Subaru of New England Presents

Three Score: The Berklee 60th Anniversary Concert
January 28, 2006, 8:00 p.m., The Wang Center

December 20, 2005

Twelve-time Grammy Award winner Phil Ramone, one of the most respected and prolific music producers in recording history, is producing the concert; his album credits span five decades with such legends as Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney, and B.B. King, to name only a few. Ramone, also a Berklee trustee, says "I've had the great fortune to work with Berklee musicians throughout my career. Many of the young players, arrangers, and engineers I encounter came through Berklee. Their musicianship inspires me, and gives me confidence that the future of music is in good hands."

All concert proceeds will benefit the Berklee Presidential Scholarship Fund, established to bring the nation's best young musicians to study at Berklee for four years with all college tuition, housing, and fees covered at no charge. While such awards are not unknown for student athletes in the United States, this program is the first of its kind at a music college. All of the special guest performers are donating their performances in exchange for the creation of Berklee Presidential Scholarships in their names.

Featuring

Paul Simon has established himself as one of the best and most popular singer/songwriters in the history of popular music. In a career that dates back to the 1950s, he has won 12 Grammy Awards for albums and songs with Art Garfunkel and as a solo artist. He received an honorary doctorate of music degree from Berklee in 1986.

Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music. His creative path has moved fluidly between almost every development in acoustic and electronic jazz and r&b, and he has attained a balance of commercial and artistic success marked by 10 Grammy Awards, among many other honors. Hancock accepted an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee in 1986.

Gloria Estefan gained international fame with the Miami Sound Machine, releasing a string of hit singles, including "Conga" and "Anything for You." She has won five Grammy Awards, including one Latin Grammy as a solo artist. Other awards include BMI Songwriter of the Year, American Music Awards Lifetime Achievement, and the Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor. On another front, Estefan's children's book, The Magically Mysterious Adventures of Noelle the Bulldog, was a New York Times bestseller.

Merengue superstar Juan Luis Guerra '82 is responsible for rejuvenating interest in tropical music, not only in Latin America but also in the United States, where he sold out Madison Square Garden in 2005. Guerra's music is a cross-cultural blend of influences including traditional Dominican music, the Beatles, American rock, salsa, folk, r&b, jazz, and Afro-pop. In 1991, he released Bachata Rose, a smash hit throughout the Americas that earned him his first Grammy. His 1998 album Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual garnered Guerra three Latin Grammy Awards.

Gary Burton '62 is one of the greatest and most innovative jazz vibraphonists in the world, with five Grammy Awards to date. His remarkable four-mallet technique can make him sound like two or three players at once. Burton is a Berklee alumnus who received an honorary doctorate of music from his alma mater in 1989. After more than 30 years as an educator and senior administrator, he retired from Berklee in 2004. His most recent release, with a group composed almost entirely of young Berklee alumni, is Next Generation, on Concord.

Pianist and composer Michel Camilo moves easily and successfully between jazz and classical music. His recordings for Sony, Verve, Decca (UK), and Telarc have been met with great critical acclaim. In 2003, Camilo's recording Live at the Blue Note won the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album. The Michel Camilo Scholarship was established at Berklee in 2005 to provide full tuition and room and board to a student from Camilo's native Dominican Republic.

Twelve-time Grammy Award winner Phil Ramone, one of the most respected and prolific music producers in recording history, is producer of Three Score: Berklee's 60th Anniversary Concert. His album credits span five decades with such legends as Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney, and B.B. King, to name only a few. His numerous concert, film, Broadway, and television credits include A Star Is Born, Flashdance, Midnight Cowboy, Simon and Garfunkel: The Concert in Central Park, and The Score. Ramone received an honorary doctorate of music degree from Berklee in 1987 and is also a Berklee trustee.

Bill Cosby H'04 is an entertainer, educator, and best-selling author who credits jazz music with influencing his free-flowing comedy style. When Berklee presented him with an honorary doctorate of music degree in 2004, Cosby brought with him a special surprise for the occasion: an original composition he called the "The Berklee Fight Song" that was performed by a faculty brass band and dedicated, by Cosby, to the college with no football team.

Donna McElroy, a Grammy-nominated vocalist and Berklee professor, was the arranger/background vocalist on the gold and platinum releases "Why Haven't I Heard From You?" by Reba McIntyre; "We Shall Be Free," by Garth Brooks; "Addictive Love," by BeBe and CeCe Winans; and "House of Love," by Amy Grant. McElroy has represented Berklee at jazz festivals around the world, including the Umbria Jazz Festival in Umbria, Italy; the Phoenix Festival in Kobe, Japan; and the Seoul Jazz Festival in Seoul, Korea.

Walter Beasley '84, a jazz saxophonist and vocalist, has been a Berklee professor for over 20 years. The accomplished performer and writer has played with artists including Brian McKnight, Stephanie Mills, and Vanessa Williams, and has opened for Art Blakey and Dexter Gordon. Since 1998, he has been one of the top five best-selling African American saxophonists in the world, and is a regular presence on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Chart, with his latest release recently reaching no. 5.

Chiara Civello '00 is a singer/songwriter who brings a variety of pop, jazz, cabaret, and Latin influences to her eclectic sound. Her current release, Last Quarter Moon (Verve Forecast), includes songs that have been favorably compared to Sade, Basia, Norah Jones, Nellie McKay, and Rickie Lee Jones. The Berklee alumna and Rome native spent 2005 on tour in North America and Europe.

Danny McClain '04, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, graduated from Berklee in 2004 with a degree in music business/management. McClain came to Berklee in 1999 through a City Music SYSTEM 5 scholarship to attend the Five-Week Summer Performance Program. An outstanding singer and performer, he was featured several times in Berklee's popular Singers Showcase concert. McClain is currently a member of the group Radiance, performing professionally in New York City, Atlanta, and Boston.

Abraham Laboriel, Sr. ('72, H'05) is one of the most recorded electric bassists of all time. He has performed on more than 3,000 sessions and has appeared on more than 600 albums. Laboriel's discography includes sessions with Ella Fitzgerald, John Denver, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Clint Black, Christina Aguilera, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Ziggy Marley. His son, Abraham Laboriel, Jr., is also a Berklee alumnus and Paul McCartney's drummer. Laboriel received an honorary doctorate of music degree from Berklee in 2005.

Steve Gadd has created a legacy of classic drum tracks on numerous hit songs and Grammy Award–winning albums, including Steely Dan's Aja, Paul Simon's Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover, and Chick Corea's Nite Sprite. He has also recorded and performed live with such artists as Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, and many others. Gadd's most recent efforts include recording and touring with Simon, Eric Clapton, and James Taylor. He received an honorary doctorate of music degree from Berklee in 2005.

Renowned drummer and percussionist Jamey Haddad '73 has been an associate professor at Berklee for 12 years. He regularly works with Paul Simon, Dave Liebman, the Paul Winter Consort, and Broadway actress Betty Buckley, and has appeared on albums by Simon, Herbie Hancock, Carly Simon, Joe Lovano, and many others. Haddad has also cocreated musical instruments and playing techniques, including the hadgini, the hadjira, the hadjenga, and the kohabata drums, that are used by percussionists worldwide.

Multi-instrumentalist Mark Stewart is Paul Simon's guitarist. A founder of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Stewart plays in many other groups, including David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness, Polygraph Lounge, and the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet. He has also worked with Bob Dylan, Cecil Taylor, Don Byron, and Paul McCartney, and worked with composer Elliot Goldenthal on music for feature films including Titus, The Butcher Boy, and In Dreams, often playing instruments of his own design and construction.

Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and performer Philippe Saisse '78 has played keyboards on Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You," the Rolling Stones' "Harlem Shuffle," David Bowie's "Scary Monsters," the B-52's "Love Shack," and on hits by many others. He has composed for David Sanborn, Al Jarreau, and Al Di Meola. He has produced albums by Khan, Jarreau, Bill Evans, and Marc Antoine. Saisse's most recent projects include arranging and playing keyboards on Rod Stewart's platinum hits The Great American Songbook I and II, produced by Phil Ramone.

Rob Mounsey '75 is one of the quiet giants of the music industry. He has produced, arranged, conducted, or played piano and keyboards for Steely Dan, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Elton John, Carly Simon, and Madonna, to name but a few. Legendary producers Tommy LiPuma, Phil Ramone, Russ Titelman, and Arif Mardin, among others, consider Mounsey their secret weapon for studio projects. He has received platinum and gold records, five Grammy nominations, and two Emmy Awards.

Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and performer Philippe Saisse '78 has played keyboards on Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You," the Rolling Stones' "Harlem Shuffle," David Bowie's "Scary Monsters," the B-52's "Love Shack," and on hits by many others. He has composed for David Sanborn, Al Jarreau, and Al Di Meola. He has produced albums by Khan, Jarreau, Bill Evans, and Marc Antoine. Saisse's most recent projects include arranging and playing keyboards on Rod Stewart's platinum hits The Great American Songbook I and II, produced by Phil Ramone.

Victor Vanacore '74 has worked a keyboardist, musical arranger, and conductor for the Jackson 5, the Fifth Dimension, Johnny Mathis, Barry Manilow, and Ray Charles. Vanacore also enjoys a career as a Pops conductor with symphony orchestras worldwide. With his brother David, he composed music for the hit TV shows Joe Millionaire, Survivor, and The Contender. Vanacore won a Grammy Award in 2004 for his arrangement of "Over the Rainbow" on the Ray Charles album Genius Loves Company.