Berklee Presents 2024 Spring Signature Series The series will celebrate the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, as well as pay tribute to the music of Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, and Michael Jackson.By
Colette Greenstein
December 12, 2023
Joel Ross
Image courtesy of the artist
Berklee has announced its spring 2024 Signature Series lineup, featuring performances from students, faculty, alumni, and special guests. Running from February 15 through May 2, the concerts will celebrate Brazilian, pop, jazz, and gospel music; the Berklee Global Jazz Institute; and the music of Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, and Michael Jackson
Dani & D bora Gurgel Quarteto Meets BerkleeBerklee Performance Center
Thursday, February 15, 8:00 p.m.
Dani & D bora Gurgel Quarteto (DDG4) bring a mix of traditional and modern rhythms, elaborated harmonies, and improvisations to their original songs and carefully arranged covers of Brazilian and pop tunes. Their music is an inseparable union of instrumental melodies, soulful samba scatting, and thoughtfully crafted lyrics. Each of their studio recordings captures the spirit of a live performance, brimming with energy and spontaneity. Their dynamic live performances are filled with the joy of long-established musical collaboration and connecting with the audience through a journey of musical intimacy and interaction. For this concert, DDG4 will perform with a large group of student musicians. The concert is produced by Fernando Brand o with musical direction by Utar Artun.
BGJI 15th Anniversary Concert Dedicated to Wayne Shorter featuring Brian Blade, Danilo P rez, John Patitucci, Faculty, and Students Berklee Performance Center
Thursday, February 22, 8:00 p.m.
This years Berklee Global Jazz Institute (BGJI) summit will be dedicated to visionary and genius Wayne Shorter. Shorters artistry is defined by exploration, which is core to the BGJI's values. This concert will reunite special guest drummer Brian Blade with pianist and BGJI founder and artistic director Danilo P rez and bassist and Berklee visiting scholar John Patitucci, who for 20 years were three quarters of the Wayne Shorter Quartet, the late saxophone legend's longest-running permanent band. The concert will feature music composed by Shorter, as well as original compositions by acclaimed Berklee faculty, visiting artists, and BGJI students.
Great American Songbook: Night and Day-A Celebration of Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga Berklee Performance Center
Thursday, March 7, 2024, 8:00 p.m.
Admission: $15/$20 in advance; $20/$25 day of show
Discounted admission with Berklee ID: $15 off each price range
Tickets are on sale now.
For one night only, this uplifting student concert will showcase the distinctive and diverse creative talents of Berklee singers, instrumentalists, arrangers, track producers, and dancers who will breathe new life into some of the most timeless classics from the Great American Songbook with their fusion of craft, artistry, and global culture. Celebrating two singular figures in music with total commitment to their art-Tony Bennett '74H, a titan of jazz vocalists, and Lady Gaga, an empress of avant-garde pop-the concert will feature beloved musical selections from their Grammy Award-winning duet albums Cheek to Cheek and Love for Sale, alongside Bennett's signature songs and reimagined jazz-inflected covers of Lady Gaga's hits, beautifully arranged in a big swing band setting with strings. The concert will be produced by Maureen McMullan P.D. '09.
Berklee Joel Ross EnsembleThe Red Room at Cafe 939
Wednesday, March 13
Berklees Signature Series presents vibraphone master, composer, and educator Joel Ross, leading the Berklee Joel Ross Ensemble. A Blue Note artist known for his critically acclaimed releases KingMaker (2019), Who Are You? (2020), and The Parable of the Poet (2022), Ross regularly tops the DownBeat and Jazz Journalists Association critics polls for his work in the broad lineage of Black music that pulls from jazz, hip-hop, church, and Chicago improvised music. Now based in Brooklyn, the Chicago-born artist performs across the globe, collaborating with Makaya McCraven, Walter Smith III, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Wynton Marsalis, Rajna Swaminathan, Marcus Gilmore, Brandee Younger, and Marquis Hill. As a leader, he has performed at the Village Vanguard and Dizzy's Club in New York; the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; the Newport Jazz Festival; the Umbria Jazz Festival in Umbria, Italy; and the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. His recent tour included dates at Triennale di Milano in Italy, Ronnie Scott's in London, Le Duc des Lombards in Paris, and Halle 424 in Germany, among other international venues. Matthew Stevens, associate professor, will direct the ensemble.
Career Jam Concert: The Award ShowBerklee Performance Center, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 5
Berklee's Career Jam culminates in the second annual Career Jam Award Show, highlighting talent from all career communities and a broad spectrum of majors. From writers to producers to business teams, this concert will showcase the most recognized students in their growing industry expertise.
Career Jam award recipients and performers will be selected by an expert panel of Berklee faculty and chairs, show producers, and the Career Jam talent relations ambassadors.
Michael Jackson Ensemble: Human NatureBerklee Performance Center
Friday, April 12, and Saturday, April 13
Michael Jackson Ensemble: Human Nature is an all-encompassing experience, celebrating the King of Pop's tremendous legacy and journey. This storytelling production is a seamless interweaving of song, dance, theater, visuals, and spoken word. Directed by Tia Fuller, it features five faculty members and more than 60 students from Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
Gospel ExtravaganzaB
