NEC Jazz Orchestra + Carl Atkins: "High Life: The Music of Wayne Shorter"

In a career spanning more than 60 years, Carl Atkins has distinguished himself as a woodwind specialist, conductor, composer, ethnomusicologist, administrator, consultant, and teacher, in “Jazz,” non-Western and Western European art music. Atkins received the Bachelor of Music in Woodwinds from Indiana University, the Master of Music in Conducting from the New England Conservatory, and the Doctor of Music in Conducting from the Eastman School of Music.
       Atkins has performed with many noted musicians and organizations, including Gunther Schuller, George Russell, Bill Evans, Jaki Byard, and Herbie Hancock; the American National Opera Co., the Boston Opera Co., and the Swedish Radio Jazz Orchestra.  As a composer, he has written for solo artists, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestras, wind orchestras, and documentary films.
      Atkins was the founding director of the Jazz and Afro-American Music Department at the New England Conservatory, where healso taught woodwinds, African American Music History, and conducted jazz and wind ensembles.  He has served as President and Executive Director of the David Hochstein School of Music & Dance (Rochester, NY), and Board Chair of the National Guild for Community Arts Education.  In 1995 he became Co-Director (with noted Jazz bassist, Ron Carter) of the Thelonious Monk Institute at NEC.  In 1999, Atkins was appointed Associate Dean for Advanced Studies at NEC. In 2002, he was appointed Professor of Music at the Rochester Institute of Technology, serving as Chair of the Department of Performing and Visual Arts from 2012 to 2018.  Atkins retired as Professor Emeritus in 2018, and in 2021 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the New England Conservatory.  

Tenor saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi is an internationally recognized jazz performer, composer, author, and educator. Bergonzi has performed throughout the world at all the major jazz festivals and jazz venues, with his own ensembles as well as with numerous jazz greats. His music is renowned for its innovation, mastery, and integrity. His discography includes more than 60 recordings, notably Standard Gonz with the Jerry Bergonzi Quartet on the Blue Note label; he also has 60 recorded song titles registered with ASCAP. As a clinician Bergonzi has taught at conservatories and music schools throughout the U.S. and Europe. He is the author of a series of instructional books with play-along CDs and videos, entitled Inside Improvisation, published by Advance Music (seven volumes: Melodic Structures, Pentatonics, Jazz Line, Melodic Rhythms, Thesaurus of Intervallic Melodies, Developing a Jazz Language, and Hexatonics), as well as the book/CD set Sound Advice. The Inside Improvisation series is now available in French, German, and Italian translations. Bergonzi is a three-time NEA grant recipient.

Ethan Iverson is a pianist, composer, and writer who lives in Brooklyn. His latest Blue Note release, Technically Acceptable, features a Piano Sonata originally premiered at New England Conservatory, where Iverson has taught since 2016.

Rachel Z is a keyboardist with a long history of award-winning performances in the worlds of jazz and rock. In addition to her 13 albums as bandleader and her work in internationally acclaimed bands such as Steps Ahead, Vertú, the Omar Hakim Experience, and OZmosys, she has played and toured with artists like Wayne Shorter (on the Grammy-winning album High Life), Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Terri Lyne Carrington, Al Di Meola, and Regina Carter. She also co-wrote the Grammy-winning song, Tokvo Blue with fellow NEC graduate, Najee. Rachel came to worldwide prominence in the rock world in the Peter Gabriel concert films Growing Up Live and Still Growing Up Live. Since 2000, she has been a Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies at The New School University in New York. Since 2022 also a Professor of Jazz Studies and Electronic Music at Montclair State University and Cali School of the Arts.
 

NEC Jazz Orchestra
Ken Schaphorst, director

Winds
Zack Bacak, alto and soprano saxophone, flute
Lenka Molcanyiova, alto and soprano saxophone
Logan From, tenor saxophone, flute
Hunter McKay, tenor saxophone, clarinet
Matt Wessner, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet

Trumpets

Flute
Subin Oh

Oboe
Abigail Hope-Hull

English horn
Christian Paniagua

Bassoon
Julien Rollins
Carson Meritt

French horn
Mauricio Martinez
Sophie Steger

Violin 1
Olga Kaminsky
Angela Sin Ying Chan
Joy Wei
Sydney Scarlett

Violin 2
Claire Thaler
Yebin Yoo
Gabriella Foster
Tessie Katz

Viola
Philip Rawlinson
Po-Sung Huang
Ru-Yao Van der Ploeg
Chengrong Li

Cello
Nicholas Tsang Man To
Asher Kalfus
Lexine Feng
Seoyeon Koo