Hal Crook 71, world-renowned jazz trombonist and educator, is retiring after 30 years at Berklee. Crook will celebrate with a concert featuring his former students: bassist, vocalist, and Grammy Award-winner Esperanza Spalding 05, drummer Antonio Sanchez 97, guitarist Lionel Loueke 04, pianist Leo Genovese 01, and saxophonist Chris Cheek 91. Also appearing will be Behind These Eyes, Crook's pop-jazz band featuring alumna vocalist Deborah Pierre 13, along with students, alumni, and Boston-based players. Additional artists will be announced soon.
The Music of Hal Crook: Set Me Free takes place Thursday, February 18, at 8:00 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston. Tickets at $12, $18, and $24 are on sale now at the Berklee Performance Center Box Office, and at Berklee.edu/bpc. The concert is part of the 2016 Signature Series at Berklee.
Crook has influenced countless jazz musicians during his career. By diversifying his teaching methods with rigorous training in jazz theory and performance exercises, he has helped many of the world's best-known jazz improvisers to discover their own voice and style. In addition to Spalding, Genovese, and Cheek, he has taught Grammy Award winners Roy Hargrove, Antonio Sanchez, and Danilo Perez, and acclaimed musicians Ingrid Jensen, Mark Turner, Miguel Zenon, and Julian Lage, among many others.
Hal is a living example of the quintessential no-nonsense, bad mofo. That seems to be the rarest breed of human on the planet these days, says Spalding. He ll play you under the table on trombone! Can you believe it? and then tell you exactly where you re weak and/or why you re stuck in your development as a player. And, he ll tell you straight up so you know exactly what to go home and work on. In fact, I think I ll finally go start shedding the stuff he told me to work on, because I have to play this All-Hail the Great Hal Crook' concert in a few weeks and I don t want to sound like an ass.
Upon graduating from Berklee in 1971, Crook established an active playing career throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, performing with Clark Terry, the Phil Woods Quintet, Bob Brookmeyer, James Brown, Tony Bennett, Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Paul Motian, and Mick Goodrick, among others. He composed, arranged, and performed for the NBC Tonight Show Orchestra. More than 40 albums list Crook as a leader or sideman, including Phil Woods's 1997 Grammy-nominated album Celebration.
Crook taught at Berklee briefly in the mid-1970s, before rejoining the faculty in 1986. His four books on jazz improvisation and his numerous play-along recordings are distributed throughout the world and continue to influence thousands of players. He founded music schools in Rhode Island and San Diego, and taught at the University of California in Los Angeles and San Diego. He has been a visiting artist in residence at the Thelonious Monk Institute, and at the Dave Brubeck Institute. Crook will continue to teach privately at his studio in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
04/03/2026
Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the governing body for Italy's premier basketball...
04/03/2026
Wrexham AFC co-chairmen Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds will host a first-of-its-kind ...
04/03/2026
The countdown is underway and with just 100 days to go until the world's greatest sporting event begins on Thurs., June 11, FOX Sports, America's Englis...
04/03/2026
No matter where they are in the world, service members and veterans can stream N...
04/03/2026
Telemundo officially releases Somos M s, the anthem for the network's cove...
04/03/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) concluded the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, convening more than 800 industry leaders, technologists, creatives, and execut...
04/03/2026
Smith Entertainment Group transformed how local sports are consumed by creating ...
04/03/2026
The production method, which spans a distance of 36.2 miles, was designed and im...
04/03/2026
Haivision, a global provider of mission-critical, real-time video networking and...
04/03/2026
When Hugues Meyrath came out of retirement to take the helm as CEO of Quantum, i...
04/03/2026
Last week's launch of Banana Ball Championship League has spurred a significant upgrade of production facilities
The Savannah Bananas, arguably the hottest...
04/03/2026
sldkfjsdlfkjsldkfjsldkjfslkdjfslkdjfsl
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus...
04/03/2026
For many fans, a song's backstory can be just as compelling as the final pro...
04/03/2026
In 2006, Spotify was founded on the belief that technology could bring artists a...
04/03/2026
Spotify is back on the ground for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and we&#...
04/03/2026
Spotify had an energizing week in Sydney, Australia, filled with powerful conver...
04/03/2026
Earlier this year, we launched Directed By, a documentary-style series that pull...
04/03/2026
100 Days to Go: SBS Unveils World Class Team for The Greatest Show on Earth -The...
04/03/2026
KT and Rohde & Schwarz to showcase AI-enhanced radio transmission performance In a joint 6G AI proof-of-concept demonstration, the CMX500 one-box tester from ...
04/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/03/2026
Luxembourg, 3 March 2026 - SES S.A. has today published its 2025 Annual Report, following the announcement of the company's full year financial results for ...
04/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/03/2026
Luxembourg, March 3, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, along with I...
04/03/2026
04 Mar 2026
VEON Partners with GSMA Innovation Fund to Accelerate Digital Innov...
04/03/2026
04 Mar 2026
VEON's Beeline Uzbekistan and Rakuten Symphony Partner for Open...
04/03/2026
Wednesday 4 March 2026
Sky Sports unveils plans for 2026 Formula 1 coverage
Sky Sports is preparing for one of the most highly anticipated F1 seasons in recen...
04/03/2026
Back to All News
Bloodhounds' Season 2 Gears Up for April 3 Premiere with ...
04/03/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Ads Suite Expands Capabilities
Business
04 March 2026
GlobalUnited States
Link copied to clipboard
After launching the Netflix Ad...
04/03/2026
Scripps Research welcomes healthcare innovator Joe Kiani to the Board of Directors Kiani brings decades of experience in patient safety and public service.
Mar...
04/03/2026
Nanoparticle vaccine approach takes on a new target: Hepatitis C virus Scripps Research scientists reengineer critical proteins on the surface of HCV, paving th...
03/03/2026
Beyond Sports, a Sony group company, and LIV Golf, the world's golf league, ...
03/03/2026
Ilitch Sports + Entertainment announces the launch of Detroit SportsNet (DSN), a year-round broadcast home for two of Detroit's franchises. With flexible op...
03/03/2026
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media ...
03/03/2026
The PGA of America, NBC Sports and USA Sports extend their media rights agreemen...
03/03/2026
AI device ecosystem company HONOR enters into a strategic technical collaboratio...
03/03/2026
Cleveland's Telos Alliance, pioneers in broadcast technology for 30 years, l...
03/03/2026
The MD 9235 microphone head for wireless handhelds has been a firm favorite with many engineers and artists for its ability to cut through high on-stage levels ...
03/03/2026
Haivision Systems Inc. (Haivision), a global provider of mission-critical, real-...
03/03/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) announces the expansion of its 62,000-square-fo...
03/03/2026
Maroon 5's musical tour in 2025 marked a leap forward in live audio as Monitor Engineer Dave Rupsch utilized Sennheiser's all-digital Spectera wireless ...
03/03/2026
Designed specifically for pro basketball, the renovated space at Gainbridge Fiel...
03/03/2026
As part of the move, former CEO Phillipp Lawo joins the broadcast-tech provider's Supervisory Board
Lawo has announced appointment of Jamie Dunn as chief e...
03/03/2026
A team of legendary announcers and analysts and a classic graphics look will bring the past to life
NBC Sports and Peacock will return to yesteryear for tonigh...
Hal Crook 71, world-renowned jazz trombonist and educator, is retiring after 30 years at Berklee. Crook will celebrate with a concert featuring his former students: bassist, vocalist, and Grammy Award-winner Esperanza Spalding 05, drummer Antonio Sanchez 97, guitarist Lionel Loueke 04, pianist Leo Genovese 01, and saxophonist Chris Cheek 91. Also appearing will be Behind These Eyes, Crook's pop-jazz band featuring alumna vocalist Deborah Pierre 13, along with students, alumni, and Boston-based players. Additional artists will be announced soon.
