#BerkleeTogether Virtual Series Continues with Concerts Across the Globe
Ivana Cuesta Gonzalez, drummer for the Berklee Jazz and Gender Justice Group
Image courtesy of the artist
The #BerkleeTogether concert series continues in November as Berklee students collaborate for special, live performances from across the globe via Berklee's YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook pages every two weeks on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. EST.
On November 11, the Berklee Jazz and Gender Justice Group will perform “Black Swan Dance” and “20/20,” two original compositions by the ensemble's pianist Camila Cortina Bello and saxophonist Veronica Leahy. Directed by Terri Lyne Carrington, founder and artistic director of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, the student group will be collaborating remotely from locations in Boston and Spain. In addition to Bello and Leahy, the performers include Ivanna Cuesta Gonzalez (drums), Wenjun Wu (bass), and Milena Casado (flugelhorn and trumpet).
“I feel very fortunate to have been a part of this project as a player and composer,” said Camila Cortina Bello. “It proves to me that there are no walls or limitations when there is an honest desire to make music. The energy was amazing, right from the first Zoom meeting.”
Bello and her bandmates are part of the institute, which promotes and advocates for equity and gender justice in the field of jazz. The Berklee Jazz and Gender Justice Group recently performed at the 2020 Monterey Jazz Festival, where they received national and global acclaim.
The Berklee Together Quintet will perform on November 25, with student jazz musicians collaborating from locations ranging from Boston, California, Georgia, and France. The quintet will be performing their original track “Without a Song.”
“It was really cool to work on a recording together from all over the planet,” said Reggie Gordon, guitarist in the quintet. “Recording jazz remotely forces a different approach, and can create things that wouldn't happen in the live studio. I think this experience teaches us that we must always try to create something beautiful, no matter what we have to work with.”
Directed by previous #BerkleeTogether performer Edmar Colón, the quintet’s performers also include Akili Bradley (trumpet), Devon Gates (bass/vocals), Jose Ignacio Santos Aquino (clarinet), and Jeansalim Charvet (saxophone).