Photo provided by the artist

Alum

Darren Barrett

Professor
Affiliated Departments
Ensemble
Faculty Bio E-Mail
dbarrett@berklee.edu
Telephone
617-747-6075
Personal Websites
Darren Barrett's website

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Career Highlights
  • Leads dB Quintet, Energy In Motion, dB-ish, and dB Treyo
  • Has performed or recorded with Elvin Jones, Jackie McLean, Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove Big Band, Common, Will.i.am, Esperanza Spalding, Myron Walden Momentum, Tabou Combo, and Antonio Hart
  • Recordings include First One Up (1999); Deelings (2001); Wrenaissance, Vol. 1 (2004); A Very Barrett Christmas (2011); The Music of the Bee Gees (2014), with Energy in Motion; Live and Direct (2014), with dB Quintet
  • Part of the iInaugural class of the Thelonious Monk Institute Of Jazz 1995-1997
  • Plays trumpet, piano, and drums
Awards
  • Performed on Grammy-winning Esperanza Spalding album, Radio Music Society, 2012
  • First place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition for trumpet, 1997
Education
  • B.M., professional music, Berklee College of Music, 1990
  • M.A.,  jazz performance, Queens College, 1993
  • M.S., music education, Queens College, 1995
  • Diploma in jazz performance from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, 1997 (ilnaugural class)
In Their Own Words

"The first time I heard Miles Davis was on the record 'Round About Midnight, and when I heard Miles's sound and his approach, I knew that the instrument I wanted to play was the trumpet."

"My time [as a student] at Berklee was extremely nurturing. The atmosphere was so inspiring, everyone working so hard to really be able to play at the highest level possible. Antonio Hart and I were roommates for a period, and did a lot of playing together, and grew together. In 1988, my curiosity was piqued by electronic music, programming, and synthesis. I dedicated time learning how to program drum machines and synthesizers, and started learning how to produce popular music."

"This position has helped me to realize my ideas pertaining to live performance—using computers, multi-processor effects, and groove-oriented music with improvisational content.  It has also afforded me the opportunity to write a great deal of music and experiment using the students through the whole process from rehearsals to performance."