The Checkout – Live at Berklee Continues with Patrick Cornelius at Cafe 939

Presented by Berklee, NPR Music, and WBGO FM, The Checkout – Live at Berklee, which brings critically acclaimed alumni back to their alma mater for intimate concerts at Cafe 939, continues with alto saxophonist and composer Patrick Cornelius on Wednesday, December 11. 

Cornelius '00 has been hailed as a "bold and gifted" (All About Jazz) and "self-assured young saxophonist in the post-modern mainstream" (Nate Chinen, New York Times). He was the recipient of three-straight ASCAP Young Composer Awards between 2005 and 2007, and has released four recordings as a leader. 

At the concert, Cornelius will premiere "While We're Still Young," an ambitious song suite he was commissioned by Chamber Music America to write in 2012 that is based on A.A. Milne's children's book When We Were Very Young. "The book is full of vivid imagery and memorable characters," said Cornelius. "This project has had perhaps more personal meaning to me than anything else I've done in my career thus far." 

The concert will be webcast live in HD at nprmusic.org and air in New York on WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM. It will also be archived and available for on-demand listening at NPRmusic.org and checkoutjazz.org. The concert and broadcast start at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $10 for the general public, $5 with a Berklee ID, and are available at cafe939.com or 617-747-2261. Cafe 939 is located at 939 Boylston Street, Boston, and is wheelchair accessible. 

A native of San Antonio, TX, Cornelius attended Berklee College of Music and Manhattan School of Music for undergraduate and graduate degrees, respectively, and he subsequently earned an artist diploma from the Julliard School. While at Berklee, Cornelius studied with George Garzone and Hal Crook, and he was awarded the Billboard Magazine Endowed Scholarship, one of the college's highest honors. His album Maybe Steps, a deeply introspective tone poem, was released on Posi-Tone Records in 2011. With the release of his latest album, Infinite Blue (2013), Cornelius continues to show growth as a player and composer. 

Joining Cornelius on stage at Cafe 939 will be fellow Berklee alumni Kendrick Scott '03 (drums), Peter Slavov '02 (bass), and Nick Vayenas '99 (trombone), Berklee faculty member Jason Palmer (trumpet), as well as Gerald Clayton (piano), John Ellis (saxophone), Miles Okazaki (guitar). 

The concert is made possible with support from Chamber Music America's 2012 New Jazz Works: Commissioning and Ensemble Development program through the generosity of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.