Berklee today is the official alumni publication of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a forum for contemporary music and musicians.
Issue link: http://berkleetoday.epubxp.com/i/67927
ALUMNOTES Big Apple Spotlight by Karen Bell '90 William Garrett '78 Jee Hyun Kim '09 Ian Underwood '09 Hailey Niswanger '11 Bassist Adam Neely of Brooklyn, NY, won a 2012 ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composers Award. Visit www. adamneely.com. Trombonist Grzegorz Rogala of Zgierz, Poland, and his band Projekt Grzegorza Rogali performed a John Zorn composition featuring Israeli saxophonist Sagit Zilberman and a rapper on the Kosher Jam on UK Jazz Radio in December 2011. Visit www. rogala.art.pl. Bassist Ian Underwood of Bridgewater, CT, just released the jazz-fusion album Help I Lost My Body. It features Melissa Aldana on sax, Juan Ospina '07 on piano, and Devin Collins on drums. Visit www. ianunderwoodbass.com. 2010 Ellen Angelico of Nashville, TN, has advanced from agent to part owner of Vulcan Army Booking. She helped spearhead the release of the agency's first compilation album, This Is Vulcan Army Booking, Vol. 1. Visit www. vulcanarmybooking.com. John Branch IV of Long Island City, NY, has been hired as a full-time assistant engineer at PLUSHnyc, an audio postproduction facility. Visit www.bboyspazmusic.com. Jacob Cohen of Williamsburg, NY, plays the part of a drummer in the Broadway comedy One Man, Two Guvnors, featuring James Corden at 42 Berklee today the Music Box Theatre in Manhattan. For more information, visit www. jacobcolincohen.com. Bassist and composer Louis de Mieulle of Brooklyn, NY, just released his first solo album, Defense Mechanisms. The recording also includes Casimir Liberski on key- boards and Matt Garstka on drums. MJ Fisher of Berkeley, CA, has been running sound and mixing for shows and private functions, including the Health and Harmony Festival and the Healdsburg Guitar Festival. Visit www.archeraudio.com. Davey Jones of Scituate, MA, won the 2011 DJ Battle of the Beats at Lansdowne Pub, where he was spin- ning and drumming simultaneously. Dirt Water News magazine, which covers nightlife in Boston, recently featured him on the cover. Pete Walsh of East Greenwich, RI, produced the songs "Eighteen Cool" and "Small Town" for hip-hop artist Hoodie Allen's album All American. 2011 Drummer Elton Charles of Nashville, TN, engineered and produced the album Loud and Clear for singer/ songwriter Carly Tefft. It can be heard on Spotify or purchased on iTunes. Visit www.eltoncharles.com. Singer/songwriter Nicholas Connell of Cambridge, MA, released the first single, "Drum Driving," from his debut album, Superstars in Love. Visit www.nicholasconnell.com. Harry Miree of Chapel Hill, NC, has been touring the United States with new rock artist Boom City in support of the group's debut EP. Visit www. boomcity.org. Saxophonist Hailey Niswanger of Brooklyn, NY, produced her second album, The Keeper, with the help from contributors to her Kickstarter cam- paign. It's being played on jazz radio stations and was reviewed in the May issue of DownBeat magazine. Zac Zinger of Brighton, MA, was the recipient of a 2012 ASCAP Foundation's Young Jazz Composer Award. For three decades, William Garrett '78 has honed his talents as a producer and engineer and created a home away from home for many New York music industry folk at Electracraft Music Works. Artists such as Claude Kelly '02, Norah Jones, Mary J. Blige, the Jonas Brothers, Cyndi Lauper, and Makeba Riddick '99 are just a small sample of his clientele. Riddick refers to the work of Garrett and his team at Electracraft Music Works as "the best recipe for cre- ating hit records." For 15 years, Garrett ran the in-house publishing studio at Sony/ATV Music Publishing uptown at 550 Madison Ave. When it closed in November 2005, he opened Electracraft a few months later, in February 2006. When the building that housed his studio was slated to be turned into a homeless shelter, Garrett moved his operation to a new location in lower Manhattan on East 31st Street in February 2011. Electracraft does a range of work including preproduction and song creation for TV and films, voice-overs, album overdubs and mixing as well as demo sessions for top songwriters. The studio's gear includes Pro Tools, Logic Pro, and Reason software; an array of great mics, preamps, compressors, and studio monitors; and a selection of soft synths and MIDI gear. Garrett and his staff—which fluctu- Competition Winners Congratulations to the Berklee alumni who won numerous awards at the 16th Annual USA Songwriting Competition. Yasutaka Yoshioka '86 received first place in the Instrumental category. In addition Don Breithaupt '79, Katie Miner '99, and Yuichiro Tokuda '03 were finalists. Kyler England '98 received an honorable mention award. For more information, visit www.songwriting.net. ates between three and five engineers— have created a niche by catering to publishing companies, songwriters, and producers. "Electracraft's blend of tech- nology, talent, and personality generates a vibe that breeds creativity and creates great music," Garrett says. "Quality and vibe are my main concerns." Business is good for Garrett and, knowing that big- ger is not always better, he has no plans to open satellite facilities elsewhere. "For now all my energy is focused on keeping our standards high at our New York City location." For more information, visit www. facebook.com/electracraft. Stephen Webber