Bye Bye Blackbird from Tenor Time (Something Else - 1997)

After high school, Joe attended Berklee and his college years were pivotal, a precursor of future collaborations and career opportunities. Joe had been searching for a way to incorporate the fire and spirituality of late-period John Coltrane into more traditional settings and at Berklee, he found it, discovering modal harmony.

"My training was all bebop, and suddenly there were these open forms with deceptive resolutions. That turned me on, the combination of that sound and what I came in there with. I knew what I wanted to work on after that."

During his Boston years, Joe was part of a vibrant scene, always jamming and meeting new musicians, something he has done his entire life. To finance his education, he continued working club dates and other assorted gigs, including an organ trio engagement he shared with future Nonet member George Garzone down in Boston’s combat zone.

His Berklee instructors also played a key role in his development, including Herb Pomeroy, who led the big band, Joe Viola, head of the saxophone department, Andy McGee, a saxophone teacher renown for his advanced improvisation concepts, the inspiring improvisation instructor John LaPorta, and Gary Burton. Joe was in Burton’s number one ensemble during the vibist’s first semester on the faculty at Berklee.

Twenty years later, Joe Lovano was the recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award from Berklee and an honorary doctorate in 1998. Berklee also awarded Joe its first endowed chair, The Gary Burton Chair for Jazz Performance in 2001.

In 2003, Joe created an educational DVD for the Berklee Press:

                              Jazz Improvisation: A Personal Approach with Joe Lovano