Marc Gratama

Born: July 23, 1968

Born in the Netherlands, Marc Gratama started playing drums at the age of 9. In 1982, he and his family moved to Iowa City, Iowa. During his time in Iowa he performed and recorded extensively as part of the Iowa City music scene. After having studied classical percussion at the University of Iowa, Marc transferred to Berklee College of Music to focus on his drumset playing and graduated with a Professional Music Diploma in the summer of 1997.

During his five years as a Boston resident Marc was very active on the East Coast music scene, performing in Boston, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Martha’s Vineyard and New York with steady projects, recordings and freelance work. In New York he performed with Cuba Gooding and the Main Ingredient. Cuba Gooding wrote and recorded the popular song “Everybody Plays the Fool” which was later covered by Aaron Neville of the Neville Brothers. Apart from his musical endeavors in Boston, Marc performed with various rock groups, funk groups, jazz small groups and Big Bands in the United States, Holland, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and Hungary. Marc has performed with many well established musicians including Phil Wilson, Hal Crook, Steve La Spina, John Abercrombie, George Garzone, and Jerry Bergonzi. He also toured and recorded with Bergonzi for the Swedish X-Records label in the fall of ’94 and the Dutch A-Records label in the fall of ’95. Marc then went on to perform and record with the Boston fusion power trio Neptune Ensemble for the Hi-Test records label. In August of 1998, Marc moved back to Holland, where he was in high demand as a freelance drummer. He was a member of the Max Vax Trio, performing at the 1999 Iowa City Jazz Festival, and played with such European notables as Jazz tenor saxophonist Dick de Graaf, bassists Bobby Jacobs, Theo de Jong, Hein van der Geyn, Jean Louis Rassinfosse, as well as Hans “Big Boy” Dulfer and Dutch trumpet player Saskia Laroo. While in the Netherlands, Marc played drums on a solo album by Debbie Sledge, one of the famous 70’s “Sister Sledge” disco queens. He was also part of the Amalgam Jazz Quartet, and recorded a CD with them In May of 2001. More information on Amalgam and the CD can be found at www.Amalgam.nl

Jim Lucchese Named Berklee��s Fifth President

July 28, 2024

Berklee has announced that Jim Lucchese, a pioneering music industry executive and a dedicated artist advocate will become its fifth president, effective January 1, 2025. Lucchese brings to this role 20 years of experience innovating artist-focused services. A Boston-born musician who has served Berklee in many advisory roles over the course of his career, Lucchese is ...

Devin Daniels

A recent graduate of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Studies, Inglewood-native Devin Daniels is one of the most unique and exciting voices in LA's thriving the modern jazz scene. African American Alto Saxophonist Devin Daniels has performed in many different configurations of bands in the jazz idiom since 2010. Hailing from Inglewood, California, Daniels started playing saxophone in the Just Lovin’ Music Studios program, led by pianist Michelle Love. This program is a free program designed to give students of color a chance to rent out and learn a new instrument

Ferran Rico

Born: January 23, 1999

Between head-nodding grooves and meaningful melodies, Ferran’s music brings together contemporary jazz with central European harmony, his Mediterranean origin and his love for

the music of the world, with the common denominator of deep roots in improvised Black American Music. Ferran offers a unique, very entertaining yet encompassing show.

Yoshie Nakayama

Born: March 24, 1980

Yoshie Nakayama, a music producer, trombonist, and singer, is known for co-founding Songs for World Peace, a global initiative leveraging music to promote world peace. 

Her a cappella composition "Sing For You" led the UNIVOZ Vocal Ensemble to win in the Adult category on WBGH’s “Sing That Thing!” and its music video was premiered at the Global Voices Film Festival San Francisco 2021, hosted by UN Women San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.

Her arrangements are housed in the Japanese Library of Congress in Tokyo and are published by Sheet Music Plus, Fairy Inc., and the Jazz Vocalist Society of Japan.

Award-Winning Seoul Pianist Yujung Jung Plays Jazz Around The World

August 10, 2023

Award-Winning Korean Musician Creates Her Own Fusion Genre Yujung Jung, a Korean Music Award-winning pianist and graduate of Dongduk Women��s University, Berklee College of Music and The Berklee Global Jazz Institute in the United States, has been playing at major festivals for two decades, dazzling audiences around the world with her unique jazz, Gospel and K-Pop ...

Michael Fox

Davide Cerreta

Davide Cerreta is an Italian-German jazz singer, pianist, composer, arranger, lyricist, and educator. His repertoire consists of traditional jazz standards, hard bop melodies, contemporary original compositions and rearranged Pop-R&B tunes. Cerreta has been described as an old, romantic soul with a modern twist. He has performed in various festivals, TV shows, theaters, and jazz clubs throughout Europe, North America, South America, and Central America for the past 13 years. He is currently based in New York, New York, performing, composing, and arranging for an upcoming project. Cerreta also teaches as an assistant professor for the Voice Department at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts

Joshua Cedar

Joshua Cedar spent his formative years studying guitar and composition at the world- renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. Over the years he has studied privately with many of our greatest, contemporary jazz artists including Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Mick Goodrick, Mike Stern, Wayne Krantz, Jamie Glaser, Oz Noy, and others. Back home, in the Bay Area, he has always sought out and played with the finest musicians. He performs with numerous groups including the 1970’s Jazz-Rock Revue which performs instrumental arrangements of the music of Yes, Rush, Genesis, Dregs, Jeff Beck, Jean-Luc Ponty, Bruford, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Gentle Giant, and more.

Laszlo Gardony

Internationally acclaimed Boston-based jazz pianist and composer Laszlo Gardony is one of the most expressive and technically skilled pianists working in jazz today. “A formidable improviser who lives in the moment" (JazzTimes), Gardony has performed in 27 countries and released 14 albums: ten albums on the Sunnyside label, two on Antilles, and one on Avenue Jazz during his distinguished, decades-long career. Winner of the Great American Jazz Piano Competition, Gardony has been noted for his "fluid pianism" by The New York Times. The legendary Dave Brubeck called him "a great pianist."