Esperanza Spalding

Berklee College of Music president Roger Brown hosted a little Grammy get-together before Sunday's awards show, with celebrated alums Quincy Jones - winner of a whopping 27 Grammys - Paula Cole, Steve Vai, and Esperanza Spalding, who won last year for best new artist, all attending. Also there were nominated alums Miles Walker, Jeff Bhasker, Tierney Sutton, Ryan Shore, Joe Lovano, and professor Terri Lyne Carrington. Lalah Hathaway serenaded Jones with a rendition of "A Song for You," a tune made famous by her father, Donny Hathaway.

OPENING MAY 19 PHILADELPHIA Barnes Foundation : Albert C. Barnes's development of a treatment for gonorrhea made him a very wealthy man in the early years of the last century. He used his wealth to amass an art collection now valued at $25 billion. Its holdings include 181 Renoirs, 69 Cezannes, 59 Matisses, and 46 Picassos, as well as works by Degas, Monet, Seurat, Van Gogh, Rousseau, and Modigliani — a Cooperstown of modern art. For many years, the Barnes was located in suburban Philadelphia, with limited access to the public.

The largest independent college of contemporary music in the world has awarded honorary degrees to the Eagles and Grammy winning country singer Alison Krauss at a ceremony in Boston. Boston's Berklee College of Music has also honored influential Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatkle. The artists were honored during the school's commencement ceremony Saturday. Students paid tribute to the honored artists with a concert featuring their music. More than 900 students from 58 countries graduated from Berklee this year.

The largest independent college of contemporary music in the world has awarded honorary degrees to the Eagles and Grammy Award-winning country singer Alison Krauss at a ceremony in Boston. The city's Berklee College of Music also has honored influential Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatke, an alumnus. The artists were honored during the school's commencement ceremony Saturday. Students paid tribute to the artists with a concert featuring their music. More than 900 students from 58 countries graduated from Berklee this year.

The largest independent college of contemporary music in the world has awarded honorary degrees to the Eagles and Grammy Award-winning country singer Alison Krauss at a ceremony in Boston. The city's Berklee College of Music also has honored influential Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatke, an alumnus. The artists were honored during the school's commencement ceremony Saturday. Students paid tribute to the artists with a concert featuring their music. More than 900 students from 58 countries graduated from Berklee this year.

Grammy-winning bassist Esperanza Spalding , Berklee voice coach Maggie Scott , and R&B singer Lalah Hathaway conducted a clinic for students this week. Spalding and Hathaway are former students of Scott's, to whom they paid tribute with a concert Thursday that also included alums Antonia Bennett , Robin McKelle , and Nadia Washington . It was Spalding's first appearance in Boston since winning best new artist Grammy last February. Pictured (from left): Hathaway, Scott, and Spalding.

OPENING MAY 19 PHILADELPHIA Barnes Foundation : Albert C. Barnes's development of a treatment for gonorrhea made him a very wealthy man in the early years of the last century. He used his wealth to amass an art collection now valued at $25 billion. Its holdings include 181 Renoirs, 69 Cezannes, 59 Matisses, and 46 Picassos, as well as works by Degas, Monet, Seurat, Van Gogh, Rousseau, and Modigliani — a Cooperstown of modern art. For many years, the Barnes was located in suburban Philadelphia, with limited access to the public.

Jazz bassist and Berklee alum Esperanza Spalding is donating the dress she wore to perform at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for President Obama to the Smithsonian. The museum announced yesterday that the dress will be part of its women-in-jazz initiative. Spalding, who last year won a Grammy for best new artist, performed at the Nobel ceremony in Oslo at the invitation of the president. Spalding studied at Berklee and, at the age of 20, became one of the youngest professors in the school's history.

The Newport Jazz Festival announced its lineup Tuesday, and it includes a robust mix of all-stars and up-and-comers, from major jazz names like guitarist Pat Metheny and drummer Jack DeJohnette to hot young acts such as trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. The festival takes place Aug. 4 and 5 at Fort Adams State Park, from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. The list of more than two-dozen acts includes Dianne Reeves, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Christian McBride, James Carter, Jason Moran, Kurt Elling, the Bad Plus, and the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a...

April 7 Gentlemen Hall at Brighton Music Hall. www.livenation.com April 12 "Child's Play" opens at Panopticon Gallery. www.panopticongallery.com April 14 Gary Hoey at the Blue Ocean Music Hall at Salisbury Beach. www.blueoceanhall.com White Rabbits at the Paradise Rock Club. www.livenation.com April 15 "In Their Own Words" at First Parish in Lexington. www.lexingtonhistory.org April 17 "Dayglow: L!fe in Color" at DCU Center in Worcester. www.ticketmaster.com April 22 Esperanza Spalding at the Orpheum Theatre.

The largest independent college of contemporary music in the world has awarded honorary degrees to the Eagles and Grammy winning country singer Alison Krauss at a ceremony in Boston. Boston's Berklee College of Music has also honored influential Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatkle. The artists were honored during the school's commencement ceremony Saturday. Students paid tribute to the honored artists with a concert featuring their music. More than 900 students from 58 countries graduated from Berklee this year.

PICK OF THE DAY Closing the house for the season It's not absurd to close the José Mateo Ballet Theatre dance season with "Absurdus. " It's a grand finale program featuring a world premiere set to a Philip Glass violin concerto plus an audience favorite, "House of Ballet. " Friday at 8 p.m. (through May 6). $38. Sanctuary Theatre, 400 Harvard St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. 617-354-7467. www.ballettheatre.org FRIDAY Sonnets to slams in Salem Three days and nights of readings, workshops, performances, and panels are bewitching at Salem's Massachusetts Poetry Festival.

ON WGBH Greater Boston 7 p.m. WGBH (Channel 2) ON CHRONICLE Fashion Forward 7:30 p.m. WCVB-TV (Channel 5) Meet some Bostonians who are making their businesses flourish in the world of style. RADIO HIGHLIGHTS The Diane Rehm Show 10 a.m. WGBH-FM (89.7) Former New York Times reporter Leslie Maitland discusses her book "Crossing the Borders of Time: A True Story of War, Exile, and Love Reclaimed. " The Emily Rooney Show noon WGBH-FM (89.7) Carol Fulp, president and CEO of The Partnership.

April 7 Gentlemen Hall at Brighton Music Hall. www.livenation.com April 12 "Child's Play" opens at Panopticon Gallery. www.panopticongallery.com April 14 Gary Hoey at the Blue Ocean Music Hall at Salisbury Beach. www.blueoceanhall.com White Rabbits at the Paradise Rock Club. www.livenation.com April 15 "In Their Own Words" at First Parish in Lexington. www.lexingtonhistory.org April 17 "Dayglow: L!fe in Color" at DCU Center in Worcester. www.ticketmaster.com April 22 Esperanza Spalding at the Orpheum Theatre.

"Chamber Music Society," the album that netted Esperanza Spalding so much acclaim, not to mention the 2011 Grammy for best new artist, braided strands of jazz, light classical, and gentle R&B in ways that hadn't precisely been done before. The record was fresh, intelligent, and graceful, if difficult to plug into any particular radio format, but it climbed the jazz charts nonetheless. Given such success, her follow-up, naturally, is entirely different. Spalding - the bassist, vocalist, and songwriter who grew up in Oregon and graduated from Berklee College of Music - calls "Radio Music...

The Newport Jazz Festival announced its lineup Tuesday, and it includes a robust mix of all-stars and up-and-comers, from major jazz names like guitarist Pat Metheny and drummer Jack DeJohnette to hot young acts such as trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. The festival takes place Aug. 4 and 5 at Fort Adams State Park, from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. The list of more than two-dozen acts includes Dianne Reeves, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Christian McBride, James Carter, Jason Moran, Kurt Elling, the Bad Plus, and the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a blues group led by...

"Chamber Music Society," the album that netted Esperanza Spalding so much acclaim, not to mention the 2011 Grammy for best new artist, braided strands of jazz, light classical, and gentle R&B in ways that hadn't precisely been done before. The record was fresh, intelligent, and graceful, if difficult to plug into any particular radio format, but it climbed the jazz charts nonetheless. Given such success, her follow-up, naturally, is entirely different. Spalding - the bassist, vocalist, and songwriter who grew up in Oregon and graduated from Berklee College of Music - calls "Radio Music...

Saxophonist Joe Lovano has tried on a lot of bands and formats since joining the Blue Note label 20 years ago — duos, trios, quartets, big bands, near-classical ensembles. But his current quintet, Us Five, may be his finest. The band — which features pianist James Weidman, bassist Esperanza Spalding, and drummers Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela — put out the spectacular “Folk Art’’ in 2009, and now they serve up “Bird Songs,’’ a collection inspired by the work of Charlie Parker.

Berklee College of Music president Roger Brown hosted a little Grammy get-together before Sunday's awards show, with celebrated alums Quincy Jones - winner of a whopping 27 Grammys - Paula Cole, Steve Vai, and Esperanza Spalding, who won last year for best new artist, all attending. Also there were nominated alums Miles Walker, Jeff Bhasker, Tierney Sutton, Ryan Shore, Joe Lovano, and professor Terri Lyne Carrington. Lalah Hathaway serenaded Jones with a rendition of "A Song for You," a tune made famous by her father, Donny Hathaway.

We didn't know it at the time, but the prevailing theme in pop music unofficially began on Feb. 13. That's the night when the unthinkable happened: A largely unknown jazz musician won the Grammy for best new artist, shutting out a field of pop stars with far more sales and name recognition. When Berklee-bred Esperanza Spalding took the award, besting Justin Bieber, Drake, Florence + the Machine, and Mumford & Sons, it inadvertently sent a clear message. This was the year we valued and even craved intimacy in pop music again.