Eddie Gomez's All-Star Jazz Band

Puerto Rican jazz double bassist Eddie Gomez visited Berklee in November as part of the college's Latin Music and Culture Celebration. Gomez is perhaps best known for his work with the two-time Grammy-winning Bill Evans Trio, and he's also played with such jazz greats as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea.

Performing with Gomez were Jazzfest International director Javier Flores Mavil, Puerto Rico Conservatory jazz director Marco Pignataro, Berklee Percussion Department professor Victor Mendoza, Performance Division dean Matt Marvuglio, Piano Department instructor Carmen Staaf, and Percussion Department assistant professor Bertram Lehmann. Mavil and Pignataro's participation in the Latin Culture Celebration week also included a roundtable discussion of jazz education throughout Latin America.

The night began with "Un Caramelo," an original tune by Mendoza, who also produced the concert. The rest of the material was original music from a recent recording with Gomez by Pignataro and Marvuglio, as well as songs written by Mendoza that will soon be recorded with Gomez.

The evening ended with a standing ovation, and for an encore the group played a version of "Bésame Mucho" that "had some people practically in tears with Eddie's breathtaking introduction using only harmonics," says Mendoza.