berklee global jazz institute

BGJI: Letting Go of Ego and Making New Music

On December 12, 2014

In Berklee in Boston, Global Initiatives, Student Experience

The Berklee Global Jazz Institute (BGJI) is a performance program designed to foster creativity and musicianship through various musical disciplines, with pianist and composer Danilo Pérez as its artistic director. The BGJI provides a comprehensive contemporary music environment where students are given opportunities to explore their creativity to the highest level possible, advance the power of music as a tool for the betterment of society, and connect musical creative thinking with the natural environment.

Neta Raanan

During my first audition for Berklee Global Jazz Institute I was star struck. Walking into the BGJI office, Danilo Perez, Marco Pignataro, and John Pattituci sat at a table in the corner of the room. The first time I had heard Danilo Perez was at the Blue Note in New York City with Jack DeJohnette’s band a few years earlier. Sitting behind him that evening I was convinced he had something similar to the powers of Storm from X-Men. With the rhythmic integrity and harmonic colors he played with it seemed like he could crack open the sky with thunder and rain or cause the sun to come out at will. Pattituci’s rich bass sound and the grooves he creates with Brian Blade on records like Wayne Shorter’s ‘Beyond the Sound Barrier’ are something friends I played with used to imitate as best as they could.

Study Abroad in Valencia – Donde estoy?/Where Am I?

Posted by Amanda Corvini

On February 21, 2014

In Admissions, Alumni, Berklee on Tour, Concerts, Foreign-Language Posts, Global Initiatives, Internships, Student Experience, Summer Programs, Valencia Campus

Alper Tuzcu is a 3rd semester student at Berklee. He is from Istanbul, Turkey. He plays guitar and is a Contemporary Writing and Production major.

Where am I?/ Donde estoy?

As we are walking the small cobblestone streets of the El Carmen neighborhood, it is already nighttime in Valencia. We are on our way to see our friends in the Master’s program, who are going to play some music at one of the best local jazz venues in town. We are speaking English and kind of being “loud tourists” around the relatively quite neighborhood. As we walk in to the venue, we hear a familiar tune, Summertime, with the groove mixed with Indian melodies. The next song is a flamenco song, with more microtonal and Indian melodies over and around it. We hear a jazz song with Mediterranean grooves on the rhythm section.

Study Abroad in Valencia – Yes, it is actually 75 degrees here right now.

Posted by Amanda Corvini

On February 21, 2014

In Admissions, Alumni, Foreign-Language Posts, Global Initiatives, Student Experience, Summer Programs, Valencia Campus

Alper Tuzcu is a 3rd semester student at Berklee. He is from Istanbul, Turkey. He plays guitar and is a Contemporary Writing and Production major.

Life in Valencia is quite different from Boston in many different ways. For me, the biggest difference is transportation around the town. At Valencia, majority of people bike around the town everyday. The student residence is a little far from the campus, but you can get to the school in almost 20 minutes by biking. There are a lot of cars, but there are specific bike lanes almost everywhere and in our experience the lanes were respected at all times. I

Paris in April

Posted by broberts

On June 18, 2012

In Student Experience

The Berklee Global Jazz Institute is an honors performance program run by Danilo Perez. Isaac Haselkorn, a graduating drummer for the group writes about his experience at International Jazz Day in Paris.

When rumors first came out that our ensemble would be going to Paris to play at International Jazz Day, we couldn’t believe it. We had just finished a series of concerts and a clinic in Monterey California as Berklee’s representatives to the Next Generation Jazz Festival.

We arrived in Paris at 8 AM on Wednesday morning, dead tired. Determined to seize the day, we resolved to do all the appropriately touristy things, given that we wouldn’t have another long block of time to do so.

Berklee Visits New Orleans at Jazz Education Network’s Conference

Posted by Danielle Dreilinger

On January 28, 2011

In Berklee on Tour, Faculty, New Orleans

Liberal arts faculty member Fred Bouchard shares his impressions of Berklee’s January trip to a big national conference for people in the jazz field.

Risen from the ashes of IAJE under the auspices and hard work of Dr. Lou Fischer and Mary Jo Papich and their loyal board, the St. Louis-based Jazz Education Network hosted well over 2000 attendees in the Crescent City over winter break. The venue was the historic Hotel Roosevelt, which, sore-hit by Hurricane Katrina, had been smartly refurbished to its former glittery art deco glory. Attendance topped 2000, an encouraging feat, even if attendees from Europe were off. Soon came the first jam at Sazerac Bar, named for Cocktail #1 invented there.

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