Summer Wrap Up (2008)

The roof tops of the houses on 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 is a great amount of potential and opportunity ahead. As the next few months unfold, my hope is that the seed that have been planet 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 shows as well. The band feature 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, Vietnam, 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 to pancakes, coffee and some good conversation. Then, we could take another relaxing stroll through the marshes to watch the windswept clouds pass over windmills.

West Goes East (June 2008)

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 Saxophone
Tran 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

Seoul, August Rush, Toast of the Nation and Panama Jazz 2008 (November 2007)

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.

2007 Panama Jazz Festival Follow Up (January 2007)

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.

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.