MARSALIS BERKLEE JAMS CONTINUE WITH ALL-STAR JAZZ TRIO FLY AT CAFÉ 939 APRIL 15 and 16, ON THE HEELS OF BAND’S CD RELEASE April 15, 2009

Series, conceived by alumnus Branford Marsalis, has up-and-coming jazz groups
interacting with students in a program of concerts, jam sessions and clinics
High res photos are now available for download at
http://www.ashmontmedia.com/BCM_marsalis_fly_photos.html
(BOSTON) Berklee College of Music and Marsalis Music present MARSALIS BERKLEE JAMS,
an innovative combination of concert performance, jam session, and classroom interaction. The
program brings up-and coming jazz groups to Boston for performances and jam sessions with
Berklee students, as well as master classes and clinics. The series is produced in partnership
with Marsalis Music, the Cambridge-based record label founded by Berklee alumnus Branford
Marsalis. The featured ensemble for this third installment of Marsalis Berklee Jams is FLY, the
highly-regarded collective trio featuring saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Larry Grenadier and
drummer Jeff Ballard. On April 15 and 16, Fly will present two master classes at 1 p.m. and two
performance/jam sessions at 8 p.m. While the master classes and participation in the jam
sessions are open to Berklee students only, tickets for the concert/jam sessions are available to
the public. All events take place at Berklee’s student-run Café 939 (939 Boylston St.) Doors open
at 7:30 p.m. for the concert/jam sessions and tickets are $10. For tickets or more information, call
617-923-8487 or visit http://www.berklee.edu/events. For more information about Café 939, visit
www.cafe939.com. All shows at Café 939 are all ages.
Marsalis Jams was conceived by Branford Marsalis as an initiative to provide meaningful
interaction between established musical ensembles and dedicated student musicians at the high
school and college levels. The program consists of mini-residencies that include classroom
interaction and culminate in performance/jam sessions in which the visiting band follows an
opening set of its own music by inviting student musicians on stage to play. Since 2003, the
program has been successfully presented in colleges and high schools in Florida, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Texas. This is the third Marsalis Berklee Jam,
following programs in 2008 with Miguel Zenón Quartet and Sean Jones Quintet. “The partnership
between Marsalis Jams and the Berklee College of Music has allowed the program to reach a
new level,” says Marsalis Music Creative Consultant Bob Blumenthal. “Each band has delivered
both great music and a unique way of communicating with student musicians. We anticipate that
Fly, a trio built on the collective principle, will offer another fascinating experience.”
Fly features Berklee alum Mark Turner on tenor and soprano saxophones; Larry Grenadier on
double-bass; and Jeff Ballard on drums. Sky & Country, due out in April 2009 is the ECM debut of
the trio, that drummer Jeff Ballard has memorably described as “an intimate band with teeth.” It’s
a group that overturns expectations of its specific instrumentation. Equal rights for all instruments
is one goal. The saxophone seeks parity with bass and drums, and its refusal to fill all the space
with sound brings another set of tensions into play. As writer Nate Chinen observed in a
JazzTimes article, “This is music that that expands and contracts, effortlessly and dramatically
and that balances the cerebral components of group improvisation with the more gut-level
element of groove.”
About Berklee College of Music
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
more than 60 years, 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.
About Marsalis Music
Marsalis Music is the creation of Branford Marsalis, one of the most celebrated jazz musicians of
the past quarter century. Based upon his extensive experience as a saxophonist, composer and
bandleader, Marsalis recognized the need to form a label that allows a diverse array of musicians
to document their best effort. Launched in 2002, Marsalis Music has focused primarily on jazz,
with a roster featuring such promising new artists as Miguel Zenón and Claudia Acuña as well as
Marsalis himself and such established stylists as Joey Calderazzo and Harry Connick, Jr. The
label receives distribution support from Universal Music Group and also sponsors Marsalis Jams
through its non-profit arm, Music Education Initiative, Inc. Marsalis Jams has presented
ensembles in performance/jam session settings on college and high school campuses around the
country, featuring such leading musicians as Sean Jones, David Sánchez, Miguel Zenón and the
late James Williams. The label also conceived and has helped to realize the New Orleans
Habitat Musicians’ Village project that will ultimately provide several hundred homes for displaced
musicians and their families as well as other displaced residents of New Orleans.
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