The following contains a list of notable alumni of Berklee College of Music. Members of this list have attended Berklee for at least one full-time semester (not including honorary degrees or summer programs) and are notable in their respective field in the music industry. Some list members may have achieved notability in the entertainment industry unrelated to music, or may be notable for achievements not related to music or entertainment.
* Designates did not complete degree/diploma program. In parentheses is year of graduation.
141 alums have won 332 Grammy awards. [1]
Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200 and its lead single, "Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female in 1989. Her second album, Brave and Crazy, appeared that same year and earned Etheridge two more Grammy nominations. In 1992, Etheridge released her third album, Never Enough, and its lead single, "Ain't It Heavy", won Etheridge her first Grammy Award.
John Scofield is an American guitarist and composer. His music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis; he has toured and recorded with many prominent jazz artists including saxophonists Eddie Harris, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, and Joe Lovano; keyboardists George Duke, Joey DeFrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Larry Goldings, and Robert Glasper; fellow guitarists Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Pat Martino, and Bill Frisell; bassists Marc Johnson and Jaco Pastorius; and drummers Billy Cobham and Dennis Chambers. Outside the world of jazz, he has collaborated with Phil Lesh, Mavis Staples, John Mayer, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Gov't Mule.
The Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including rock, hip hop, reggae, salsa, heavy metal and bluegrass.
Patrice Louise Rushen is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director.
Steve Slagle is an American jazz saxophonist.
Miguel Zenón is a Puerto Rican alto saxophonist, composer, band leader, music producer, and educator. He is a Grammy Award winner, the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship, and a Doris Duke Artist Award. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate Degree in the Arts from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. Zenón has released many albums as a band leader and appeared on over 100 recordings as a sideman.
Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, , is an American jazz trumpeter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer.
Esperanza Emily Spalding is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, a Soul Train Music Award, and two honorary doctorates: one from her alma mater Berklee College of Music and one from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).
Alex Lacamoire is a Cuban-American composer, arranger, conductor, musical director, music copyist, and orchestrator who has worked on many shows both on and off-Broadway. He is the recipient of multiple Tony and Grammy Awards for his work on shows such as In the Heights (2008), Hamilton (2016), and Dear Evan Hansen (2017). Lacamoire was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018.
Tia Fuller is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator, and a member of the all-female band touring with Beyoncé. Fuller is currently a faculty member in the ensembles department at Berklee College of Music. Fuller was a Featured Jazz Musician in Pixar's animated film Soul. For the film Fuller plays an alto saxophone with a Vandoren mouthpiece for the character Dorothea Williams. The appearance of Dorothea Williams is influenced by Fuller, and the character's speaking lines are voiced by Angela Bassett.
Anat Cohen is a New York City-based jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and bandleader from Tel Aviv, Israel.
Charlie Colin was an American musician. He was the bassist for the rock band Train, of which he was a founding member. He also played guitar and provided background vocals for many other bands after his departure from the group in 2003.
Charles Otto Puth Jr. is an American singer-songwriter. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song covers uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record label eleveneleven in 2011 after performing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, during which he contributed songwriting and production work for other artists.
John Connaughton is an American business executive. He is a co-managing partner of Boston-based investment firm Bain Capital. He manages Bain Capital’s global private equity business, and is known for his investments in the healthcare industry.
Paul Boutin is a French-born American music mixer, audio engineer and a long-time collaborator with producer/songwriter/artist Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
Benny Faccone is a recording engineer, mixing engineer, and record producer known for his work with Ricky Martin, Santana, Luis Miguel, Maná and Marco Antonio Solís. He has won 5 Grammy Awards and 12 Latin Grammy Awards.
Richard Oliver Furch is an American music engineer, mixer, and pianist. He has worked with many prominent names in music, including: Usher, Prince, Boyz II Men, Macy Gray, Ruben Studdard, Chaka Khan, India.Arie, and Tyrese, as well as Chinese recording artists, JJ Lin, Tanya Chua, Wang Leehom, Jolin Tsai, and G.E.M. amongst many others.
Maeve Gilchrist is a Scottish harpist and composer currently living in New York City. She is known for combining traditional folk music, jazz, improvisation, and experimentation.
Marianella Rojas, known as Nella, is a Venezuelan singer, originally from Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela.
Brent Kolatalo is an American mixer, record producer, engineer and songwriter based in New York City. Kolatalo has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including Kanye West, Jay-Z, Eminem, Drake, Bruno Mars, X Ambassadors, Future, Chris Webby, Ella Henderson, Taylor Swift, Lorde, OneRepublic, Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey among others.
On July 14, 2009, Berklee trombone principal Aubrey Logan won the prestigious Shure-Montreux Jazz Voice Competition in Switzerland
Chico Pinheiro entered the Berklee College of Music (Boston, Massachusetts) in 1996 on a scholarship, graduating in performance and arranging in 1998. He was given two awards: The professional Music Endowed Scholarship award and The William G. Leavitt Scholarship award.