Sounds Of Berklee

By Adam Olenn March 8, 2011 London-born Christine Vaindirlis was raised in apartheid-era Johannesburg, but left to study at Italy's Milan Conservatory. She was awarded an Achievement Scholarship at Berklee, and graduated with honors. Vaindirlis’s debut album Dance Mama! is influenced by traditional jazz and South African music, and features accomplished Berklee alumni including Bryan Baker, Dan Brantigan, Emanuel "Chulo" Gatewood, Hiromi, Marco Panascia, Oli Rockberger, Gilad Ronen, Chris Ward, and Mauricio Zottarelli. Three of the tracks placed in international songwriting competitions, and the album is being featured on the in-flight world music playlists of Copa, Continental, and United airlines. This track - Indaba - features international superstars Tony Cedras, Morris Goldberg, Bakithi Kumalo, and Daniel Sadownick.

By Adam Olenn K Ishibashi and Zac Colwell founded Jupiter One after working together as traveling musicians in the Barnum’s Kaleidoscope orchestra. Many of their tracks have been used in video games, including Madden NFL, NHL 08, Burnout Paradise, and FIFA 08. Other tracks have been used in advertisements for Mazda, the FIFA soccer federation, Payless shoes, and the MLB network. Both their eponymous debut and Sunshower are out on Cordless Recordings, and they opened for Regina Spektor on her 2009 and 2010 tours.

By Adam Olenn February 7, 2011 Hailed by Guitar Player magazine as a "world-class [group], with authenticity, aplomb, and exuberance," Esthema is a world fusion ensemble hailing from Boston that fuses progressive rock and jazz with traditional music of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Greek multi-instumentalist Tery Lemanis, Brazilian percussionist Bruno Esrubilsky, and Argentinian bassist Ignacio Long all studied at Berklee. They are currently performing in support of their second CD, The Hereness and Nowness of Things, which Skope magazine says "marks them as maestros of their instruments and as masters of world fusion." One of the songs from that album, "Eastern Dance," climbed to the no. 4 spot on IndieMusic.com. It's a modern rock interpretation of a traditional near-Eastern belly-dancing rhythm called a tsifteteli (tseef-ta-telli), and the newest Sounds of Berklee podcast.

January 21, 2011 You've heard of English guitarists like Clapton, Beck, and Page. Well, Guthrie Govan may just be better than all of them. The instrumental rock virtuoso—comfortable in a range of styles, from mainstream shred rock to chicken-picking country—brings his eclectic compositions and improvisational prowess to the Berklee Performance Center this month. He'll hit the stage with the Jon Finn Group, an all-Berklee-faculty power trio, on January 28. Get a preview with the latest Sounds of Berklee podcast, Govan's "Fives," from his Erotic Cakes release.

December 15, 2010 Virtuoso jazz pianist Takeshi Ohbayashi '10 is a member of the inaugural class of students selected to be in the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. He and guitarist Lionel Loueke '01 perform as part of NPR's Toast of the Nation live holiday broadcast on December 31, 2010. The show will be heard on 200 NPR affiliates. Begin the New Year's celebration a little early by listening to a new composition by Ohbayashi and his group, "Find Her."

November 29, 2010 While hanging out in front of Berklee's 150 Mass. Ave. building this summer, Five-Week Performance Program student Tristan Allen had a fateful meeting with Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls. The two pianists hit it off, have written and recorded together, and they're giving a concert at the Berklee Performance Center on December 12. The latest Sounds of Berklee podcast features Palmer and the 17-year-old Allen on one of their originals, "János vs. Wonderland."

November 17, 2010 Each spring break Berklee students make a pilgrimage to Nashville, but this year, Kathy Mattea is bringing Nashville to Berklee. The Grammy-winning country singer presents a concert with students on March 10 as part of Berklee's Signature Series, and tickets are on sale now. Get a taste with Mattea's version of "Red-Winged Blackbird," from her new disc, Coal.

October 8, 2010 The Berklee World Strings is a chamber-sized string orchestra emphasizing improvisation and the rhythmic capabilities of string instruments, playing jazz, bluegrass, contemporary classical, and a range of other styles. On October 14, they present a concert with bassist Ron Carter in tribute to pioneering bebopper Oscar Pettiford. Listen to their arrangement of Eddie Sauter's "Night Rider," recorded at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Millenium Stage, May 12, 2010, as part of the Berklee Conservatory Project.

June 17, 2010 Berklee student saxophonist Hailey Niswanger is only 20 years old, but she's already established herself as a serious jazz artist. She's shared the stage with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, McCoy Tyner, and many others. A student in the inaugural class of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, Niswanger recently released a debut recording that so impressed legendary jazz writer Nat Hentoff that he wrote a profile of her for the Wall Street Journal. This summer, Niswanger performs a host of concerts and festivals around North America as part of the Summer 2010 series. The latest Sounds of Berklee podcast features a Niswanger original, "Confeddie."

June 4, 2010 Tubby Love is a Berklee student group with a mission to help lead what it calls a "reggae soul revolution." While the group's music looks forward, there's no mistaking its nod to the reggae tradition of spreading positive messages. The group plays several free outdoor shows as part of Berklee's 2010 Summer Concert Series. This Sounds of Berklee podcast features the Tubby Love tune, "Constant Motion."

May 21, 2010 Versatile student vocalist, pianist, and guitarist Julia Easterlin released two albums at the age of 17, one a jazz disc and the other folk-rock. While a member of the Grammy Jazz Ensemble, she performed with Allen Toussaint, the Neville Brothers, and others. She's developing a buzz for her concerts, during which she'll often use a looping station to create and build backing tracks as she performs live. She'll play at Kendall Square and the Liberty Hotel this May and June as part of Berklee's Summer Concert Series. The latest podcast features her track "A Mild Response."

May 5, 2010 This edition of Sounds of Berklee recognizes the student musicians who help make their classmates sound good in the recording studio. While the artist and songwriter Brianne Crawford clearly has loads of talent, her song comes to life at the hands of music production and engineering majors Avi Gunther and Tom Kain, who produced and engineered the recording, respectively. Gunther and Kain, both seniors, will join 860 Berklee graduates at the 2010 commencement. The track they recorded, "Aeroplane (Flipped It)," is featured on the new Music Technology Division production projects CD, MTCD:10.

April 28, 2010 Berklee's student-run record label Jazz Revelation Records released its seventh compilation album, Birds of a Feather, in April. The disc features 11 young jazz artists from around the globe—each leading a band performing original compositions. The scope of the CD is wide-ranging, with artists performing styles including traditional and contemporary jazz, nu-jazz, fusion, and jazz with experimental, classical, world, electronica, ambient, and funk influences. One of the composer/bandleaders is Israel-born alto saxophonist Lihi Haruvi, who has performed with Jeff "Tain" Watts and Joel Frahm. This Sounds of Berklee podcast features Haruvi and her band on the track "On the Way Back."

March 24, 2010 Nearly 25 percent of all Berklee students hail from countries outside the United States. The musical melting pot leads to fusions of countless contepmorary styles, and there's one Berklee concert every year where those global influences are front and center - the International Folk Music Festival. The 2010 festival features student and faculty artists from 11 countries. One of them is student vocalist and composer Tais Alvarenga, who will perform music from her home country of Brazil. On March 25 Alvarenga will lead a group in a medley of compositions by three Brazilian composers, but this podcast features one of Alvarenga's original compositions, "Trafego."

By Berklee Office of Communications March 16, 2010 Several bands featuring Berklee students and alumni are off for Austin, Texas, this month, as the college returns to the South by Southwest Music Conference. Several of the artists are student groups that have recorded on Berklee's student-run label, Heavy Rotation Records. Many up-and-coming artists have appeared on HRR compilations, including St. Vincent (as Annie Clark) and members of Passion Pit (as the Peasantry). This year student Ann Driscoll makes the trek. "Ringmaster" is one of two Driscoll tunes appearing on Dorm Sessions 7, the latest HRR release.

By Berklee Office of Communications March 1, 2010 Berklee faculty members Livingston Taylor, Donna McElroy, and George W. Russell Jr. are among several artists performing in Berklee's Concert for Haiti in February. The concert will also feature the Berklee Reggae Ensemble, a cappella group Pitch Slapped, Women of the World, and an ensemble from OAMEC, an organization that provides free music education to Haitian children. Taylor, a Berklee faculty member, will perform a set including this podcast's feature track, "Never Lose Hope," from his 2009 release, Last Alaska Moon.

By Berklee Office of Communications February 12, 2010 This year, Berklee's Africana Studies music programming brings together musicians from all over the world. One of the guest artists featured during the Roots and Reason concert series is EMI recording artist, guitarist, and Berklee alumnus Lionel Loueke '01. Loueke grew up in Benin, West Africa, and his new album, Karibu, combines West African roots traditions with jazz. "Soul Sound" features Loueke on solo guitar.

By Berklee Office of Communications January 27, 2010 This year, Berklee's Africana Studies music programming celebrates the richness of America's roots music traditions. One of the guest artists featured during the Roots and Reason concert series is Mississippi Delta blues guitarist Ben Payton. Payton spent years on the Chicago blues scene, playing with artists such as Eddie Shaw and Junior Wells. After returning to his home state of Mississippi, Payton reunited with his Delta-style blues roots. "Boogie Child" is from his latest release, Diggin' Up Old Country Blues.

By Berklee Office of Communications October 16, 2009 Cuba-born drummer and composer Dafnis Prieto has been a dynamic force on both the jazz and Latin music scenes since moving to New York ten years ago. He's been nominated for Grammys and played with artists like Chuco Valdes, Michel Camilo, and Don Byron. Prieto brings his Si o Si Quartet to Cafe 939 for two concerts this month as part of Marsalis Berklee Jams. The quartet will also share the stage with Berklee students during two jam sessions. Check out the leadoff track from their new recording, "Si o Si."

By Berklee Office of Communications September 3, 2009 Berklee alumnus and saxophonist Donald Harrison is the originator of the nouveau swing style, which merges acoustic swing with modern r&b, second-line, hip-hop, New Orleans roots music, and reggae rhythms. Harrison has played with many of the big names in jazz, but he has also discovered and nurtured talented up-and-comers like Christian Scott, Mark Whitfield, Dwayne Burno, Christian McBride, Cyrus Chestnut, and rap icon the Notorious B.I.G. Harrison is one of more than a dozen artists performing in the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival's free outdoor show on September 26, 2009. Ticketed events also feature musicians Jane Bunnett, Kurt Elling, Ahmad Jamal, Branford Marsalis, and David Sanborn. Learn more at beantownjazz.org. This month's podcast features the Harrison tune "Water Meter."