Tribute to Bob Brookmeyer

Please note, due to ongoing construction work in the immediate vicinity of New England Conservatory, Jordan Hall will be closed immediately following this concert, and will reopen the following day. Find updates here. Please check that you have removed all belongings from the premises, as there will be no readmittance after you leave.

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Bob Brookmeyer taught at New England Conservatory from 1997 to 2007, and created NEC's Jazz Composers' Workshop Orchestra. Brookmeyer died December 15, 2011, a few weeks before what would have been his 82nd birthday. Tonight's concert and a panel discussion earlier today are NEC's tribute to Brookmeyer's impact on the language of jazz and on the musicians who performed and composed under his tutelage here.

Read stories by Brookmeyer's students and fellow teachers.

The concert features Brookmeyer's own visionary, large-scale works, and his arrangements of Django Reinhardt, Fats Waller, and Hoagy Carmichael, performed by the NEC Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Ken Schaphorst.

Brookmeyer ABC Blues, Ho-Hum, Nasty Dance, Happy Song, Dreams

Reinhardt arr. Brookmeyer Django's Castle

Waller arr. Brookmeyer Willow Tree

Carmichael arr. Brookmeyer Skylark

The program also includes works by young composers who studied here with Brookmeyer.

Darcy James Argue '02 M.M., composer of Blow-Out Prevention, was a 2010 Grammy Award nominee. Argue wrote this piece to feature Brookmeyer on valve trombone in Argue's debut at the 2010 Newport Jazz Festival.

Ayn Inserto '01 M.M., composer of A Little Brook, teaches jazz composition at Berklee College of Music. Guest performers on her debut album, Clairvoyance, included Brookmeyer.

Members of the NEC Jazz Orchestra

Saxophones
Will Bridges, alto, soprano saxophones, flute, clarinet
Billy McShane, alto, soprano saxophones, clarinet
Hery Paz, tenor saxophone, clarinet
Jack Finucane, tenor, soprano saxophones, clarinet
Tyler Burchfield, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet

Trumpets, Flugelhorns
Matt Joseph
Kai Sandoval
David Neves
Aaron Dubenion
Josh Gilbert

Trombones
Quinn Carson
Dan Gabel
Eric Stilwell
Michael Prentky

Rhythm Section
Nikolaos Anadolis, piano
Ben Eunson, guitar
Robin Cain, bass
William Rodriguez, drums