The acoustics of GBH Fraser Performance Studio, reputed to be the finest recording facility on the East Coast, play a starring role in the newly available stream of the Tällberg Foundation’s “Jazz for the Planet.”

Filmed at GBH in October, the concert features world-class, Grammy-winning jazz musicians who come together to create new music and inspire positive climate action. It premieres on November 1 as the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference opens.

“Being in that recording studio is almost like being on stage,” says Marco Pignataro, artistic director for the concert and managing director of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. Pignataro has performed many times in Fraser and said that the leaders of the foundation had heard the recordings.

“The quality of the video and sound is fantastic—I think that contributed to Tällberg approaching me about creating their climate concert there.”

The 1,800-square-foot space, which can accommodate everything from a soloist to a 60-piece orchestra, is designed for sound isolation, absorption and diffraction. The studio is a “room within a room,” with a floating floor resiliently mounted on a concrete slab which isolates the studio from the building.

Making meaning from music is part of Pignataro’s mission. “At Berklee, we train students to see themselves not just as entertainers, but to use music for social change,” he says.

“Millions of words have been spoken about the climate crisis, and yet so little has advanced,” said Anthony Rudel, general manager of GBH Music. “Perhaps this amazing event will advance the conversation, for as Hans Christian Andersen wrote, 'Where words fail, music speaks.'"

Tällberg’s Jazz for the Planet features Terri Lyne Carrington (drums), Joe Lovano (saxophone), John Patitucci (bass), Anastassiya Petrova (piano), Nadia Washington (vocals), Pignataro (saxophone), Chico Pinheiro (guitar) and others. The original music was composed by Pignataro, Patitucci and Lovano.

Read about GBH’s Commitment to the Environment here and to watch and listen to more Climate/Environment programs from GBH.