Slideshow: Donald Harrison and the Berklee All-Stars Perform for Enthusiastic Crowds in India
Saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr. '81 and bassist Max Moran '10 play at the 6th Delhi International Jazz Festival, presented by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
Mohit Kapil
Vocalist Patrice Williamson and saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr. '81 share the stage at the Delhi International Jazz Festival on September 26, 2016.
Mohit Kapil
Bassist Max Moran '10 jams before thousands of people at the Delhi International Jazz Festival.
Mohit Kapil
Berklee faculty member Leo Blanco plays for the crowd at the Delhi International Jazz Festival. Blanco was so taken by India that he extended his trip to visit Chennai.
Mohit Kapil
Patrice Williamson, associate professor in Berklee's Voice Department, sings at the Delhi International Jazz Festival.
Mohit Kapil
Drummer Darryl Staves Jr. plays with Donald Harrison and the Berklee All-Stars at the American Center in New Delhi on September 27, 2016.
Mohit Kapil
Bassist Max Moran '10 gets into the groove at a concert at the American Center.
Mohit Kapil
Donald Harrison Jr. '81 takes to the microphone during a September 27 concert at the American Center.
Mohit Kapil
Donald Harrison Jr. leads the Berklee All-Stars in a September 27 concert at the American Center in New Delhi .
Mohit Kapil
Clint Valladares, managing director of the Berklee India Exchange (BIX), says a few words at a concert by Donald Harrison and the Berklee All-Stars at the American Center.
Mohit Kapil
In his first trip to India, renowned saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr. '81 played with the Berklee All-Stars to a sold-out crowd of several thousand people at the sixth Delhi International Jazz Festival on September 26.
"It felt incredible. (The crowd) was very receptive, and we played our music, and they were up and dancing at the end and they wanted more. So artists are always happy when the audience wants more," Harrison told local media channel WION.
Harrison and the band, which includes vocalist and Berklee faculty member Patrice Williamson, bassist Max Moran '10, pianist and faculty member Leo Blanco, and drummer Darryl Staves Jr., kicked off the hourlong set with the blues and then moved into jazz standards such as "When the Saints Go Marching in."
"The way Donald Harrison was able to interact with the crowd was spectacular," said Clint Valladares, managing director of the Berklee India Exchange (BIX), which organized the trip. "The crowd was enthusiastic that jazz was being performed in India and coming directly from the source, American popular music, to people in India, who had always loved jazz but don’t often get the opportunity to experience it in a way that is accessible, soulful, funky, and true to the tradition."
As part of the trip, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State to strengthen U.S.-India relations through jazz, Harrison and the band held a workshop at the Ark School, a government school in New Delhi for children 8 to 10 years old from underserved communities, on September 27 and then performed a 45-minute set that night at the American Center in honor of World Tourism Day. The following day the group headed to Chandigarh, India, for an hourlong concert for an audience of 500.
Harrison told India's Business Standard that coming to India had long been a dream of his. And it didn't disappoint. "The audience here treats you like a special guest. They know how to engage with the artist. And most importantly, you people are the warmest," he said.