff, students and alumni performing new works by Winnie Dahlgren, Jeff Perry, John Sauer and Manuel Kaufmann. Carmen Spada also showcased his group at the Kendall Square Summer Concert Series. His sextet performed some modern arrangements for voice and horns and featured some fine musicians including Will Caviness, Pablo Eluchans and Paul Jones.My work this past summer and fall for the college has taken me from St. Petersburg (Russia) to Los Angeles to Kobe, Nagoya and Tokyo to Quito to Belgrade to Sao Paulo to Freiburg (Germany) and Athens. At each of these locations, I had the opportunity to work with some amazing musicians and talented students. We participated in a number of special events ranging from the St. Petersburg Summertime Music Fest to the 10th Anniversary of the Instituto de Música Contemporánea at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito to our first visit to Belgrade, Serbia for Berklee in Belgrade to the 25th Anniversary Gala at the Jazz and Rock Schulen Freiburg to an excellent hang in Athens, Greece at the Nakas Conservatory with a fantastic group of Berklee students completing their semester abroad and an accomplished group of Berklee/Nakas Conservatory alumni living and working in the city.
We also added a few other new locations to our world tour this fall. We sent teams to Ramallah and Amman as well as holding a major event in Istanbul. The event in Istanbul was quite special and a highlight of the year for me even though I was unable to make the trip. I would like to thank an excellent musician, educator and organizer Bora Uslusoy and everyone at the Modern Muzik Akademisi for hosting our first official visit to Istanbul. Special thanks and huge hugs to Muge Cerman. She is an exceptionally professional event organizer, and passionate and positive force that helped to make the clinics/audition visit a success. And her son, percussionist, composer, producer Emir Cerman, should receive a host of medals for the valiant efforts throughout the process of developing these events. The visit was topped off by a prime time broadcast of an orchestral concert featuring Berklee students composers/performers Emir Cerman, Burak Besir, Bulut Gulen, Ekin Cengizkan and vocalist Michele Walter. Also, Tibor Pusztai conducted the 90-piece Istanbul Symphony Orchestra in Lutfi Kirdar Concert Hall featuring renown vocalist Sezen Aksu.Another special turn of events was the Berklee Turntable Quartet's tour of Finland. This tour was the result of some workshops and a concert conducted by Stephen Webber, Brian Ellis, Keith Dickethof and Ryan Nava in the fall of 2008. The "Stratch Ambassadors Tour" visited 4 cities, journeying all the way up to the artic circle! It featured Stephen and Brian, as well as a few amazing new talents -- Will Wells (tuba -- yes TUBA, synth, samples and vocals) and Kamal Mansour (Alto Saxophone and vocals). The group was augmented by student musicians from our partner institutions in Helsinki; the Pop & Jazz Conservatory and the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Huge thanks to Heidi Day (US Embassy Helsinki), Gregg Stein and his colleagues (Numark and Alesis), Marta Schmidt and her team (Pop & Jazz Conservatory) and Jere Laukkenen (Metropolia University) for supporting this endeavor.
More details about these events can be found on-line through the links below. Feel free to explore them. For the spring, we will be heading to Freiburg in January, New Delhi and Mumbai, Kobe and Tokyo in February, Kuala Lumpur in March and Dublin in April. More news on these events to come.
Vol. 20, Issue 4 - Spring 2009
Vol. 21, Issue 1 - Summer 2009
Press Belgrade
Press Belgrade
Press Scratch Ambassadors
Istanbul Photos
Press Istanbul
June 2009 - It has been quite some time since I have had the chance to update my news page. In a little over 24-hours, I will be on another plane. This time for my first visit to Russia -- St. Petersburg. I figured this is a good to post some news. Since last fall things have been quite busy. Here is a quick run down.
Global GroovesLast summer, I began writing a column for the Berklee alumni magazine, Berklee Today. The section is called Global Grooves. It provides my office a space to share information about institutions, people and events who are part of the the college's global network. The main focus is on the members of the Berklee International Network (BIN). The column also documents some information about the college's alumni and other industry and educational partners.
Following are some links for the most recent articles.
Vol. 20, Issue 2 - Fall 2008
Vol. 20, Issue 3 - Winter 2008
Vol. 20, Issue 4 - Spring 2009
Vol. 21, Issue 1 - Summer 2009
All Abroad
Athens - Recent travels have taken me back to Athens, Greece in December. The visit was interrupted by the civil unrest (demonstrations) associated with shooting of a young man by the Athens Police. In addition to having my first taste of tear gas, I got the chance to watch the protesters light the city's Christmas tree on fire in Syntagma Square whilst singing O'Tannenbaum. I have to say that the situation, though very serious, was never too dangerous. I have come to understand a dynamic of the Greek culture. People in Greece will not hold back when they have something on their minds. They are willing to stand up for what they think is right. It makes me wonder why this concept is lost on citizens of the US.
During the most of January, I was in Boston working on some important items at Berklee, shedding quite a bit and writing new music for the Big Bang Evolutionaty Big Band. My colleagues (Winnie Dahlgren, Manuel Kaufmann, Jeff Perry, Carmen Spada, John Sauer) and I were working on the plan for summer concerts and hopefully a recording. More on this later.
Paris - In late January, I made my vist visit to Paris. There is not much more I can say, except...I need to go back to Paris, soon.
During the trip, I had the chance to hang with my good friend, tennis partner and fellow globe trotter Gojko Damjanic. On one of our afternoons off, we took a walk up to Montmarte. There, we met his close friend from Yugoslavia. Djorde is an excellent painter. If you have a moment, take a gander at his work. I look forward to another afternoon of listening to music, people watching and drinking coffee.
Kuala Lumpur - In March, we made our annual visit to the International College of Music (ICOM) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Christine Fawson (Hill) and Bob Pilkington joined us for the visit. We had an excellent time hanging with you hosts and the talented students at ICOM. Gojko Damjanic and I managed to squeeze in a couple of tennis session (one in Narita and another on KL). Also, we were introduced to hi-powered badmiton by the Vice President of Operations at ICOM, Dato' Ravimaran Savari and his son. They gave us a thorough beating. We also had an impromptu Berklee alumni dinner hang (See photo).Athens and Istanbul - In late April, I made another visit to Athens. This time is was to check in with the spring semester study abroad students. They are a great group of people and talented musicians. As they neared the end of their semester abroad, many of them expressed a strong desire to stay in Athens. For more details about the program and students, feel frere to read some of their on-line articles at http://www.berklee.net/ip/ipnews.html.
Fron Athens, I traveled to Istanbul to make an exploratory visit. Berklee has been considering holding an event in Istanbul as part of our international outreach efforts. With the help of two very special and exceptional people, Emir Cerman his mother Muge Cerman, I was able to connect with musicians and institutions in the city during my brief visit. Istanbul is an amazing and culturally rich city. Based on this visit, Berklee will be holding its first official visit their during the week of November 23rd. That's right, we are going to Turkey for Thanksgiving.
Puerto Rico - The beginning of June brought me to Carolina, Puerto Rico and the 2009 Berklee in Puerto Rico program. This program is run in conjunction with the Heineken Jazz Festival. My last trip to San Juan was in 1995 when I was working on cruise ships out of Miami. Since then, the island have dramatically transformed. The festival, of course, is world-class. The artists are spectacular. The percussion...incessant. The trip gave the chance to reconnect with some important people, namely Ruben Medina and Nanette Velez. Both of whom are active professional musicians and teachers.
Big Bang Packs Brass and Sax Weekend Show - The Big Bang Evoluationary Big Band (BBEBB) has been fortunate enough to develop a good connection with the Brass and Saxophone Weekend summer program at Berklee. For the past few years, the leaders of the program (Bill Pierce and Tom Plsek) have been gracious enough to give us the chance to put a show together for the students in the program.This past June, we performed a show of all original compositions to the pack house at the David Friend Recital Hall. This was no small feat considering that right down the street Gary Burton and company were working court in the Berklee Performance Center. And, The Red Room at Cafe 939 was jammin out with some national acts touring through Boston. Winnie Dahlgren, Manuel Kaufmann, Jeff Perry and John Sauer all contributed excellent pieces of music for the band. And, there is more to come. The band will perform again on July 15th at 7:30 PM in the David Friend hall and also the Berklee Performance Center on September 29th.
Be sure to connect with the group on myspace and facebook.
November 2008 - It starts to get pretty cold in Helsinki this time of year. But, when you have 4 DJ's spinning vinyl simultaneously and the records start to heat up, you just tend to forgot about the weather outside. The groove will keep you nice and warm.
The Pop&Jazz Conservatory in Helsinki played host to Stephen Webber's Turntable Quartet for a week of clinics and concert in early November. Stephen was joined by emcee (i.e. M.C.) and vocalist Brian "Raydar" Ellis, cellist Keith "Sir Cut" Dickerhofe and drummer and vocalist Ryan "6th Degree" Nava. In addition to being exceptional talents on their traditional instruments these gents demonstrated their sophisticated skills as turntablists -- laying down textured grooves, sampling the hippest tracks from orchestral music to metal, and proving that the turntable is an amazing instrument with which to improvise both rhythmically and melodically.I was completely floored by these guys. Thanks for the hang and letting me sit in with the group!
The especially cool part about this trip is that the US Embassy in Finland has asked this group to return to make an educational tour of the country in 2009.
Equally exceptional is the new group Affinity led by trumpeter Jeremy Sinclair. The quartet also features composer/pianist Michael Palma, bassist Dan Carpel and composer/drummer Dan Platzman. This group was hosted by Hans Kullock and Music Academy International (MAI) in mid-October. During their visit to Nancy, the group perform for 5 straight nights refining their already stellar sets of new music (some of which was composer moments before their performances).
On the creative front, I am currently working through a new piece of music. It is another suite or set of pieces that are more focused on rock and funk grooves . The working title of the suite is "Get It".
August 2008 - The roof tops of the houses from the perspective of the Shinkansen line between Nagoya and Tokyo are a blur, as have been the days of this summer. Yet, so much has been seen, heard, learned and accomplished. There will be great potential and opportunities ahead. As the next few months unfold, my hope is that the seeds that have been planted will bare fruit.
Some of the things to look forward to include more music from Carmen Spada's East Meets West. We had the chance to do a few shows in Boston. Carmen is developing a unique modern sound with the traditional sextet, plus vocals. It is definitely refreshing.
Also, the Big Bang Evolutionary Big Band (BBEBB) put together a few impressive shows. The band featured a batch of excellent new music and some new performers. The group will be performing again during the Beantown Jazz Festival in late September at Cafe 939. It will be the first jazz orchestra to take the stage at the club.There will also be many new things coming from the Berklee side of life. I will be writing a column in the Berklee Today (Alumni magazine) providing updates on the globalness, the globalality, the globaliciousness...of Berklee. Also, there will be many things going on abroad; including developments in Panama, Dublin, Helsinki, Nancy, St. Petersburg, Nairobi and hopefully in Mozambique, China and many other locales. Additionally, we are planning the official launch of Berklee Internet Radio 5 "The BIN on the BIRN". The station is currently live...be sure to check it out. If you are a Berklee alum from one of the Berklee International Network partner schools, you can have your music broadcast on BIRN 5. Email me for more details.
Special thanks to all the people I had the chance to meet and work with this summer. Thanks to all of the musicians who helped to make the BBEBB concerts a great success. Also, thanks to Rob Rose, Bob Doezema, Tom Plsek and Bill Pierce for give us the stage for these shows...and Ken Pullig and Bob Pilkington for their show of support. Extra special thanks to Bernhard Hoffman and Reinhard Stephan and everyone at the Jazz and Rock Schulen Freiburg for hosting an excellent Summit in Freiburg in July. To all the partners for making the trip to Germany and engaging in some promising discussions about the future of contemporary music education. To everyone at North Sea Jazz and St. Petersburg Jazz for hosting us in Rotterdam for the festival. It was the finest music event I have ever attended. To Dan Pugach, Jeremy Sinclair, Michael Palma and Shin Sakaino for their stellar performances on the tour in Japan. I am looking forward to our hang in Nancy in October! To Danielle Scott, Sean Skeete, Daryl Lowery, Jim Kelly and Paul Del Nero for their excellent work at the Berklee Week Clinics in Kobe and Nagoya...and to our friends at Koyo Conservatory for hosting another amazing event. And a super special thanks to Steve Shires and his team for helping me into a new horn. I am completing digging my new S.E. Shires horn and highly recommend trombonist to check out these instruments. With all that said, I wouldn't mind taking another excusion to Kinderdijk for an order of pancakes, coffee and some good conversation. Then, we could take another relaxing stroll through the marshes to watch the windswept clouds pass over windmills.
It hit me at about 1:00 PM (Vietnam time) on Friday as I was tailing Derek Siver (Founder of CDbaby) and Jim Stuckman (Tour Manager for the Lt. Dan Band and KImotion) on a motor bike as we road out into the countryside outside of Hue. My cellphone began ringing. Here I was in a moderately pastoral area of the country (okay jungle) on the otherside of the planet, and I was getting a cellphone call from someone back in Boston. Ahhhh, technology!
Kimo Williams, with the help of his crack team, had engineered an amazing feat. He combined a stellar group of musicians from the US with a group of artists in Vietnam -- including a few traditional instrumentalist, a string quartet and a burnin' solo alto player. The group performed a concert in Ho Chi Minh City and another at the Hue Festival. Also, Jim Odgren and Beth Gottlieb led master classes at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music and the Hue School of Music.
The majority of the band members and crew were from Chicago. And I can say, without any doubt, that this was the finest group of musicians with whom I have ever had the chance to perform. Kimo's music rocks, it grooves, it swings...and occassionally it is in standard time. The rest of the time, we are surfing through 10 and a half 8, 3 and half 4 and other weirdness. Yet, this group did not miss a beat! The section playing of this band was matched by the excellent level of solo playing done by each musician - all of whom had the chance to blow. The personnel included:
Jim Odgren, Alto and Soprano SaxophoneTran Manh Taun, Alto Saxophone
Mitch Paliga, Tenor Saxophone
Carrol Williams, Tenor Saxphone and Flute
Ted Hogarth, Baritone Saxophone
Kirk Garrison, Lead Trumpet
Matt Lewis, Trumpet
Doug Schuler, Trumpet
Marques Carroll, Trumpet
John Mose, Lead Trombone
James Bryant, Trombone
Jason Camelio, Trombone
Tom Matta, Bass Trombone
Ben Lewis, Piano, Keyboards amd Electronics
Beth Gottlieb, Percussion
Tom Hipskind, Drum Set
Kimo Williams, Leader, Composer, Vocalist, Bass
Alto Soloist: Tran Tanh
Tour Managers: Jim Struckman and Kate McCombs
Film and Photo Crew: Nicole, Cass, Celine and Derek
Engineers (extraordinaires): Scott and Tristan
Special Thanks to Hiep Do and the USVAP for sponsoring this tour!
For more news, please visit http://www.berklee.net/ip/news/2008-06-13.html
Spring and Summer Shaping Up
April 2008 - Having shaken off the cold weather and short days, I am ready for the sun. Speaking or those warm rays...we had nothing but that yesterday (4/10) as we stood our on the warning track at Fenway Park to play the Japanese and Unites States national anthems for Japan Day.
Of course it gets even warmer when you are in South East Asia. I recently returned from a trip to Kuala Lumpur, where I had the chance to hang with some talent young musicians. Cheers to Alex (trumpeter from Australia) allowing me to play a few tunes with him while we were hanging at ICOM. I hope to see you back in Boston soon.
There are a few items on the burner right now. I have gone back to school...that's right, I have enrolled at Berkleemusic.com. My goal is to pick up some chops producing and recording music using Pro Tools.
These skills will help me with my newest project...launching an internet radio channel. With the help of the Berklee Internet Radio Network (BIRN) staff, my colleagues and I are launching Berklee's first International internet radio station -- BIRN 5 "The BIN on the birn." We go in to test mode on Monday (4/14) and go live on 4/29/2008.
The Big Bang Evolutionary Big Band is also ramping up for the summer. With the help of Winnie Dahlgren, Manuel Kaufman, Anna Hoffman and Carmen Spada, the BBEBB will play a few shows in Boston. We will feature new music performed by a group of exceptional musicians. The first show is scheduled for June 21st at 7:00 PM in the David Friend Recital Hall - Rocket Surgery. Also, if all works out, I will have the chance to do some performances with a small group led by Carmen (Kendall Square Jazz Series).
The really big news is that I have been invited by Kimo Williams to perform with Kimotion on the group's upcoming visit to Vietnam. This is an exceptional and special opportunity. For more details about the tour and how you can support the group, please visit http://www.kimotion.org/. We will be performing at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory and the Hue Music Festival.
Many thanks to Jim Odgren for opening this excellent door for me.
My summer travel schedule is still being formed. As of now, I plan to be in Freiburg, Germany for a Berklee event. There will be an alumni event on Friday, July 4th at the Jazz Rock Schulen Freiburg. More news to come on that. Also, I will be at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam the following week. My visit there will be in support of the group Mass Ave Project led by Iakov Kremensky . They will be performing on Sunday, July 13th at 8 PM. In mid-August, I have the chance to return to Kobe and Nagoya, Japan to visit my friends at the Koyo Conservatory.
Finally, everyone in the Boston and Providence area should come down to AS220 on Tuesday, May 6th for the last show of Hal Crook's group UM. The genius "artistic staff" and booking "agent" at AS220 have decided that 14 + years was enough for this group. They are being let go. Get the word out...car pool, bumb a ride...whatever you have to do. This was one of the only (very, very few) places on the planet that we could hear the music actually evolve in real-time. Don't miss this last opportunity. We will be recording this final live performance.
Festival Follow Up, Up Coming Shows and a Live Recording (February 2008)
An excellent time was had by all during the 2008 Panama Jazz Festival. In addition to getting the chance to work with some talented musicians during the clinics, I had the chance to hear some great performances by the Thelonius Monk Institute and New England Conservatory groups. It was especially nice to see how this significant collaboration between Berklee, NEC and the Danilo Perez Foundation is baring fruit.
This return to trip to Panama also gave me the chance to reconnect with some of the wonderful people I had the chance to meet the previous year. My friend Andres Cervilla made the trip down from Costa Rica with some of his fellow musicians. He had some special gifts for me as well. Andres has been working for a number of years on how to make and play conch shells. He gave me a few shells and "Shells 101" lessons to get going.
Joining
Andres was his teacher from the conservatory, Professor Leonel "Leo" Rodriguez from Trombones de Costa Rica. We had a great gime working together for a few days during the clinics. Leo is a beautiful musician and equally beautiful person. I hope to have the chance to visit them both in Costa Rico soon.
In the next few weeks, I will be playing some shows in Boston. The annual Write of Spring Concert is scheduled for February 27th at 8:15 PM in the Berklee Performance Center. The show will feature some new charts by Scott Free, Daryl Katz, Jackson Schultz, Dick Lowell, Winnie Dahlgren and more.
Hal Crook's group UM is now playing the first Tuesday night of every month at AS200 in Providence. Starting in March, we plan to begin a series of recordings of these live performances. The hope is to make them available online and get more people out to hear this ridiculously exceptional
group.
The Panama Suite -- Danilo Perez Big Band CD Now Available;
Berklee College of Music Production Released Through ArtistShare
Boston and Panama City, January 15, 2008 – The Panama Suite, a sprawling, earthy work for big band by Grammy-winning pianist and composer Danilo Perez, has just been released on the ArtistShare (artistshare.com) label. Composed in celebration of his native Panama, the new recording will also be available for sale at the Panama Jazz Festival, which Perez founded in 2003. All proceeds of the festival, which takes place January 21 to 26 in Panama City, and the recording, go to the Danilo Perez Foundation to provide a wide range of education programs in Panama.
Combining urban sounds and Panamanian folkloric elements in a big band setting, the 15-minute work is divided into three movements: Awakening/ El Despertar; The Quest/La Busqueda; and The Celebration/Quiero Amanecer. Ambitious, rousing, and fun, it summons images of the country’s spectacular geography, and pulls the listener into the center of an all-night, street party.
The piece received its radio premiere on New Year’s Eve, as part of a wild, live performance on NPR’s Toast of the Nation international radio broadcast. The broadcast can be heard on the new NPR Music site (npr.org/music). It will also be broadcast throughout Latin America later this month on the Voice of America.
Danilo Perez, Panamanian-born jazz pianist/composer is both a Grammy winner and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. A 1988 Berklee graduate in jazz composition, Perez has led his own bands to worldwide critical and popular acclaim while collaborating with some of the greatest musicians of our time, including Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Roy Haynes, Tito Puente, and Steve Lacy, to name a few.
With Berklee’s support, Perez selected a big band composed of Berklee and New England Conservatory students and faculty to record this new piece, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Panama Jazz Festival. Perez is a professor at both Berklee and NEC.
All proceeds from the The Panama Suite CD go to support the Danilo Perez Foundation, which funds Perez's music education projects for youth in Panama, programs that have already made it possible for top Panamanian youngsters to attend Berklee. The Suite is available from ArtistShare as either a CD, or an MP3 download.
The Panama Suite was composed and directed by Danilo Perez, and recorded and mixed at Berklee College of Music by Rob Jaczko, chair of the college’s Music Production and Engineering department. Billy Herron is the producer, and Berklee College of Music is the executive producer.
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Journalists, for more information, review copies, and photos, please contact:
Rob Hayes
Asst. VP Public Information
Berklee College of Music
617-747-2566
rhayes@berklee.edu
This fall has been quite busy with a few gigs, some long trips and some great news. In September and October I took a few more trips East and West for Berklee to our partner schools Athens (Nakas Conservatory of Music), Tokyo (PAN School of Music) and then to Seoul (Seoul Jazz Academy). In all cases, I had some great traveling companions, the chance to see old friends, meets new ones and hear some excellent musicians. Through these trips, I am developing a strong sense that the general state of music out there is pretty positive. There are many talented young musicians determined to bring their original music to a wider audience.Among those talents are two exceptional musicians; vocalist, pianist, writer/producer Phillip Ferrell and guitarist Johan "Joe" Frank. These gents joined us on the trip to Seoul. In addition to being dynamic individuals, they really stepped up and provided our hosts with a taste of their skills and musicianship. Take a moment to visit their sites and check out what they are doing.
In between trips, I also have the chance to play on a few great concerts, including the Jazz Composition Department's Fall Together Concert with featured the standard fare of excellent writers and performers. Also, Berklee pulled together an all-star orchestra to perform the music from the new movie August Rush. The concert was to be staged at City Center in Manhattan. The event was then moved to Boston for a special show featuring some of the artists from the original sound track. This would not have been possible but for the stellar leadership of Rob Rose and his team.
Danilo Pérez Foundation Announces The Fifth Annual Panama Jazz Festival January 21- 26, 2008. Pérez declares a new focus for the festival expanding the scope of educational opportunities, auditions, clinics, scholarships and special performances: The Thelonious Monk Institute joins New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, Puerto Rico Conservatory and the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) as teaching partners. For more details, check out the press release.Finally, the Danilo Perez Big Band will be premiering his original composition "The Panama Suite" on NPR's Toast of the Nation. This will be a live performance on New Years Eve. The live show would be part of TOAST OF THE NATION a special coast-to-coast live broadcast that National Public Radio (NPR) broadcasts every year on New Year's Eve. The show includes live presentations from different venues across different time zones, like the Lincoln Center in New York, and JFK Center in Washington DC to name a few.
This performance is leading up to the Berklee release of "The Panama Suite" recording during the 2008 festival in Panama. 2007 has been a good year thus far. Here is hoping that 2008 continues the trend.
I once again was given the chance to visit my friends and colleagues at the Koyo Conservatory in Kobe and Nagoya, Japan as part of the Berklee Week Clinics at both branches of their school. I was joined by a group of stellar musicians, including saxophonist Daryl Lowery, trombonist and bassist John Pierce, guitarist Mark White, drummer Steve Wilkes, and vocalist Darcel Wilson. We had an excellent time working with many talented musicians studying at Koyo as well as those from the areas new Kobe and Nagoya.I also got the chance to work with some talented, young trombonists as well, including Shintaro Takahashi and Satomi Tanaka. Both traveled to the clinics from Tokyo. I hope to connect with them in late September when I return to Tokyo.
Durin this visit, I was also introduced to the Producer of Brass Tribe Magazine, Koichiro Enomoto. We have the chance to talk shop about trombones and music, which are the focus of the magazine.
One of the most exciting parts of the trip was getting the hear the student musicians we took with us from Berklee. They compose what is now my favorite band -- Abacus Dastardly. This group is led by drummer Dan Platzman, pianist Andrew Toombs, saxophonist Frank Silva and bassist Karl Rasheed-Abel. The student group performed at such a stellar level, they left audiences stunned.
I want to send a special thanks to the gracious hosts at Koyo (Mr. Sugauchi, Akihito Fuse and Yutaka Shiozaki. And a HUGE - I OWE YOU to my good friend Tako Murase. You ROCK! See you soon.
BIG thanks to everyone who came out to
the maiden voyage of the Big Bang Evolutionary Big Band (BBEBB). The band performed a killer set of new music written by John Sauer, Gordon
Au, Anna Hoffman, Manuel Kaufman, Winnie Dahlgren and Fraser Campbell. We also got a chance to
test drive Mvt. 2 of my Suite Piece.Extra BIG Thanks goes out to the performers who were put to task playing some difficult and nuanced music. We had an excellent postive vibe happening, which made for an excellent evening. We also got the chance to hear some killing solos by Melissa Aldana, Gordon Au, Fraser Campbell, Rita Martins, Nick Noonan, Nadav Remez, John Sauer and Andrew Toombs. Click here to see a list of the BBEBB members.
Extra, Extra BIG HUGE Thanks goes out to Gail McArthur-Browne who stepped in as our baritone saxophonist. She was not mentioned in the program (my most sincere apologies). Also, trombonist Yas Fumaki was left off of the program as well. He is one to watch -- a strong, young trombonist with a great sound.
The band has one more session in early August to support the Jazz Composition Department at Berklee and then we will be off for the remainder of the month. Our hope is to find a location to hold our weekly open rehearsal sessions and start them in September. If you have any information that could help us secure a live performance space, please email me.
The Big Bang Evolutionary Big Band (BBEBB) has evolved from the desire of many talented jazz composer/instrumentalists from Berklee College of Music community to initiate a forum that allows for the sharing of musical ideas, stimulation of the creative process and to foster the generation of new music. This collective is composed of faculty members, staff members, alumni and students who all share a vision of the ever-evolving world of jazz music, the positive opportunities provided by working within the jazz orchestra setting and the importance of the role played by the jazz orchestra in this music's evolution.
The BBBB offers open rehearsal sessions and live performances of its resident and guest composers' music. Through these sessions and performances composer/writers and audience members can share in the guided and organic artistic process of creating and performing challenging, new music.
Please join us for our debut concert on Wednesday, July 25th at 7:00 PM in the David Friend Recital Hall located at 921 Boylston Street. The concert is FREE and open to the public.
Unusual Suspects (June 2007)
The Fenway Brass Art Orchestra has been working hard to put together a concert of new music for our June 23rd date at the David Friend Recital Hall at Berklee College of Music. Audience members will have the chance to hear new music from Winnie Dahlgren, Danny Fratina, Anna Hoffman, Manual Kaufman, John Sauer, Susumu Watanabe and I.
I am excited to premier the fifth movement of a suite I recently completed for the orchestra. My hope would be to perform all five movements in their entirety at some point...soon, maybe.
In addition to hearing music from these fine composers, you will have the opportunity to experience the artistry of some fine, award winning, internationally recognized musicians, including Gordon Au (tpt), Melissa Aldana (tn), Nadav Remev (gtr), Andrew Toombs and Dan Platzman. We hope to see you at the concert in Saturday evening.
The Fenway Brass Art Orchestra (FBAO) is set to perform a few concerts in Boston in June and July. The group is shaping up to be one of the finest's editions to date. The roster for this summer's group includes Anna Hoffman (alto), Kyle Moffatt (alto), Fraser Campbell (ten), Melissa Aldana (ten), Mike Duke (bari), Nick Noonan, George Saenz and Jason Camelio (tbn), John Replogle, Gordon Au, John Sauer and Danny Fratina (tpt), Nadav Remez (gtr), Manuel Kaufman (bs), Winnie Dahlgren (vibes), Andrew Toombs (pno) and Dan Platzman (drs). The band will be performing music from some of the names listed above as well as from resident composers Mike MacAlliister and maestro Watanabe.
We plan to record a live CD from our various performances this summer. If you have yet to hear this group live, we encourage to come out to one of our "free" performances at Berklee College of Music on June 23th or July 25th or at one of our other performances this summer. If you are a "Myspacer" be sure to visit us and connect.
Is it May Yet? (May 2007)It has been a busy winter and spring. And I am getting things fired up for the summer. As I am writing this, I am about 36,001 feet over India on my way back to Boston from my first trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Many thanks to Berklee and our partners at the International College of Music (ICOM), where we have been for the last week working with some talented young musicians from all over southeast Asia, India, Australia and Turkey!
Since January I have been working on the newly launched, official Hal Crook web site (halcrook.com). When you have a moment, please visit the site. This site provides tons of information, audio, pictures and also links to Outland Music, where you will find all of Hal's books and many of his recordings for sale. This includes Hal's new book "Beyond Time and Changes and the newly released "Creatures of Habit - Ch'i " disc, featuring Leo Genovese, Thomson Kneeland and Take Toriyama.
As the site evolves, we hope to provide additional content such as solo transcriptions, lead sheets, video and other interactive media. Being that this whole web thing is not our forte, these new features will be available in the coming weeks and months. Feel free to send us your feedback on the site. You can email us at info@halcrook.com.
Over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to visit new places such as Mexico City and Tokyo through my work at Berklee, and an excursion to Prague in March. New photos are always being added to my gallery.
Brass and Drums (April 2007)
In April, I had the opportunity to join many fine brass players from Berklee to perform with Tiger Okoshi at Fenway Park. For photos and audio of this event, please visit berklee.edu.
In the coming months, I will be traveling to Perugia, Italy; Kobe and Nagoya, Japan and Athens, Greece. Each of these trips is for an upcoming Berklee event. If you are interested in working with Berklee faculty members or applying to the college (and need to take your audition and interview), I encourage you to visit berklee.edu and click on "Apply Now.
Susumu Watanabe and I plan to reconvene both the Fenway Brass Art Orchestra (FBAO) and Tokyo Brass Art Orchestra (TBAO) for performances this summer. We hope to bring back some of the veteran members and introduce some new writers and performers. More news to come...
The Danilo Perez Foundation with the support for various sponsor presented an amazing week of music in Panama. Students from various countries in Central and South American participated in a week-long program of clinics and master classes conducted by faculty and musicians from Berklee College of Music, The New England Conservatory and professional artists participating in the festival.One of the major highlights was the presentation of a trio of young musicians, including 10-year old percussionist Milagros Blades, 11-year old pianist Tony Madrazo and 16-year old tenor saxophonist Jahaziel Arrocha. These exceptionally talented musicians performed at the opening concert in the National Theater that stunned the audience.
I would like to extend a special thanks to Danilo and his wife Patricia for inviting us to participate in the event. The country, people, musicians and experience was brilliant and unforgettable. The Foundation's efforts provide young musicians excellent opportunities. For more details, please visit their web site.
Also, many thanks to Andres Cervilla, trombonist and shells player from Costa Rica. Andres is a talented young trombonists and took the time to give me a few lessons in playing shells. Powerful stuff.
Congratulations to Yuriana Sobrino Garcia (dr from Mexico) and Jahaziel Arrocha (tn sx from Panama). Both were recipients of full-tuition scholarships to Berklee's 5 Week Summer Performance Program.
Finally, I had the privilege of playing for, listening to and even hanging with Victor "Vitin" Paz. This was my first introduction to an icon in the Jazz and Latin music worlds. It was an exceptionally memorable experience, which I hope to repeat, soon. Thanks for your time, your music and words of wisdom.
At the end of each year, I find some time to tinker with my site and try some new things. Some new features added to the site are an audio player and photo slide show. Thanks to Mike Carrera and Phil Roukis for turning me on to these.
In addition to a redesign of jasoncamelio.com for the upcoming year, Hal Crook and I are also completing his official web site. We will send a blast out when it is complete. Hopefully, New Years Day.
Peace - Jason
Beyond Time and Changes New Available (December 2006)Advance Music has recently released a brilliant new book by Hal Crook entitled "Beyond Time and Changes - A Musician's Guide to Free Jazz Improvisation." This text (with an amazing accompaniment CD featuring Leo Genovese on piano and fx, Thompson Kneeland on bass and Take Toriyama on drum set) defines the concept of "free" improvisation in a jazz setting through a detailed explanation of various topics relating to the art of improvisation. It approaches the art of "free" playing from the prospective of both the soloist and the accompanist.
Hal Crook masterfully demonstrates the craftsmanship and artistry involved in being a an exceptionally high-level jazz musician. Once again, another amazing volume from one of our leading jazz educators.
2007 Panama Jazz Festival with the Pan-American Big Band
A group of musicians, faculty members and department chairs from Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory have been asked by the Danilo Perez Foundation to participate in the 2007 Panama Jazz Festival as part of the Pan-American Big Band, led by Danilo Perez. The festival will take place the week of January 14th, 2007. Some of the musicians in this group have also participated in the production, recording and performance of a new work for expanded jazz orchestra by Danilo, title "The Panama Suite."
World renown artists including Nnenna Freelon, Billy Cobham, Jorge Sylvester, Carlos Garnett, Santi DeBriano and Renato Thoms will be performing. In addition to concerts, the musicians will also be performing clinics for musicians in Panama City.
For more details about the event, please visit the Panama Jazz Festival site.
It is a rare occasion when highly talented group of musicians and writers come together to create something unique and original. It is even better when the concert hall is packed to standing-room only capacity and the band is wailing! We were lucky enough to have on of these occassions recently at Berklee.
I missed it, no worries, there is more to come.
Founded in 1999 by composer, arranger, trumpeter Susumu Watanabe, the Fenway Brass Art Orchestra (FBAO) commits its efforts to the perpetuation of live performances of world-class jazz orchestra music and original compositions by its resident and guest composers. The FBAO offers opportunities for highly proficient and aspiring composer/instrumentalists to share musical ideas, stimulate the creative process, generate new music and bring their music to the public.After a four-year hiatus, the FBAO returned to perform a powerhouse concert of original music and stellar arrangements of American Songbook standards. Composers Susumu Watanabe, Mike MacAlllister and Jason Camelio had their music realized by an all-star orchestra that featured; pianist/composer Chris Enright, award-winning guitarist Jake Hertzog, lead trumpeter John Replogle, composer/trumpeters John Sauer and Gordon Au, trombonist/composer Chris Gagne, trombonist Nick Noonan and saxophone soloists Will Silvio, Kyle Moffat and Rob Hanlon.
A full roster of musicians may be viewed at http://myspace.com/fenwaybrassartorchestra.
In addition to reconvening the FBAO in Boston, Director Watanabe has also initiated the first edition of the Tokyo Brass Art Orchestra (TBAO). This orchestra is primarily made up of Berklee alums, many of whom were in the original FBAO when they lived in Boston. The TBAO will be performing a concert on August 12th in Tokyo. For more details, please visit http://music.geocities.jp/tokyobrass/.
Watanabe and Camelio, along with Mike MacAllister and other current members of the FBAO plan to move forward with more live performances this coming fall. In addition to performances in Boston, there is a potential to bring the FBAO to New York City in order to further its mission of providing talented artists the chance to perform challenging repertoire and have their original works realized, while exposing its audiences to exceptional performances of live music.
There are a host of excellent performance opportunities available to musicians at Berklee. In addition to the more popular groups such as the Gospel Choir, Concert Jazz Orchestra, Rainbow Bands and Back Bay Brass, and Urban Outreach Orchestra, there are many specialized ensembles. Musicians can get their groove on playing the music of Tower of Power and Bob Marley, or get deep into the sounds of Ornette Coleman, Steve Coleman, Mile Davis and Charles Mingus -- to name only a few.
I am great admirer of Mingus and gravitate to his music for inspiration. After speaking with the ensembles director, Paul Del Nero, I was able join the group for a few rehearsals and their concert on May 4th.
Paul put together a stellar group of young musicians to play a concert of Mingus's music. The musicians in this group all deserve mentioning; they are Leah Gough-Cooper (alto), Matt Stearns (tenor and bass clarinet), Max Miller (trumpet), Todd Dalhoff (bass), Uchigata Saturo (gtr), Erick Eiser (pno) and Dan Platzman (drs). For an afternoon showcase at Berklee, the hall was full. The ensemble was completely immersed in the spirit of Mingus and performed a killer show.
There is a great article/interview by Tony Parsons in the 2005 Autumn addition of The Trombonist, the British Trombone Society's journal. Tony was scheduled to meet with Phil Wilson during a quick visit to Boston. Unfortunately, Phil was off performing in Switzerland.
At Phil's suggestion, Tony took a moment to meet with me an talk about studying trombone at Berklee. During our conversations, we found some similarities in the way contemporary, jazz trombone is taught in both the US and UK, but also found a few differences.
Visit http://www.trombone-society.org.uk/ for further detail or grab a copy of the Autumn 2005 British Trombone Journal.
In what can be described as a power-chord-driven-jazz-octet rumble, this incarnation of Bending Dogma gave the audience a thrill ride on Wednesday, February 2nd. The David Friend Hall was packed with a standing-room crowd of enthusiastic patrons.
The ensemble featured a stellar line up of artists including, composer/pianist Michel Reis, guitarist Bryan Baker, drummer Dennis Frehse, bassist Ho Gyu Hwang, vibraphonist Jeffry Davis and trumpeter Yukiko Nakagawa. Composer/trombonist Jason Camelio and composer/saxophonist Will Silvio piloted the festivities including a romp through Reis's "I'm Curious About", a journey into the first two movements of Camelio's "Suite Piece", an exploration of Silvio's psyche in his ballad "I Had That Dream Again" and winded out with a departure in the Hal Crook concocted piece "The Dice Buster."
Hear an audio clip from the show.
Garth Stevenson Wins Bogus Blues Battle II
The winner of the Bogus Blues Battle II is bassist/composer Garth Stevenson. Though there was an high level of competition in this second semi-annual event, including works by Godwin Louis, Bryan Baker and Bryan Ladd, Stevenson unleashed a hellish blues entitled "My Shit." which floored the audience in attendance and swept the competition away.
Listen to the winning submission. "My Shit"
Mike MacAllister Releases Finders Keepers
Featuring some stellar writing performed by the top young musicians in the Boston area, "Finders Keepers" is Mike's first full-length jazz orchestra album. This is a must have for your collect. Get your copy at http://www.michaelmacallister.com.
Check out an audio clip from the recording here.
We Are Japanese Wins Bogus Blues Battle I
No one can sing the blues like a down-trodden soul who has lost his love and is spiraling into a drunken abyss. Undulating back and forth between Japanese and English, the audience was left in hysterics by Toshio Tanaka's submission of "We Are Japanese" to the Bogus Blues Battle I.
Listen to Toshio's winning submission. "We Are Japanese."
Berklee College of Music News - Shaping the Sextet Sound
Composer and Arranger Alan Broadbent performs with a student group and talks about writing for six. Article written by Ed Hazell, May 2, 2001.
Click here for article.
All About Jazz News - Phil Wilson's "Bones, Big Band and Rev. Bob Thompson"
Concert review by Charles Chapman, September 2000.
Click here for article.