Berklee Summer Guitar Sessions Sizzle with Four Nights of Jazz, Blues, and Rock
2003-08-15

Tone-Cool Records' Toni Lynn Washington, plus world-renowned guitar faculty to be featured

BOSTON -- Berklee College of Music's annual Summer Guitar Sessions -- a week of clinics, classes, and concerts from Sunday, August 17, through Friday, August 22 -- has attracted 500 guitar players from all over the world. Some of Berklee's renowned guitar faculty will be featured, along with special guests, in nightly concerts Monday through Thursday. ALL concerts, which are open to the public, begin at 7 p.m. at the wheelchair-accessible Berklee Performance Center. Tickets for all BPC evening concerts are $5, $2 for seniors, and are available at the box office, 136 Massachusetts Ave., Boston (617-747-2261). For more information, go to the Berklee website at www.berklee.edu.

Monday, August 18
Monday's concert will kick off with a 7:00 blues concert by Associate Professor Julien Kasper. Over the years, Kasper has opened for such artists as B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Bo Diddley Albert Collins, Albert King, and Buddy Guy. For the past six years, he has toured internationally and recorded two CDs on the Audioquest label with the Bruce Katz Band. He has also recorded with Mighty Sam McClain (Audioquest and Telarc) and toured extensively with Rounder Records artist Michelle Willson. Kasper recently released his own debut CD Flipping Time.

The second half of Monday night's concert beginning at 8:15 will feature a punk jazz concert Associate Professor Dave Fiuczynski. Dave appears on recordings by a diverse group of artists, including Billy Hart, Me'Shell NdegéOcello, John Medeski, the Chartbusters with Randy Brecker, the Michael Gibbs Orchestra, Muhal Richard Abrams, and his own band, the Screaming Headless Torsos. He has also performed with Kenny Garrett, Branford Marsalis, George Russell's Living Time Orchestra, and Five Guitars Play Mingus, featuring: Larry Coryell, Russell Malone, Jack Wilkins, and Vic Juris.

Tuesday, August 19
Tuesday night's festivities begin at 7 p.m. with a funk concert by Assistant Professor Jim Peterson. A member of three-time Boston Music Award-winning r&b band Eye 2 Eye, Peterson has performed with the gospel group Colour Blind, Lalah Hathaway, Bob Moses, NAJEE, and Tavares. His recordings include Chill and Listen and Gotta Believe by Eye 2 Eye.

At 8:15 faculty guitarist Kevin Belz will take the stage for a blues concert joined by blues singing sensation Toni Lynn Washington. A recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts scholarship, Belz has performed with Paula Cole, Catie Curtis, Ellis Hall, Mighty Sam McClain, Susan Tedeschi, the Temptations, Tony Zamagni, and others. He has recorded with Journey and Mighty Sam McClain and with Telarc Records.

Tone-Cool Records artist Toni Lynn Washington is Boston's "Queen of the Blues." She has been nominated for two W.C. Handy Awards, had her music used in feature film soundtracks, and appeared on National Public Radio in the company of Etta James and John Lee Hooker. Washington has recently recorded a performance for broadcast on Voice Of America, and will soon appear as the featured performer on the House of Blues Radio Hour.

Wednesday, August 20
Opening Wednesday night's show at 7:00 will be the Scott Tarulli Group, featuring faculty guitarist Scott Tarulli, who's performed with the Wailers, Peter Wolf, and Meatloaf.

At 8:15 Wednesday, Assistant Professor Joe Stump will present a metal/rock concert. Stump is renowned among guitar aficionados worldwide for his blistering style and dazzling technique, and his Shred Metal Chop Building DVD is available at www.berkleemusic.com. He has performed across North America, Europe, and Asia, touring with and opening for, among others, Steve Vai, Dokken, and Robin Trower. Guitar One Magazine named Stump one of the top ten shredders on the planet.

Thursday, August 21
Guitar Department Chair Larry Baione wraps up the series of Berklee Summer Guitar Sessions concerts with a jazz concert at 7 p.m. A recipient of the Down Beat Hall of Fame scholarship award, Baione was the principal guitar for the U.S. Army Band, Washington, D.C. He has performed with numerous jazz, concert, and recording ensembles, and will soon release his first solo album, Playing Time, on the JAMUSIC label.

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over half a century, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today -- and tomorrow.

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