The Spring Signature Series Presents Kendrick Scott Berklee Ensemble

Berklee’s spring Signature Series opens with the Kendrick Scott Berklee Ensemble on Thursday, February 13, at 7:00 p.m., at the Red Room at Cafe 939 in Boston.

"I'm delighted to return to Berklee College of Music to fellowship and share with the next generations of musicians who will grace the world stages and hearts of all their listeners,” said Scott ‘03. “To perform my original music with some of these great talents will be a wonderful occasion as I reflect on my time at the school and in Boston. It will be a deep moment in time." 

"We’re thrilled to have Kendrick at Berklee leading a student ensemble at the Red Room," said Matthew Stevens, an associate professor of ensemble and guitar. "He is a remarkable composer, bandleader, and drummer who’s spent the past 20 years on the cutting edge of modern music."

Born in Houston, Texas, Scott grew up in a family of musicians, where he began playing the drums at the age of eight. He attended Houston’s renowned High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, which has produced an impressive array of musical talent, including Scott’s label mate and five-time Grammy Award–winning pianist Robert Glasper. Scott’s first two releases on Blue Note, We Are the Drum (2015) and A Wall Becomes a Bridge (2019), were as the bandleader of Kendrick Scott Oracle. 

Scott was also a member of the Blue Note All-Stars, a supergroup formed for the label’s 75th anniversary. Featuring award-winning composers and artists Ambrose Akinmusire and Derrick Hodge, Grammy-nominated guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke, saxophonist and fellow composer Marcus Strickland, and Glasper, the group released the album Our Point Of View in 2017.  His 2023 Blue Note album Corridors finds him paring down to a trio with Grammy-nominated bassist Reuben Rogers BM ‘99 and saxophonist Walter Smith III, chair of the Woodwinds Department at Berklee. 

During his career, Scott has toured with acclaimed jazz musicians Herbie Hancock, Charles Lloyd, Terence Blanchard, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Kurt Elling. In December 2024, he performed as part of a tribute to The Grateful Dead at the 47th Annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. 

Admission is $15 in advance and $18 day of show. Discounted admission with Berklee ID is $12. Tickets are available online.