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Berklee students set to swing into Salem

By Tom Dalton
Staff writer
Published: May 9, 2008

SALEM — The Berklee College of Music is about as good as it gets.

A real "who's who" of the music world — Branford Marsalis, Melissa Etheridge, Paula Cole, John Mayer, Diana Krall and Quincy Jones, among many others — have attended the school. Even "Tonight Show" band leader Kevin Eubanks went to Berklee.

Tomorrow, the famous Boston music college is coming to Salem for the first of four Berklee Summer Series performances. The free concerts by student music groups will be outdoors in Derby Square (in front of Old Town Hall) from 5 to 7 p.m.

"You're getting some of the best we have," said Mitzi Dorbu, a Berklee spokeswoman.

Tomorrow's headliner is a good example. Juan Chavez, a Latin and salsa violinist from Texas, has already performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and at Disney World's Epcot Center. Chavez, who is working on his first album, will be backed up by Berklee students on horns, strings and percussion.

"Most of these kids are touring already, but that's not surprising considering it's Berklee," said Matt Caruso, one of the organizers of the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival, which is sponsoring the series with Cabot Money Management and the Salem Five.

One of the other musicians in this series, percussionist Paulo Stagnaro, performed on a CD that won the 2007 Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Recording. He will appear July 12.

There is a link between the Salem Jazz Festival and Berklee. Saxophonist Henley Douglas Jr., who serves as music director for the festival, used to play in a group called the Heavy Metal Horns with guitarist Thaddeus Hogarth, a faculty member at Berklee. Hogarth came to last year's concert series as a fan, and the two men started talking.

The Berklee series not only will showcase the talented college students, but will serve as a lead-in to the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival, which will be held in August at several venues in the city.

The time of this second annual summer concert series has been changed from last year. It has been moved to late afternoon in the hope of drawing more North Shore residents at a cooler time of day.

"It's kind of an opportunity for folks to come downtown and make an early evening of it," Caruso said. He suggested residents bring folding chairs and enjoy a little music before dinner.

Unlike traditional concerts, this series has an educational component. Not only will students be performing, but they will talk to the audience and answer questions about themselves and their music. The students themselves are a story — they come from Japan, Israel, Puerto Rico and other countries, and the diversity is reflected in their music.

"These students get together from all over the world, and they create these bands which have such eclectic sounds," Dorbu said. "They're also developing new sounds and pooling what they know from their native lands. That's part of what makes the Berklee experience so rich."

The series will be held rain or shine. In the event of rain, concerts will move inside to Museum Place Mall.

Berklee Summer Series*

Saturday, May 10: Juan Chavez (Latin, salsa)

Saturday, June 14: Zach Hillyard Band (funk, soul)

Saturday, July 12: La Timbistica (Latin, jazz)

Saturday, Aug. 9: Manami Morita (jazz pianist)

* All concerts 5-7 p.m. in front of Old Town Hall (Front Street). Rain location: Museum Place Mall

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