A Gathering to Remember

Berklee’s first-ever alumni reunion on June 13, which was dubbed “Bringing It Back to Berklee,” offered a packed schedule of activities at the Boston campus. Some 400 alumni (who spanned five decades) returned to campus from throughout the United States and Europe—many making their first visit back to the school since finishing their studies. Events kicked off in the morning with two panel discussions; one on the future of the music industry and the second on the future of Berklee.

Following lunch in the new cafeteria, President Roger H. Brown welcomed alumni and gave some background on the new 160 Massachusetts Avenue building. He discussed how the new 370-bed facility enables the college to house all incoming freshmen. He also spoke about the opportunity that creating a new structure offered the college to finally design and build its own state-of-the-art 10-studio recording complex that rivals any professional studio in the nation. Brown then described the six student lounges that are named for 11 of Berklee’s faculty pioneers (read their profiles here).

The afternoon also gave visiting alumni a chance to tour the new building and to greet some of their former teachers during office hours in the 1140 Boylston Street and 150 Massachusetts Avenue buildings. Faculty-led jam sessions ran for hours in the rehearsal rooms in the lower level of the Massachusetts Avenue building, prompting alumni who joined in to recall the late-night sessions of their student days.

The centerpiece of the reunion was the evening concert in the Berklee Performance Center, which gathered 18 singers and instrumentalists representing some of the top talent of two generations of Berklee alumni, nine faculty members, and student Macston Maccow. Led by associate professor and bassist Winston Maccow, the opening band launched the set with a quasi-classical piano improvisation by Giorgi Mikadze ’14 as an intro to Aretha Franklin’s “Spirit in the Dark,” sung soulfully by Merrily James ’10. Aubrey Logan ’09 followed with Leon Russell’s ballad “Superstar.” She had the audience doing a double take when she picked up a trombone and deftly played the intro hook to the next song, George Michael’s “Careless Whisper,” sung as a duet by faculty members Jeff Ramsey and Darcel Wilson.

Terri Lyne Carrington led a jazz group featuring associate professor and guitarist David Gilmore, bassists Reuben Rogers ’94 and Matt Garrison ’92, pianist Lawrence Fields ’08, and saxophonists Jaleel Shaw ’00 and Hailey Niswanger ’11, serving up two jazz works recorded by Carrington. Duke Ellington’s “Money Jungle” featured spirited soloing by Fields and Shaw over Carrington’s crisp funk, swing, and sometimes abstract time keeping. Carrington’s version of the Beatles’ “Michelle” offered the spotlight to Niswanger, Gilmore, and Garrison.

A trio comprising bassist Abraham Laboriel ’72 and his sons Mateo ’03 (guitar), and Abe Jr. ’93 (drums, guitar, vocals) was augmented by professor Jetro da Silva for original songs penned by each of the Laboriels. Mateo’s Latin grooved “Quiet Space” showcased some intense interplay between by da Silva’s piano and Abe Jr.’s drumming. Abraham also added his trademark chordal and flamenco-inspired bass soloing. Abe Jr. came from behind the drums to sing and play guitar on his introspective song “Less.” The set finished with Abraham singing, “Listen to Your Brother,” with the audience singing along.

Drummer Harvey Mason ’68 led a group that included associate professor of guitar Jeff Lockhart and brought da Silva, Garrison, Rogers, Niswanger, and Shaw back to the stage for jazz variations on Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints.” Their set concluded with a freewheeling shuffle jam that provided everyone solo space.

 

A group anchored by veteran studio musicians John “JR” Robinson ’75 (drums), Neil Stubenhaus ’75 (bass), and assistant professor Marty Walsh (guitar) played a hard-grooving set of five songs drawn from famous recordings Robinson and some of his cohorts have played on. They included Robinson’s New Orleans–inflected original “Crawfish Salad,“ “Killer Joe,” as played by Quincy Jones (featuring faculty saxophonist Dino Govoni), Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody” (sung by Darcel Wilson), Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” (sung by Jeff Ramsey), and Herbie Hancock’s version of the blues “When Love Comes to Town” (sung by David Price ’06 with a wild guitar solo by Walsh). The audience roared in approval.

The concert closed with four tunes by the Latin trio Los Romberos. Their percussive mix of rumba flamenca and Latin rock beats (played on two guitars and hand percussion plus three-part singing) instantly had everyone clapping along. Bassist Abraham Laboriel joined the trio for their finale, bringing the energy to a new peak and getting the audience on its feet before final bows by all performers.

Following the concert, there was a reception and after-hours jams in three rooms of the 160 building that went into the wee hours. Among those sitting in were President Roger Brown and Jaleel Shaw. Additionally, a reel featuring the work of alumni film composers was screened in the new dub stage. The next morning, alumni gathered one more time over breakfast in the cafeteria, and then bid farewell for the moment, looking forward to future reunions.

Special kudos go to the alumni affairs team Beverly Tryon ’82, Karen Bell ’90, Arielle Schwalm ’10, Michael Gaskins ’93, and numerous staff and faculty members across many departments who helped conceive of and orchestrate the many facets of Berklee’s first alumni homecoming.