Summer1991
A Forumfor Contemporary
Music and Musicians
16
Abraham
Laboriel ’72 on the Rewarding
Journeyto First Bass
26
Special ExtendedAlumniSection
|
Whether
theimprintleft uponlistenersis classical,jazz or rockandroll, onecan
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besurethe actionwill feel the samewhenthe pianois a Kawai.
Becauseeverypianohas beenmeticulously
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Copyright1991KawaiAmericaCorp.
~Wlg
~
TheMaster
Builder
SUMMER
o 1991
VOLUME¯ III
NUMBER ¯
1
Contents
LEADSHEET by Dean of Faculty
Warrick
L. Carter
.........
BERKLEE
BEAT
Honorsfor AhmetErtegun, A1Jarreau, and Phil Collins, UchidaFoundation
Presents MajorGift, GearingUpfor Summer,and Berklee CD:Part III.
2
.3
FACULTY
PROFILE:TEDPEASE’66 GOES
BACKTOTHEBOARDS
After 25 years at Berkleeand six years as a division chairman,composerTedPease
is moving back to the classroom as a full-time professor ........
9
ON THE COVER:Bassist
Abraham Laboriel ’72 recalls high points of his career, starting on page 16.
Photo by David Bassett.
BERKLEE
HOSTSMUSICSYNTHESISSYMPOSIUM
Moog,Pearlman, Kurzweil,and Coster: Three major innovators of synthesis and
one major player convenedon campusfor an unprecedentedmeetingof minds. 11
ABRAHAM
LABORIEL’72:HIGHSTYLEONTHELOWENDby Andrew Taylor
From Lee Ritenour to HenryMancini to Michael McDonald,bassist Abraham
Laboriel provides a firm foundation with a warm, personal style .....
16
THECRISISOFSILENCE
IN OURSCHOOLS
by President Lee Eliot Berk
The continuingde-emphasisof musiceducation in Americanpublic schools is
unfair to our children and unwise for our society ..........
21
RHYTHM
IN MELODY
WRITING
by Jack Perricone
Anapproachto songwritingfrom a rhythmicperspective can bring someexciting
discoveries
to your
music
................
24
ALUMNOTES
A special extended section of news, quotes, and recordings of note .....
26
SHOPTALK
Reports on NAMM,
IAJE, and the National Black Music Caucus .....
38
CODA:A LIFE IN MUSIC
by Ahmet Ertegun
In these excerpts from his 1991Commencement
address, Atlantic Records’founder
and co-chairmandescribes his climbto success and his viewfromthe top.
. 40
LEAD SHEET
Berklee t o d
APublication
of theOfficeof Oevelopment
Director
John
Oollins
Managing
Editor
Andrew
Taylor
Feature
Editors
AlmaBerk
Chief
Public
AffairsOfficer
College
News
andAlumni
Features
Lawrence
McClellan,
Jr.
Chairman,
Professional
Education
Division
Music
Education
andGeneral
Education
Features
LarryMonroe
’70
Chairman,
Professional
Performance
Division
Performance
Features
TedPease
’66
Distinguished
Professor,
Professional
Writing
Division
Composition
Features
Donald
Puluse
Chairman,
Music
Technology
Division
Music
Technology
Features
Production
Consultant
JudithLucas,
Director
of Publications
Copy
Editor
Stephen
Melisi
Coordinator
of Alumni
Relations
CarrieSemanco
’86
Assistant
to theOfficeof Devellopment
ChikaOkamoto
’87
As the alumni-oriented music magazineof Berklee
Collegeof Music,Berkleetodayis dedicatedto informing,
enriching, and serving the extendedBerklee community.
Bysharing informationof benefit to alumniabout college
matters, musicindustry events, alumniactivities and accomplishments,and musical topics of interest, Berklee
today serves as both a valuable forum for our family
throughout the world and an important source of commentaryin contemporarymusic.
Berklee today (ISSN1052-3839)is publishedthree times
a year by the BerkleeCollegeof MusicOffice of Development. All contents © 1991by Berklee Collegeof Music.
Addresschanges,press releases, letters to the editor, and
advertising inquiries should be addressedto Berklee today, Berklee College of Music, 1140Boylston Street,
Boston,MA02215,(617) 266-1400,extension 438. Alumni
are invitedto mailactivities materialssuitable for feature
coverageto the chief public affairs officer; or AlmaBerk
can be reachedat extension236. Submissionsaccepted.
2
Berklee today
To the Year 2000
Dean of
Faculty
Warrick
L.
Carter
~
mongBerklee’s most important strengths, and the
ones that we feel will keepthe college mostattractive
to prospective students, are our curriculum, faculty, and
alumni.
In previous editions of Berklee today, President Berk and
DeanBurton have each written about this important trio.
As in the past, our curriculum continues to keep pace with
the diversity of commercialmusic development.Jazz, pop,
rock, soul, rhythmand blues, and other styles all find their
way into the curriculum. These blend with traditional music study and training in music technology to provide an
educational experience unique to Berklee.
To keep pace with this ever-evolving curriculum, faculty are constantly striving to stay current with their disciplines. Throughactive work in the field as music professionals and through attendance at industry and educational
seminars and events, faculty are encouragedto expandtheir
knowledgeand to pass on that knowledgein the classroom.
Additionally, the work of alumni through the structured
BARprogram and the many voluntary non-structured
recruitment efforts have helped the college maintain its
positive student enrollment.
That enrollment continues to be extremelydiverse. Forty
percent of our first-year class are transfer students from
other colleges. Almost30 percent are international students. This breadth of age and experience, musical background, and geographic origin has enriched the Berklee
communityas it has helped ameliorate someof the enrollmentdifficulties of colleges with narrowerconstituencies.
Mycrystal ball is no clearer than anyoneelse’s. Consequently, I cannot predict what new technologies, styles of
music, or pedagogical approaches will be appropriate for
the year 2000. I do predict, however, that Berklee will
continue to be on the cutting edge of contemporary education in music. This prediction is based on the strong
history of our curriculum, faculty, and alumni, as well as
our past ability to adjust to the needs of our students, our
musicindustry, and our role as an educational institution.
As we look to "Berklee 2000," we must build on the
current powerof the trio of curriculum, faculty, and alumni.
Ourfuture success will be tied to the quality of the Berldee
teaching/learning experience, to our ability to keepcurrent
with musical developments, and to the continued involvementof our alumni in recruitment and image building. Our
future is bright and can be even brighter with the equal
successof these factors.
Summer
1991
Berklee b e a t
for outstanding proERTEGUN,
COLLINS,peers
fessional achievementand
JARREALI
HONORED
the benefiting of humanity
Day in Paradise," which
earned him his seventh
Grammy
for"Record of the
as a result of their talent and Year"at this year’s GramBerklee honored three energies."
myceremony. Today, Colmajorindustry figures durPhil Collinsfirst emerged lins is recognizedas oneof
ing the college’s 1991Com- as a vital force in popular the music industry’s top
mencement
ceremoniesthis music as drummerand vo- stars. His recentrelease But
News of note
May,as President Lee Eliot calist for the British pro- Seriously held the number
Berk conferred honorary gressive rock band Genesis one album position in 22
doctor of music degrees in 1970.Thegroup’slegacy countries simultaneously.
uponPhil Collins, A1Jar- of chart-toppingalbumsand His eight-month1990world
reau, and Atlantic Records singles providedCollins a tour took him across four
founder and co-chairman launching ground for his continentsto an audienceof
AhmetErtegun.
solo career in 1981.His in- two million. Andhis solo
"The tradition of the ternational hit "In the Air records have collectively
honorarydoctoral degree is Tonight"established himas sold in excessof 38 million
a long andimpressiveone," a solo performer almost copies.
said President Berk at the overnight.
Throughhis synthesis of
Honorary
doctorof music ceremony. "It was estabOverthe past 10 years of elements of contemporary
degree
recipients(left to lished to recognize those his solo efforts, Collinshas jazz, pop, and dancemusic,
right) Ahmet
Ertegun,AI whohave earned the over- releaseda string of hit sin- AiJarreauhas carvedhimself
Jarreau,
andPhilCollins. whelmingrespect of their gles, including "Another a uniqueniche in the music
industry, and earned widespreadcritical acclaim.The
singerreleasedhis first album, We Got By, to rave
reviewsin 1975,kickingoff
a spectacular career which
has netted himplatinumalbum sales, four Grammy
awards, and numerousinternational awards.
Jarreau’s stream of hit
singlesincludessuchclassics
as "We’rein This LoveTogether," "After All," "Raging Waters," and "So
Good."Jarreau’s eleventh
and latest album, Heart’s
Horizon,includes the song
"Killer Love," a Jarreau/
Henry Mancini collaboration composed
for the film
Skin Deep.
continuedon next page
from about
town and
a~~ound
the
world
Summer
1991
Berklee today
3
For more than four decades, Ahmet Ertegun and
Atlantic Records have made
pop music history, bringing
to international audiences
such groundbreakingartists
as RayCharles, Phil Collins,
Aretha Franklin, John Coltrane, Bette Midler, Cream,
Led Zeppelin, Stevie Nicks,
INXS, and dozens more.
Ertegun also has the distinction of being the longest-standing record label
founder still at the helmof
his company. As principal
speaker at the ceremony,he
offered his experiences and
insights to the graduating
class of 500 students (see
page 40 for excerpts from
his remarks).
"Through almost 45
years in the musicindustry,
Ahmet Ertegun has proven
himself to be both the consummate music businessmanand the ultimate music
fan," said President Berk in
his introduction. He went
on to recognize Ertegun for
"his outstanding dedication
to musical excellence, his
unending support for talented musicians, and for the
Phil Collinsjoins studentsonstageduringthe 1991Commencement
Concert.
indelible mark he has made
on our musicand our lives."
The evening before the
Commencement ceremony,
the three honorees, along
with a full house of Berklee
seniors, family,faculty, staff,
and friertds, enjoyeda spectacular student concert in the
Berklee Performance Center. Phil Collins joined the
festivities by takingthe stage
to perform a movingrendi-
tion of his song of homelessness, "Another Day in
Paradise."
All of the honorees were
enthusiastic in their praise
of the event.
"I never enjoyed a show
as much as I enjoyed the
showlast night," said Ahmet Ertegun. "So muchtalent, so well produced, so
manyreally soulful singers,
the band was fabulous. It
wasjust a thrill to be there."
Ertegun, Jarreau, and
Collins seemed equally
pleased with their recognition at the 1991 Commencementevent.
"I am tremendously
honoredto accept this," said
Collins. "This means to me
that someoneout there has
been listening, that someone
fought through the haze of
pop stardom and all that
goes with it and saw a serious musiciantrying to write
better songs and make better records."
"To be recognized with
applause or pennies in your
hat is quite special," said
Jarreau in accepting his
honor. "To be recognized
for your work by Berklee,
which has prepared all of
these incredible professionals year after year after year,
goes way beyond that."
Above:
AI Jarreaubowsto the crowdat the Berklee Performance
Center. Right: AhmetErtegun
speakswithstudentperformers
inthegreenroom,
4
Berklee today
Summer
1991
making new friends, and Integrated MusicSoftware."
networkingwith other ac- Classes will provide ample
tive musicprofessionals.
hands-ontime.
On August 12 through
TheProfessionalPerforA potent combinationof 16, music educators will manceDivisionwill host the
educationalandrecreation- discoverthe future of their "Jazz Improvisation Workal events will heat up the discipline with a workshop shop" on August14 through
Berklee campusthis summer on "Music TechnologyAp- 17. This workshop
will proas alumni,faculty, andother plications for the MusicEd- vide students, teachers, and
musicindustry leaders come ucator." Thecourseof study professionalswith an intentogether.
sive performance-centered
AlumniWeekend’91 and
experience in Berklee’s
the BAR
Rap-Upare set for
contemporaryapproach to
August17 and 18 (see page
improvisation. Through
35). In addition,four events
lectures, demonstrations,
in the college’s "Summer
and ensembles,participants
Professional Program"sewill discusstechniques,theries will offer active music
oretical concepts,practice
professionalsand musicedroutines,andstylistic appliucators the chanceto discationsrelatedto the art and
cuss and explore important
craft of improvisation.
aspectsof their fields.
On August 15 through
This year’s Alumni will include "The Synthe- 17, the Music Technology
Weekend
is sure to be both sizer as an Ensemble
Instru- Division will host a "Symrevolutionary and evolu- ment," "Using MIDI In- posium on Digital Audio
tionary.Eventsandactivities struments
in Music Workstations." This nawill providea perfect back- Composition and Produc- tional forumwill addressthe
dropfor meetingold friends, tion," and "Studio Vision/ booming growth and po-
GEARING
UP
FORSUMMER
tential of the computer
workstation as a composition and production tool.
Hands-on demonstrations
will present leading workstation configurations.
Also on August 15
through17, the Professional WritingDivisionwill host
the "Jazz Writing Conference," a three-dayseries of
presentations, discussions,
and performancesthat will
explorethe diverse writing
techniques found in contemporaryjazz.
For moreinformation on
these educationalprograms,
contact the Summer
Professional Programsoffice at
Berklee, 1140 Boylston
Street, Boston, MA02215.
Or, call the office at (617)
266-1400,extension417. For
more information
on
AlumniWeekend’91, call
Carrie Semanco
at (617)2661400,extension479.
VISITINGARTISTS
BRING
THEINDUSTRY
TOBERKLEE
A wealth of musicprofessionals an evening concert with Deanof
Composer,scholar, and author
sharedinsights andexperie~Lces
with CurriculumGary Burton ’62 and a GuntherSchuller shared his perstudents over the past year through student ensemble.
spective on compositionand music
Berklee’sbusyVisitingArtist Series.
The Grammy-winning Danish history with students in March.StuIn the series, artists visit campus
for Radio Big Bandalso performedon dents wereespecially interested in
oneor severaldays, offeringclinics, campusfor their anticipated Boston Schuller’sviewsonthe fusionof jazz
masterclasses, andconcerts.
debut. Thevisit served as a home- and classical composition techRenowned keyboardist
Tom comingfor band membersMichael niques--afusion he has named"third
Coster roundedout his semesteras Hove’74 and Nikolaj Bentzon’86. stream music."
Berklee’sartist-in-resiIn April, singer/songdencewith a spectacular
writer and A&M
recordevening concert in the
ing artist DavidWilcox
Berklee Performance
spoke with students
Center. His semesterabout his approach to
long residency provided
songwriting. He also
extensive student access
foundtime whilevisiting
to a highly regardedproa class to jamwithfaculfessional.
ty membersinger/songFormer faculty mem~: writer LivingstonTaylor.
ber Pat Methenyvisited
~ Other leading musithe Berklee campusfor
~ clans in this year’sVisitseveral days, and packed
ing Artist Seriesincluded
the PerformanceCenter
singer/songwriter Janis
for his generalclinic. Af~ Ian, Latin percussionist
~ Richie Garcia, trumpeter
ter visiting severalclassperforms
withstudents
(VictorMerloshown), Tiger Okoshi ’75, and
rooms and leading a PatMetheny
masterclass, he headlined ~;apping
off hismajor
residency
in theVisiting
Artistprogram.pianist MarienneUszler.
Summer
1991
Berklee today
5
UCHIDA
FOUNDATION
PRESENTS
MAJOR
(;liT TOBERKLEE
In addition to its large
Japanese enrollment, Berklee has attracted a diverse
international student body
from more than 75 countries around the world-comprising more than 27
percent of the college’s total
enrollment.
In accepting the generous donation, President
Berk reinforced the import: rant international implica~ tions of the Uchida Foundation’s support.
"In the life of any institution, gifts of this financial
magnitude come infrequently," he said. "The gift
President
Berk(left) accepts
the major
gift fromUchida
Scholarship
Feundation
ChiefFinancial makes us even more aware
OfficerJunko
Shishido,
Alsopresent
are(fromright) Directorof theBerklee
in Japan
Committeeof both our ability and our
responsibility to contribute
ShizuoHarada,andNewEngland
ConsulGeneralof JapanKensaku
Hogen.
through music to promotunderOnJanuary 31, President sponsored by the Uchida matelyS00Japanesestudents ing international
standing
and
goodwill.
It is
have had the opportunity to
Lee Eliot Berk accepted a Foundation. In addition,
a
great
thrill
for
me
to
acsample
the
Berklee
experidonation of one million
several talented Japanese
ence
at
home
in
Japan.
cept
this
extraordinarily
students
have
continued
dollars from the Japan-based
Uchida Scholarship Foun- their education at Berklee Amongthem, 20 promising generous gift on behalf of
Berklee College of Music."
dation at a ceremonyheld at under a generous Uchida students were chosen to
The donation will go a
study here at Berklee."
scholarship,
the college.
long way in maintaining and
"It is part of Mr. UchiThroughout the presenThe largest philanthropic donation yet received by da’s vision to bring east and ration ceremony, speakers enhancing Berklee’s worldBerklee, the gift recognized west closer together," ex- stressed the unique power renowned curriculum in
and potential of music in contemporary music.
the contribution of the col- plained Junko Shishido,
promoting international
"On behalf of Mr. Uchichief
finalacial
officer
of
the
lege to international goodda, it is a privilegeto present
Uchida Scholarship Foun- harmony,
will and understanding
"There are manywaysto this donation to Berklee
dation. "In carrying out this
through music.
Berklee’s relationship
vision, Mr. Uchidahas been communicate," said New College of Music," said Ms.
with Japan and the Uchida very fortunate to join hands England Consul General of Shishido.
"It is Mr. Uchida’s wish
Japan Kensaku Hogen.
Foundation has been a long with Mr. Berk and his staff
that
this donation will help
and fruitful one. Since 1988, at Berklee College of Mu- "You can communicatewith
to
create
the facility and atwords.
But
with
words,
you
Berklee’s popular summer sic. Throughthe joint efforts
have
to
learn
the
language,
mosphere
to nurture and
programsin Japan have been of the two parties over the
encourage young talents
past three years, approxi- Music is something that
who will be bringing the
needs no words."
world closer."
~
~
~
UCHIDA -~CHOLARSHIPFOUNDATION
~
~
s_2~f[ied’@/o[
BERKLEECOLLEGEOF MUSIC
ONE MILLIONDOLLARS ......
Sanwa Bank
~;It
6
Berklee today
-------J
$ 1,000,000.00
Summer1991
~Berklee College of Music
WOMENON
IMPROVISATION
ing Latin, Afro-Cuban,and
Hindustyles. Studentswere
encouragedto bring their
acoustic instruments and
participate.
At the "Parameters of
Improvisation in World
Jazz" workshop,hosted by
worldmusicrecordingartist
ZusaanKali Fasteau,participating students joined the
saxophonist in a performanceof progressive Indian ragas. Instrumentation
included violin, acoustic
bass,guitar, cello, voice,and
a variety of percussioninstruments.Fasteau led into
her presentationby including attendees in her warmuproutineof t’ai chi, an exercise that she recommends
for enhancing sound production.
In conjunctionwith the
first annualBostonFestival
of WomenImprovisers,
Berklee hosted a six-day
Womenin Improvisation
workshop
series this spring.
Topics included "EntrepreneurialSkills for the Performing Musician," "New
Soundsand Techniquesfor
String Players," and "Instrument Design and the
Trine" whichpromotedthe
construction of one’s own
instrumentandrelating it to
computermusic, sound design, and composition.
A numberof the workBERKLEE
CD:PART
III
ecutiw3 Producers DonPu- shopscenteredon the world
luse and Carl Beatty pre- jazz genre of musicincludThe third annual Studio pared the master by matchProductionProjects compact ing the sound quality and
disc and cassette showcases levels andsequencingof the
DIRECTORY
SET FORLAUNCH
a new line-up of tracks
differenttracks.
written, performed, engiNewto this year’s reThehighly anticipated Berklee Collegeof Music
neered, and produced by cording are tracks produced
AlumniDirectoryproject is nearingcompletion.Soon
Berklee students. The re- in Berklee’ssynthesislabs.
shipmentof the directories will begin.
cording represents the ef- Thelabs offer full MIDIseThis comprehensivenewvolumeis a compilation
forts of morethan 140 stu- quencing,sampling,directof the mostcurrent data availableon morethan 15,000
dents and emphasizes the to-disk recording, and
Berklee alumni. The informationhas beencompiled
breadth and diversity of soundediting capabilities.
andverified throughquestionnairemailings,telephone
musicalstyle at Berklee.
While the cassette and
research, andalumnirecords.
"Thereis also a tremen- CDare not sold to the genDirectorieswill be released on or about July 30.
dousethnic diversity among e.ral public, alumni and
Please allow twoto four weeksfor delivery. Alumni
the project’s participants," Berklee today readers may
whoreserved a copy of the directory during the
said MusicTechnologyDi- purchaseStudio Production
verification phaseof the project andhavea question
vision Chairman Don Pu- Projects 1991 through the
about their order, or alumnithat wish to place an
luse, whoalso serves as co- CampusShop at Berklee.
order, should contact the publisher directly at the
e, xecutive producer. "We Alumniand friends mayorfollowingaddress: CustomerService Department,
have students from 21 dif- der with their credit cards
BernardC. Harris PublishingCo., Inc., 3 Barkferent countries on the by calling (617) 266-1400,
erAvenue, White Plains, NY10601.Or, those /
record, yet the musicsounds extension 402. Or, send
with questionsmaycall (800) 877-6554.
unmistakablyAmerican." check or money order,
The directory
Thetracks on the album specifying desired format
will be an excellent
were selected from course- and quantity, madepayable
way to reconnect
workprojects submitted by to the Campus Shop at
with former classstudents in the MusicTech- Berklee, 146 Massachusetts
mates and to find
nologyDivision. All of the Avenue,Boston, MA02115.
other alumniin your
selections wererecordedand
Compactdiscs are $6
area. To those who
producedentirely in Berk- each.Cassettescost $4. Mail
returned their queslee’s professional-quality or phoneorders should add
tionnaires, thanksfor
studios andmusicsynthesis $2 postageandhandlingfees
your cooperation. To
labs. A nine-member
facul- for the first unit, plus 50¢
those whoordered a
ty selection committeere- for eachadditionalunit. AI~
copy of the directory, / {
viewedeach submissionand low three to four weeksfor
enjoy!
Chosethe final 18 cuts. Ex- delivery.
Summer
1991
Berklee today
7
KORG
LABOPENFOR
BUSINESS
Executives from Korg
U.S.A. visited the Berklee
campusin Mayto officially
open a newlyupgradedpiano laboratory, nowknown
as the KorgEquipmentLab.
Thelab features10 of the
company’s C-50 digital
concert pianos for use in
keyboardtraining classes
and for individual student
practice. TheKorglab, along
with the Techi~icsKeyboard
Labsthat were openedlast
year, provide learning and
practice spacefor morethan
300students each semester.
On hand were Korg
U.S.A.PresidentSeiki Kato,
VicePresident MikeKovins,
District Sales Manager
Marcel Lessard, and Product Manager of Home
Products Lee Whitmore.
8
Berklee today
SOUND
PRAISEFOR
SOUND
ADVICE
MP&EProfessor Wayne
Wadhams
was honored at a
program held at the New
YorkPublic Libraryfor the
PerformingArts at Lincoln
Center in April, after his
book Sound Advice: The
Musician’sGuideto the Record Industry (Schirmer
Books)wasselected as one
of the 25 outstandingreferPresident
of Korg
U.S.A.
SeikiKato(left) joinsPresident
Berk enceworksof the past year.
The annual selections are
in thenewRorg
Equipment
Lai~.
madeby a NewYork PubAfter visiting the Korg for Computer-aided In- lic Library committeeand
recognizethe mostvaluable
Equipment Lab, Mike struction for Music.
"Morethan 800 students new additions to the liKovinspresented Berklee
with advancenotice of an a yearwill benefitfromthese brary’scollection.
TheSoundAdviceseries
additional gift of KorgT3- instruments,"said Director
also
includesThe Musician’s
of
Development
John
ColEXsynthesizers and WaveGuide
to the Recording
lins
after
the
event.
"Berklee
station A/Dsfor use in the
Professional Writing Divi- is mostappreciativeof Korg Studio and a two-CDset
son’s MIDI Lab, Music as an active partnerin music demonstrating recording
techniquesand procedures.
Synthesis Labs, and Center education."
Sumrner
1991
FACULTY
PROFILE
Ted Pease ’66:
Back to the Boards
Andrew
~
he 25-year Berkleecareer of TedPease ’66 has been
built on a series of firsts. Hewasin the first class to
receive its degreedirectly fromBerklee(previousclasses
had earned a co-operative degree through BostonConservatory). Hewasnamedthe first chairmanof the Professional
WritingDivisionin 1984.Underhis supervision,his division
¯ wasthe first in the countryto offer a degreeprogramin
songwriting.
This summer,
TedPeaseis preparingfor anotherfirst as
he steps downfrom his chairmanposition to return to
teaching. The movewill make him
Berklee’sfirst faculty member
with the
title Distinguished
Professor.
But behindall of these firsts has
been Ted’sconstant fire and excitementin his love for music.That love
has providedthe vision to lead his divisionduringyears of massivegrowth..
.Andit wasthe drivingforce behindhis
moveawayfromhis desk and his oneclass-a-semesterscheduleandbacktowardthe blackboard.
"I had a strong desire to renewa
senseof contributionto the education
of our students,"he says, "anda feeling
’~hatI neededto rejuvenatemyselfmusically. Ourstudentstend to be highly
motivated. Fromtheir energy comes
the impulsefor meto learn more."
Taylor
manyways,he provedto be a naturalat his craft. Bythe
time he graduatedin 1966, he had already been tutoring
part-time for two years. Upongraduation, he accepted a
full-timepositionas an instructor.
In 1968,he wasnamedchairmanof Berklee’sArranging
Department,having authored manyof the texts for the
emerging
arrangingclasses. In 1978,the selectionof writing
majorshad expandedto include jazz compositionand arranging, and Ted was namedchairmanof that growing
department.His leadershiprole in writing class materials
IPease
Past
Peasereceiveda bachelor’sdegreein
tendto behighlymotivated,"
Pease
says."From
theirenergy
comes
English from Cornell, but came to "Ourstudents
Berkleeto pursuehis love of music.In the impulse
for meto learnmore."
Summer
1991
Berklee today
9
mulae that others have used
and building curricula made
successfully as a meansto an
him the obvious choice as
end," he says. "I try to emchairman in 1984, when Berkphasize in my teaching that
lee brought all of the composithose means are never an end
tion disciplines together under
in themselves.If you are writthe Professional Writing Diviing and building on someidea,
sion.
you might choose to exercise a
All along the way, Pease was
certain technique. That’s fine.
performing on drums with the
But the technique is not going
likes
of Herb Pomeroy,
to makethe music. The initial
Toshiko Akiyoshi ’57, Charlie
conception is going to make
Mariano’51, Ray Santisi ’54,
the music. Thetechniqueis just
and Wild Bill Davison. He was
a wayof expressingit."
busy composing, as well, receiving composition fellowRiveandTake
ships from the National EnUltimately, Ted Pease and
dowmentfor the Arts in 1975
Berklee have been together so
and 1986. In another high point
long because they suit each
of his career, his composition
other so well. Berklee has ben"Cornerstone" was used as a
set opener for the BuddyRich TedPeasecirca 1973:"Thereis a nice feeling that efited from Ted’s insights and
experience. He has thrived in
Orchestra.
occursamong
musicians,
a kind of simpatico."
the diverse spectrumof talents
His strongest memories
from those early years were the major commercial arranging, and songwrit- and ideas he sees around him.
"If we have done our job and the
talents and good friends that passed ing. As a teacher, Pease has met the
student has taken advantageof the kind
challenge by emphasizing the contithrough his classroom and his life.
of multi-faceted curricula that we have
Well-known names such as Abraham nuity betweenmusical styles.
"I like to draw from the past to here in composition, then there is a
Laboriel ’72, Gary Anderson’69, and
John LaBarbera’67 appear often in his explain the present and maybespecu- tremendouspotential for student verlate on what the future might be," he satility. Oncethat student graduates
remembrances,as do manyothers.
"There is a nice feeling that occurs says. "I think students need to know from here, he or she can go out and
amongmusicians, a kind of simpatico, about kinds of music that have been function in so manydifferent areas.
or mutualrespect," he says. "Thereare aroundfor the past 300 years, in addi- That, to me, is the real value of an
a lot of people over the years that I tion to what happenedjust last week education at this school. Youhave this
have enjoyedinteracting with. I’d like in Billboard magazine.That’s part of broad menu--not to mention all the
to let them know that I remember our job here, to spread out the bubble playing opportunities and business
courses and music production training
of knowledgethat surrounds each stuthem."
dent, and to expandtheir appreciation and so on. It’s all here. Youjust have
of all the different styles."
to choose a path that gets you where
PeasePresent
you want to go."
In
that
expansion
of
knowledge,
Throughouthis career, Pease’s role at
Withhis moveback into the faculty
Berklee has grown with the college
Peasebelieves, lies the secret to a student’s future success in the musicin- ranks, Ted Pease has chosen his new
itself.
direction. His past role as a teacher has
"WhenI started teaching here in dustry.
"The final focus is to get them to given him a wealth of good memories.
the 1960s, Berklee was a jazz school,"
makea living in the music business," He looks to that role in the future to
he remembers. "And it was pretty
give new insights and new life to a
much the only game in town. The he says. "Even if their real love is
craft
and a calling he adores; a craft
modern
chamber
music
or
avant-garde
students that camehere then had their
that,
he
says, "takes meplaces I’ve never
jazz,
if
we
have
done
our
job,
they
eyes on DukeEllington and Gil Evans.
comeout of Berklee with the tools to been before."
Nowyou have students that are inter"A tot of mystudents have gone on
ested in everything from heavy metal do something more conventional, as
to new age to film scores to modern well. Our mainmission at Berklee is to to distinguish themselvesin the indusclassical musicto writing songs. There prepare these students to makecareers try," he says. "A numberof the faculty
here are former students of mine. Some
is a muchbroader interest envelope in professional music."
In his workbooksand lesson plans, of the chairmenare former students of
that these students bring with themto
school. That’s part of the challenge we Ted hopes to stress the importance of mine. Someof the deans are former
those tools of composition.But he will students of mine. I’m proud of that.
have."
But I also recognizethat it hasn’t been
To address that challenge, the Pro- also take care to put them in their
a one-waystreet. I taught these people;
fessional Writing Division has ex- proper place.
"Whenyou teach, you are provid- but I also learned a lot from them. In
pandedto include majors in film scorgiving, I havealso received."
ing, composition, jazz composition, ing students with techniques and for10
Berklee today
Summer
1991
NEWS SPECIAL
gerklee Hosts
Music: Synthesis Symposium
Andrew
Taylor
B
or me, experimenting with early synthesizers was making ARPthe industry leader during that decade. Raysomething I did after hours and on weekendsfor my mond Kurzweil, a leader in computer technology and
ownamusement,"said synthesis founding father Dr. Rob- founder of Kurzweil Music Systems, introduced the first
ert Moogat Berklee’s Music Synthesis Symposium."We electronic instrument to reproduce acoustic instrumental
Mdabsolutely no idea that we wouldsell anything or that it sounds. Noted keyboardist and Berklee artist-in-residence
"wouldgo anywhere.It was just a wayto have fun. It was a TomCoster served as musician representative on the panel.
nerdish form of golf."
His early work with Carlos Santana helped to bring the
From those humble beginnings, music synthesis technewsounds to a world audience.
nology has transformed the way music is written, perBerklee Assistant Dean of Curriculum for Academic
formed, and perceived. But
Technology David Mash ’76
"while the technology has
moderated the event and coor~:ransfigured the musical unidinated the questions from the
verse, the fast pace of change
packed house of faculty, stuhas allowed little time for indents, and friends. The followformed reflection and retroing are excerpts fromtheir disspection.
cussions.
This informed retrospection
was the goal as three innovaHowdid you all get started
tors of synthesis technology
in music synthesis?
and one innovative synthesis
Dr. Robert Moog: For as
performer met on the Berklee
long as I can remember,I have
Performance Center stage on
enjoyed building electronic
March 13 for the Berklee Mugadgets, especially electronic
sic Synthesis Symposium.Panel
musical gadgets. As a child, my
members included a unprecemother gave me piano lessons.
dented roster of industry legBut that wasn’t where myheart
ends.
was. I liked to go downinto
Dr. Robert Moog,president
the basementand just tinker.
of MoogMusic, invented the
Myfather showed me how to
first commerciallyviable music
hold a soldering iron, and I was
synthesizer. Alan R. Pearlman,
off fromthere.
founder of ARPInstruments,
Later on, I met a musician
introduced several innovative TomCoster(right) performs
with studentScottKinsey who wanted to have some
synthesizers in the 1970s,
andothersfollowingthe SynthesisSymposium,
equipment to make electronic
Summer1991
Berklee
today 11
ented team, and a year later, showed
up at the June NAMM
show with a
prototype that created someexcitement. Wemet someinteresting people
there, including BobMoog,whobecamevice president for product research and contributed very substantially to later generations of that
machine.
TomCoster: The only instrument
I everstudiedin mylife wasthe accordion. Mysecond accordion was an
electric, andI wasthe rogueaccordion
player in myclass. I playedjazz and
bebopand rock and roll. Theyalways
thought I was a cretin. But I didn’t
wantto play polkas.
Thensomeoneturned me on to the
Hammond
organ, which was like a
Keyboardist
Tom
Coster
(left) andsynthesis
innovator
Dr. Rober~
Moeg.
synthesizer,in its time. I gaineda lot
ormusic.Thiswasbackin the early ’60s, had a project called the Kurzweil of acclaim playing the Hammond
gan.
That’s
what
really
got
me
into
Reading
Machine,
which
recognizes
whenelectronic music meant making
soundsand putting themon tape, and printed letters and scans books and CarlosSantana’sband.
Oneday, Carlos and I were somethen splicinglittle pieces of tape to- magazinesand reads themaloud to the
gether.Thatis basicallyhowI first got blind. Ourfirst user wasStevie Won- wherein Minneapolis, and we heard
der. He wouldstop by whenhe came the MahavishnuOrchestra. This ingoing.
[’69]
AlanR. Pearlman:Mysto Wis not to the Bostonarea. AndI sawhimon a credible cat namedJan Hammer
that differentthan whatBobjust relat- numberof occasionsat his Wonderlandwasplaying a little box and bending
the pitch. Carlos turned to me and
ed. BackwhenI wasin high school, I Studioin California.
said, "We’vegot to buy one."
He
was
quite
sophisticated
in
his
used to put shortwaveradios together.
So wewent over to Manny’sMusic
knowledge
about
computer
technoloI finally got myhandson oneof those
when
we got to NewYork and we
gy
and
its
applications
for
the
handiold RCA
consoleradios. I figuredthat
also, of course, its use in boughtone. It wasthe Minimoog.It
it ought to be in stereo. So I wired capped-and
another speaker up and I found that music. Around1982, we had a con- really messedwith myhead.At first, I
by diddling aroundwith external con- versation about the two worlds of soundedreally bad on it. I havesome
videos of us playing for 30,000 or
trols I could create a pseudo-stereo musicalcreation.
First, there wereacoustic instru- 50,000peopleandit soundslike there
effect.
Shortly thereafter, I wentover to ments-pianos,violins, guitars, andso is a loose fly buzzingaround up on
WorcesterPolytechnic Institute and on--that produced the sounds that stage. ButI finally got it down.
I wasvery fortunate to becomean
found myselfin the electrical engi- mostmusicianswereinterested in. But
endorser
for Bob Moog’scompany,
they
were
very
hard
to
control
and
neering program.I picked electronic
along with Jan Hammer.
Andit really
musicas a senior project and worked they had manylimitations.
Thenthere wasthis emergingdec- changedmylife. I loved the fact that
on what you might call an envelope
follower: Youtake an instrument and tronic world where you could have you could caress a note, and finally
rectify the electrical outputto create this fantastic control withsequencers, give it the feeling youwantedthrough
an envelopeand use that to control layering, andsoundmodification.But pitch bendingand modulation.
Then Larry Dunn from Earth,
anothersound.Thatwasthe beginning. the soundsyou had to workwith were
Wind,
and Fire hipped me to Mr.
not
acoustic
sounds.
It
was
a
very
inRaymondKurzweil: I was always
Pearlman’s
instrument [the ARPOdteresting
class
of
sounds,
but
it
didn’t
interestedin computers
at a youngage.
Andmyfather wasa musician, a con- include the acoustic soundsof choice yssey]. Andthen that thing messedup
ductor of the Bell Symphonyand for manymusicians.Hesuggestedthat myhead. I eventually becamean enPittsburgh Opera, and an educator. it wouldbe perfect to combinethese dorserof that instrument,too.
Shortlybeforehe died in 1970, he said two worldsof music.
W~atwere some of the challenges
That becamea challenge. Andhe
that somedayhe felt I wouldget inor
problemsyou faced with the early
articulated
an
instrument
that
really
volved in a union betweencomputers
synthesizers?
was
what
became
the
Kurzweil
250.
and music. He thought computers
Coster:Unliketoday’s keyboards,
wouldtake over the world of music. Thenwe ran into Alan Pearlman,who
becamea consultantfor the early days there werea lot of little problems.
He wasn’t sure how.
Lateronin life, I became
particular- of Kurzweil Music Systems. Wede- Amongthe problems I had with the
wasthat it wouldn’tstay in
ly interestedin pattern recognition.I fined an instrument,hired a very tal- Minimoog
12
Berklee today
Summer
1991
tune when the lights became very
bright on stage. The oscillators would
drift radically.
AndGod forbid if someoneturned
the power off and turned it back on
again. That was a nightmare!
Weended up buying a lot of Minimoogs. Whenthey didn’t work, we
just tossed them [laughs]. But eventually, they beganbuilding themso that
they workedbrilliantly. The companies
always listened to what we performers
ihad to say.
Moog: Hearing Tomtalk about our
drifting oscillators, I feel I shouldtell a
bit about their history. The first musician I workedwith, although a classically trained musician, was interested
in composingtimbral music that was
just one different tone color after an.other. He was not interested in doing
tonal music.
So, here we had these voltage controlled oscillators which were very,
very crude. Andwe hooked up an old,
dirty keyboard. Whatwe got out were
different pitches, but they weren’t in
tune.
So, I asked this musician if we
should do something about this. And
he said, "No, no, pitch isn’t impor-tant." And that became part of our
corporate culture.
Youget used to a certain approach
that makesa certain type of circuit.
Andit was very difficult to changeit.
Youdesign one circuit like that, then
you design half a dozen, and then you
order a hundredparts, then you order
10,000. Once you have 10,000 parts,
you have to order another 10,000.
Otherwise, you wouldhave to start all
over again.
Mr. Pearlman and ARPInstruments
could watch from the outside as we
went downthis wrong path. Andbeing
an engineer, and a founding member
of a company
that specialized in. stable
electronic circuits, he was able to capitalize veryquickly and very effectively
on our weakness.
It took us until halfway through
the Minimooggeneration until we really got our technology under control.
At that point, it wasa very large engineering investment.
So, any time one musician tells you
that somethingdoesn’t matter that does
matter to another musician, you
shouldn’t believe him. Youshould alSurnmer1991
KURZWEIL
ONTHEPOTENTIAL
OF SYNTHESIS
For thousands of years up until
one or two decades ago, there was
an inexorable link between music
technique and the sounds created.
If youwantedto create flute sounds,
you had to learn flute technique. If
you wanted guitar sounds, you had
to learn guitar technique. There
weregreat limitations.
Wehave now broken that link.
It is typical nowfor people to commanda vast array of sounds. In addition, acoustic instruments were
limited by the physics of creating
sound. Wecan nowcreate controllers that are optimal for controlling
sound and allowing musicians to be
expressive.
Wealso have the opportunities
for computers to do some of the
less creative work:to automatically
create a harmonic progression, a
walking bass line, or a rhythmic
accompaniment. Wehave the opportunity for students and children
to have a more rewarding musical
experience in the early stages of
keyboard skill development. When
they are playing with one finger,
the computer can accompanythem,
creating a richer musicalexperience,
inviting morepeople into music.
In someof our earlier attempts,
we were frustrated that we provided a lot of programmingcapability
and then 95 or 98 percent of the
users wouldn’t use it. They would
just use the preset. Thenwerealized
that a key challenge for the electronic musical instrument industry
is to makethese capabilities musically relevant.
The possibilities of the synthesizer are so vast, so extraordinary.
It opens up a world of musical
possibilities. But unless you design
it to be controlled by a musician
whois thinking like a musician and
not an engineer, it is not goingto be
used. That is a difficult challenge.
Raymond
Kurzweil(center) andAlanR. Pearlman
(right).
ways design and build an instrument who have thousands of manufacturing
as good, as stable, as reliable, and as employees, make their ownchips, and
predictable as possible.
have mold-injection equipment to
Kurzweil: Manufacturing was not makecabinets.
somethingthat we ever fully mastered.
That was the reason that we sold
Wehad a detailed plan. But nothing the company to Young Chang, a Kowent according to plan.
rean companythat has 5000 manufacIn the end, we had a very strong turing employees. Wewere able to
R&Dgroup that I am very proud of.
combineour research and development
Wewere not able to competewith the team with that manufacturingcapabilvertically integrated manufacturing ity to create productswith quality at a
capability of our foreign competitors-- very low cost.
Berklee
today
13
Howdo you explain that domi- a newidea that will result in a comnance of the Far East in consumer mercially successful, musical instrument.
electronics ?
Onecan dreamof the ideal controlPearlman: It seems as though an
awfullot of our resources are going to ler. But the question you haveto ask if
make wonderful machines like smart you are trying to run a successful
bombs. But there isn’t muchgoing to business is, "Whatpercentage of the
musicians out there will be willing to
the production of peaceful things.
Kurzweil: I think Alan makes a put the workin to learn the newtechgood point. After World WarII, the nique?"
On the other hand, if you are not
United States was the dominant economic power in the world. Wewere concerned with commercial proliferation, you can start thinking of things
able to transform a lot of military
and never stop. One thing I have been
technologyinto civilian applications.
But now, commercial technology and working on for a long time, and am
military technology are really quite still working on now, is a keyboard
different. Military technology has a where each key will measure the
philosophy to accomplish the mission movementof your hands in three diat any cost. Whereascommercialtech- mensions [forward and backward, left
nology has to be high quality and very and right, and pressure].
Kurzweil:If you look at the history
cost effective.
of synthesis, you started out with
The United States has essentially
lost all of its electronic industries to modules--LFOsand oscillators and so
the Far East. It is nearly impossiblefor forth. Youcould create different netan American company in consumer works of these with patch cords. And
electronics to competeeffectively, be- everytime you set it up, you could
cause we have not kept pace with create a completelydifferent architecture of synthesis. The problemwas that
manufacturing technology.
However,the United States is play- it took a long time to set up.
Then we had synthesizers
that
ing a strong role and still has the leading research and development and eliminated patch cords, but the archicreativity, in terms of creating instru- tecture was fixed. Thenwe entered the
ments. The leading laboratories of the age of digital synthesis whereyou could
worldare still in this country. Yamaha have someinteraction, but youstill had
a fixed architecture. Andyou also lost
and Korg have major R&Dinstallations here. My own company has someof the real-time control.
I think, in the next few years, we
merged with a Korean company to
will see an increased ability to have a
provide that manufacturing capability. I think you will see joint ventures variable architecture. Youwill again be
where marketing is done in one place, able to take different modulesand have
them modify each other. You could
manufacturing is done somewhereelse,
have sampled sound be a control
and R&Dis done somewhereelse.
source. Or you could have sampled
Moog: The making of musical insoundmodified by other operators, and
struments is an international activity
create complexexperimental architecnow. It shouldn’t bother us that
Yamahais makingall the instruments, tures for synthesis.
I think that we will also see a comeand not some American company. The
back for multiple controls--some in
fact is, there are goodinstruments.
But, we have to watch out that our real-time performance, somewhile you
are experimenting with the sound. I
country doesn’t lose too muchof its
total manufacturing competitiveness think we will see powerfuldigital sigby makingonly sophisticated weapons nal processing [DSP] on every chanof destruction and not the products nel, instead of just on the mixedsound.
that are used by consumers.
What have heen the most exciting
Wheredo you find new ideas ? And and most frustrating aspects of music
what new ideas will shape the future synthesis?
Kurzweil:I think the positive is the
of synthesis?
Moog:I find newideas very easy to opportunity that is emergingto bring
comeby. The trick is to comeup with this technology capability to very
14
Berklee today
young people. The piano business is
going electronic. Onehalf of the piano
business is nowdigital. Andwhile digital pianos maynot be sophisticated
from a synthesis point of view, you do
see advancedfeatures creeping in--often in the formof a very sophisticated
"easy play," which goes beyond the
abilities of the old organs. Youwill see
intelligent cybernetic accompaniststhat
can make early music education much
more exciting.
Oneof the frustrations is that new
ideas take a long time to be accepted,
whichis just an issue of humannature.
Wehave seen a very slow acceptance
of the new music controllers--even a
small variation in the keyboardsuch as
pressure sensitivity.
Coster: For me, playing the musical velocity curveis sucha thrill. Plus,
I love the fact that keyboardsare so
roadable. That’s amazing to me. The
technology has really comea long way
in past years.
The downsideof all the technology
for meas a player is that I don’t see the
great players coming up anymore. I
don’t see people embracingthe instrumentand dedicatingtheir life to it. It’s
good for people like me and Chick
Corea and Herbie Hancock and
George Duke and Jan Hammer, because we still rule the roost. That’s
fine. But I still miss seeing youngcats
coming up and burning.
It is muchmoredifficult for young
people today than when I was young.
There are a lot morepressures. I think
that kids live in a very fast environment. Everything that you want today,
you can get fast. You can get your
cleaning done in an hour. Youcan get
your food in 30 seconds. Youcan get
pictures developed in an hour. If
somebodytakes more than an hour to
do anything, everyoneloses patience.
These remarkable keyboards and
computersallow you to do things very
quickly. That is a safe feeling and it
embraces the world that you are all
innocentlyinvolvedin. Andto sit there
and practice for four or five hours a
day is so different from what you are
used to.
I wouldlike to see people spending
years learning their instrument, and
not thinking that they can just turn it
on and have an instant package of
success.
~
Summer1991
III
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High~ Style
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First-call bass player AbraharnLaboriel ’72
gets to the bottomof it all.
~’!’~ hilosophica1iy, I believe that music visits
| -~" us. It doesn’t stay with us,all of the time,"
.1, says Abraham Laboriel 72, one of the
leading bass players on the Los Angeles scene.
Hegoes on to describe this evasive visitation. "It
is the momentwhere sound becomesmusic, when
you can no longer recognize what is going on. It
doesn’t matter what song it is, or whosevoice it
by Andrew
is, or what instrument they are playing. It is
Taylor
wonderfully overwhelming. I have been blessed
that on manyof the things that I have done,
musichas visited for one bar or longer."
For more than 20 years, AbrahamLaboriel
has been coaxingmusicto visit. Andhe has always
been a gracious host. The Mexican-bornbassist
has becomea first-call musicianfor the likes of
Quincy Jones ’51, Michael McDonald, Lee
Ritenour, George Benson, Dolly Parton, Herb
Alpert, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mathis, Larry
Carlton, A1Jarreau, film composerAlan Silvestri
’70, and manyothers. His friendly, caring manner
have made him a welcomevisitor to studio sessions. Andhis heartfelt, emotional performances
have ensured him a continually busy schedule.
Laboriel was born in Mexico City in 1947.
His father, a musician, composer,and actor, gave
himhis first lessons on the classical guitar. Frustrated in his efforts by an accident that took the
16
Berklee to day
tip of his left-hand index finger, the youngLaborid was ready to quit at age 8. But his older
brother pulled him back in.
"WhenI was 10," he remembers, "my brother joined the first major rock and roll band in
Mexico. All of the Americanpublishing houses
were sending him songs in English to translate
into Spanish. So suddenly, we were inundated
with all of this musicfrom the United States."
Laboriel studied that music on his own,listening to records and learning themon his rhythm
guitar. Byage 17, he wasan active studio guitarist
in MexicoCity. One year later, his parents encouraged him to pursue a more "stable" career,
and he enrolled in the Instituto Polytechnico
Nacional to study aeronautical engineering. But
he soon found his love for music calling him
awayfrom his studies.
At age 20, he convincedhis parents to allow
him one year to try a music career. Within that
year, he wasoff to Boston,to Berklee, and to the
bass. Fromthere, as he says, "I never went back."
Throughouthis career, AbrahamLaboriel has
accumulateda long list of valuable qualities. His
unique five-finger rhythmic approach to bass
playing has madehim a valuable addition to any
rhythm section. His collection of unique basses--amongthem an eight-string tuned in octaves
PHOTOBYDAVID
BASSETT
Summer
1991
you workwith is really important. That way, if
something that is natural for meis uncomfortable for them, there is alwaysthe possibility of
adjusting it or tailoring it to their needs.
In myconversations with the top studio musicians, that has been the one thing that was
constantly stressed: Don’t play something that
pleases you, but try very hard to play something
that pleases the people you are workingfor. Even
if what pleases you, in your mind, is better than
what they want.
In the long run, I have learned that whenyou
listen to the finished product and you have sacrificed someof your ownfavorite things for the
sake of doing what they want, it is usually what
like a mandolin,a five--string, and a hollow-body worksbest. Becausethey have a relationship with
fretless---have given hima vast palette. His easy- the song that you don’t. They have been living
going, supportive attitude has endeared him to with it for a long time.
his contacts and his ipeers.
Whatcan you do whenyou feel strongly that
But when you meet him, the main impression
you walk away with is that this is a man who a producer or artist is not taking the best apfeels things deeply. Whetherhe is jumpinglike a proach?
If things are not happeningbecause the song
madman
during a fiery, funked-up bass solo, or
speaking calmly and openly about his personal and the music is unsalvageable, then very gently
experiences, Laboriel is intimately present in the we ask the artist or producer how much more
moment. And he encourages those around him material they have to choose from. If that’s all
they have, then we make suggestions as to how
to be there, too.
to approach the song. Or we might try some
"Music should be about loving one another,"
it is possible to
he says in his warm,slightly accented voice. And arranging on the spot. Sometimes
rather than write it off as another L.A. musical changetheir minds, and to get them to recognize
platitude, you believe it. Youfeel it in his manner that there are other alternatives that work.
The exampleI have of that is with Herb Alpand his music. And,after a while, you feel it in
err. The song "Rise," whichhas been the biggest
yourself, as well.
single of his career, he recordedwith three other
We spoke to Abraham Laboriel in Hollyrhythmsections after our first session. Andhe
wood, where he had just received the Distinguished Alumni Awardfrom Berklee’s Southern ended up using our version. Whenthe record
becamea hit, he said, "I knewit was a hit from
California Alumni Group.
the momentwe played it. I just didn’t like your
Apart from talent, what is the most impor- tempo." But eventually, he ended up compromising and using our tempo.
tant attribute of a ,:tudio musician?
Asa musician,arid especially as a bass player,
You first started studying to be an aeronauI feel that it is importantto havea servantattitude.
tical
engineer. Howdid you start down that
WhenI play for o~her people, I am not using
their gig as an excuse to showcasemyability. I path, and how did you return to music?
All mylife I was inclined toward studying.
am there to say, "Whatcan I do? Howcan I help
you feel happy about your song? Whatcan I give Myparents felt that because I liked studying so
to you with mymusic?" I ama great advocate of much,it was just logical for meto get a degree,
relationships and dialogue. Throughthe years, and to keep music as something that I loved.
those have provento be the most important things They felt I should give my first priority to
something more secure. I believed that I was
for me.
Ironically, I have discovered that the main going to be able to do both.
Then, in mysecond year of engineering, I had
reason a lot of people hire meis because of the
freedomwith which[[ play. But I never take that to quit music completely, because assignments
for granted. I come to recording sessions and becamevery involved. But it really killed meto
people say, "Abraham,I wrote a bass line but be away from music. So I begged myparents to
ignore it. Doyour thing." AndI say, "We1I,let please allow me one year to experiment with
me first try to understand what you dreamedof music. If it didn’t work, I promisedthat I would
as a composerand arranger and then I’i1 depart return to mystudies.
I started the aeronautical career whenI was18
from that." Quickly, I learned that that kind of
years
old. I was 20 whenI asked them for that
constant dialogue and relationship with the people
henI play for otherpeople,
I amnot usingtheir gig
ex-
cuseto showcase
myability.
18
Berklee today
Summer1991
year. WhenI was 21, I came to Berklee. And I
never went back to engineering.
encouraging me, and believing in me, and rooting for me.
At the end of the fourth year, fantastic things
Did your inclination toward studying pay happened. Herb Pomeroy recorded my charts
off at Berklee?
with the recording band. I started to record with
Yes. Since Berklee was the only major trainGaryBurton[’62]. I was a featured soloist in a
ing to knowhowto deal with the music world, I lot of the performances with both Ted Pease
took it seriously. It really shapedme. AndI was [’66] and Phil Wilson. And we had our own
blessed to run into so manyteachers that hadso group with Charlie Mariano [’51]. Suddenly, a
muchexperience. Almost everybody that taught lot of the pain of the first two years started to
me had a minimumof 10 to 15 years of profes- blossom into this confidence-affirming experisional experience before coming to teach at ence.
Berklee. So they could drawon a lot of informaA year after I graduated, HerbPomeroycalled
tion to share with us.
to ask meto perform with the Count Basie band
behind Johnny Mathis. That started myrelaWhowere your musical influences during tionship with Mathis. Six monthsafter that, Mathose early years?
this called and asked meto join him on the road.
My influences came from a tremendous
Through that I met Henry Mancini and Michel
amountof listening to records from. the United Legrande. AndI had already finished an album
States. I was blessed that the records that the with Gary Burton and had travelled with him.
publishing houses were sending to my brother
were in all the different styles. Namea record in
You started at Berklee as a guitar player.
any style, I listened to it and learned it on my Whendid you switch over to the bass?
guitar. AndI tried to understandall the different
I started school in 1968. In 1971, Alan Silvesways of thinking about music. So myinfluences tri [70] asked me to join his trio. He was doing
are very varied.
summer engagements in NewJersey. The trio
Eventually, I rememberfalling in love with wasA1on guitar, his friend on flute, and another
the music of Bill Evansand Oscar Peterson. Then friend on drums. Alan was getting more into the
at Berklee, I was introduced to Wilbur Ware, guitar and wanted to free himself up to start
Oscar Pettiford, George Mraz [’70], and Dave improvising, instead of playing accompaniment.
Holland.
So he askedif I wouldplay bass.
I said, "Well, let’s give it a try." His father
As a guitarist, were you also influenced by rented a Fender bass in NewYork for me to
John Scofield [’71] andJohnAbercrombie[’67] ? play. And...man!
Scofield, Abercrombie,and I went to school
at the same time. So their influence on mecame
Whatattracted you to the bass?
from a whole different place. I wouldjust glue
I loved the freedom to change the meaningof
myear to the rooms where they would practice.
the chords. Wewere playing a lounge in New
AndI could not believe that anybodycould play Jersey doing top-40 music. Andit was great to
their instrument like that. Whichwas one of the
things that I loved mostabout Berklee. It gaveus
first-hand access to these impossiblemusicians.
One time Mick Goodrick [’67], George Mraz,
and Peter Donald [70] were jamming in one of
the rooms, and I nearly fainted. I was ready to
quit school. Mick told me the same story--that
he quit school for five minutes when he heard
KeithJarrett [’64] practice. Hewas just too much.
Thenext generation: Laboriel
with
his sons,current
Berklee student
Abraham,
Jr.(left),
andMateo.
You were overwhelmed by your classmates?
I guess I shouldn’t be ashamedto admit that
myfirst twoyears at Berkleewere spent in tears.
I was very upset to not be able to function at the
samelevel as all the other students. AndI rememberthat a teacher very lovingly said to me,
"There are many ways of making music. And
Berklee’s way is one of them. But tlhe fact that
you cannot fit perfectly and do everything that
you think we expect of you should not discourage you." And that blessed me. Teachers kept
Summer1991
Berklee
today 19
take all this well-knownmusicand give it a whole
new meaningbecause of what bass line you chose
to play. I had found a great newfreedom. I knew
beyond the shadowof a doubt I was destined to
be a bass player.
By the grace of God, the Berklee faculty allowed me to switch to bass--even though officially I couldn’t, becausethe electric bass wasnot
recognized at that time as a primary instrument.
SinceI wasa degreecandidate,I still had to do all
myjuries on guitar, even thoughI was allowed to
perform on bass.
Howmanybasses do you use during a session ?
Most of the time, I bring three. On certain
occassions I bring as manyas 12. WhenI did the
latest album with Michael McDonald,I had 15
basses there. AndI tried all of them.
Have you ever recorded on upright?
WhenQuincy Jones [’51] hired me to play on
The Color Purple, he said, "Do you play upright?" I told him that I ownedan upright, and
that I didn’t have a good pitch on it. He said,
"Great, bring it, because we are trying to do
music from the ’30s and in those days, nobody
listened to the bass. It was morelike a feel." I
said, "Great, if youwanta fed, I’ve got it. But if
youwantpitch, please call one of the great upright
players."
So I show up with my upright. And all the
musiciansstood staring. Theywantedto see if I
knewhow to take it out of the case [laughs].
Thenthe big band started to arrive, and I wanted
to die. The song was written in A-flat, which
meansthat there were no open strings. Andthese
guys were some of the most famous big band
musicians in the world--half from DukeEllington’s band and half 6:om Count Basie’s.
I said, "Quincy,please let meuse myelectric
bass and I promise to play with such tenderness
that you won’t mind." And he said, "No, no,
play your upright. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.
All we want is the ’30s sound."
So we started to record, and the engineer
pushes the talk-back button and says, "Quincy,
are you sure you want meto print the bass? It’s
really out of tune." I wantedto die.
For a while that happens, and people jump on
it. But those kinds of things don’t last, thank
God, because eventually the audience gets saturated. Theyget tired of the lack of genuine expression.
I should say that Jan Hammer
[’69] is different.
He was expressing what is genuine about him
with that music. So whenyou listen to it, youare
not hearing somebodypretending in order to cut
downon costs. He was putting his life into it.
The marriage of analog and digital--having
real-time players and everything sequenced has
nowbecomea really fine art. Andit is a wonderful
thing. The marriage of both concepts for the
right reason is beginning to happen.
Anothertheory is that this new technology is
forcing all of us to grow.It meansthat there will
be not as muchof a need for musicians to do
things that they don’t love to do, because they
have a machinethat can do it muchbetter.
What are your most challenging projects?
The high-pressure jobs are whenyou have to
do a film where there are 80 musicians performing all at once, and the composerhas written lots
of unison lines between the sections. Your bass
line is not free to go whereyouwant it to go.
In those kinds of sessions, they have to get a
lot of music done very quickly. So you run it
once for the engineer to get his levels. Thenthe
next time you run it is the final version. You
don’t have any hope of punching in because they
go direct to film.
Do you like that kind of playing?
Actually, I do. For me it is a very emotional
feeling that all of those humanbeings at once
have a power of concentration and determination not to let the composerdown. Andbecause
it is film music, the composersare taking risks.
Theyare saying things that havea lot of substance
that they wouldnot say if they were trying to
have commercialsuccess.
What sessions are the most rewarding?
Thereare certain players that like to be around
one another. Manytimes we go to a situation
thinking it’s going to be an average day, and it
turns out to be a great surprise.
In general, I can rememberseveral recording
Has modern music technology threatened
sessions
with a certain group of people whereit
the role of the bass?
The world, in general, likes to jump on the was almost automatic that it was going to be a
great session. Yousee each player arrive at the
bandwagon. In the "MiamiVice" days, several
bandwagonstook place that did an untold amount studio, and right awaythey sit at their instrumentsand start trying whateveridea they have in
of damageto the music business.
I heard a great description. A friend said to their hearts. Then you see the other musicians
me, "Abraham,there is no more music business joining in and everybodyjust having a wonderbecause nowthey are not singing melodies and ful time. Youknowthat all of that creative enerthere is nobodyplaying an instrument. They just gy is going to carry over. Those are the most
~1
rewarding sessions for me.
show up with computers and they talk."
Zl]
Berklee today
Summer
1991
The Crisis of Silence
in Our Schools
Theloss of musicand arts in public education
could be a threat to us all
A
by
President
Lee Eliot
Berk
s a society, we continue to
devalue music and its importance. Thisis particularly true
in the education of our youth. Some
noted examplesof this include the 1983
report "A Nation at Risk" published
by the National Commission on Excellence in Education and the 1985 report "Investing in Our Children" by
the Committee for Economic Development, both of which barely mention
musicand the arts.
Notably, the six broad education
goals advanced by President Bush and
the nation’s governors in 1990 make
absolutely :no mention of music and
the arts. This neglect of the arts at the
federal level is further reflected in the
fact that our governmentspends about
30 times more on science education
than it spends on arts education.
At the state level, morethan half of
all school districts in the nation are
either unserved by a teacher with a
degree in music education, or served
only part-time. Fewer and fewer music teachers are graduating while less
and less music is being required or
even offered to the children in our
public school education system. What
is provided is often an increasingly
marginal, fragmented experience that
substitutes passive exposure to music
"Thesoulof every for active participation.
people
is foundin
its songs,its im- MusicandSociety
ages,its dances, Thesepoints are madestrikingly clear
andits stories." in a recent report by the National
Dr. Lee Eliot Berk serves on the board
of directors of the American Music
Conference. He has been president of
Berklee College qf Musicsince 1979.
Summer1991
Berklee
today
21
GROWING
UP COMPLETE
Educationwithout musicshortchangesour children andtheir futures. Educationwith musicoffers
excitingpossibilities in twodirections.
Aswelook to the future, educational researchon the nature of intelligence and brain function give
promisingindications that could
changethe face of education. And,
as welookaroundus in the present,
wesee connections betweenmusic
educationand changesin students
that offer direct and immediate
benefits, not only to them,but to
the educational enterprise as a
whole.
After nearly a decadeof experience with the educational reform
movement,policy makers are beginningto confronta disappointing
truth: In termsof improving
student
achievement,not muchhas changed.
Webelieve a newpossibility is
worth exploring. If musicand the
other arts were brought from the
educational periphery to the core
of learning, they could makea significant contributionto a moreeffectivesolution.
Commissionon Music Education entitled GrowingUpComplete:The Imperative for Music Education (see
sidebar). Co-sponsoredby the National Academy
of RecordingArts and
Sciences,the MusicEducatorsNational
Conference,and the National Association of Music Merchants,the commissionseeks to research and promote
the positive aspectsof musiceducation
while supportingdirect action in governmentand education programs.
As the report asserts, the best
teachinghas alwaysinsisted that music
and the other arts be present at the
curricular center--andfor an excellent
reason. Weknowthat the long march
to civilization has beennourishedby
musicand the arts. Thesoul of every
peopleis foundin its songs,its images,
its dances,andits stories.
Musicandthe arts are the sourceof
the metaphorsthat connectthoughtto
experience. Theyare basic to education becausethey are a universal lan22
Berklee today
Musicis beginningto be understoodas a formof intelligence, not
merelyas a manifestationof it. The
idea that intelligence is a single,
monolithicentity or characteristic
has been seriously questioned by
manyleading researchers and educators. Ledby the provocativework
of HowardGardner, researchers
and educators are movingtowarda
theory of "multipleintelligences,"
any or all of whichcan be developed.
Gardner’s
ideas are significantfor
the relationship of musiceducation
to general education. Since music
is, for somelearners, a powerful
way
of knowing, it can become, for
teachers, a wayof teaching. When
importantideas, information, and
waysof thinking can be approached
throughthe strategies andstructures
providedby music, learning can be
reinforced.
Excerpted by permission from
Growing Up Complete: The Imperative for Music Education.
Copies available through MENC
PublicationSales, (800)828-0229.
guage.To be illiterate here is to be
blind, mute,anddeaf at the mostfundamental
level--thatof the spirit. It is
for this reason that WyntonMarsalis
recently observedin a testimony to
the commission
that our nation suffers
from a cultural problemmore than a
scientific one. Ourculture, he stated,
is dyingfromthe inside.
MusicandEmotion
Sadly, as weremovemusicandthe arts
from the central educationalexperience of our youth, weare removing
manyessential tools they needto survive andsucceedin a growingsociety.
A loss of musicand arts in our core
curricuIumresults in a formof dehumanizationin whichour youthis deprivedof the sentimentsandsensibilities they needto live human
lives.
In addition,a lack of sufficiencyof
musicserves as a barrier whichprevents us fromassimilating the fundamentalelementsof other cultures into
our lives. Weare shut off fromwhat
WyntonMarsalishas called the "rich
gumbo"which is the fundamental
fabric of multi-culturalunderstanding.
As music and arts education becomeless and less available to our
youth in a broad-based waythrough
public schooleducation,they will come
to be moreof a privilegetied to wealth
andclass. Insteadof a rich heritagefor
us all, musicand arts educationwill
become
an elitist legacyfor the enrichmentof only a privilegedfew.
Fixingthe Problem
The music industry and educational
coalition that makesup the National
Commissionon Music Education has
chosen a multi-leveled approach to
addressing this problem. Acombination of direct lobbying,public forums,
information programs, and other
methods will do muchto increase
awarenessamongpoliticians and the
generalpublic.
Aspart of this commission’s
effort,
public service announcements to
highlight this serious problemhave
been recorded with such cooperative
artists as Phil Collins, QuincyJones
’51, MariahCarey, Henry Mancini,
WyntonMarsalis, and manyothers.
Action is most likely, however,
through local community-basedadvocacy.
WhatYeuCanDo
As active music professionals and
musicenthusiasts, Berklee’svast and
talented alumni body has a unique
opportunity to makea difference. I
urge all of you to becomeadvocates
for musicin your community.
Becomedirectly involved in and
shareresponsibilityfor the successand
growthof local schoolmusicprograms.
Let your elected officials knowthat
educationalgoals that omitor slight
musicare an unacceptableprescription for the stunted growth of our
children. Andbecomematchmakers,
bringing together the often separate
domainsof music in the schools and
musicin the community.
These efforts will pay you back
manytimes your investment, because
your ownfuture professional success
and the success of those whosucceed
youis linked veryclosely to the value
whichour society puts uponmusic.~1
Summer
1991
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Rhy~~hm"in
Melody W "rltlng
"
An approachto songwridngthrough rhythm
can bring someexciting discoveries
W
by Jack
Perricone
hen thinking of great or memorable
melodies, most people focus on only
pitch, the curve or contour of the
melodic line, and possibly the harmonythat is
married to the remembered melody. Very few
will focus on the mdodicrhythm. By doing so,
they maybe missingmorethan half of the picture.
By definition, melodyis the succession of
pitches in rhythm. Yet, in manyways, rhythmis
the most important structural element not only
in songwriting but in all music composition. The
proof of this statement can be best realized when
rhythmis isolated from pitch.
At a micro level, we can examinethe rhythmic
motive. At the next level, we can observe phrases
and their relationship to one another--howthey
balance or imbalance one another, whether
rhythmicand/or phrasal acceleration or deceleration occurs, or howthe phrases are ordered. At
a macrolevel, we can analyze the relationship of
the rhythmsand phrase lengths and the relationships betweensections within the song.
Pre- and P0st-Rock
The predominance of rhythm has become even
more apparent over the past 50 years through the
evolution of contemporary music. In the prerock and roll era, composers emphasized the
long lyrical melodic line and sophisticated harmonies derived from European composition.
Today’s music tends to be harmonically less
sophisticated but rhythmically more complex
(though use of modesand a blues-derived harmonic vocabulary does make muchof it tonally
interesting). In the most obvious example, rap
music, melodic pitch is almost always entirely
missing.
Whenwe refer to melodic rhythm, we should
consider not only the rhythms of the melodybut
also the relationship of the phrases to each other.
Manyof today’s songs have sections which are
purposefully asymmetrical, and in this way, too,
are markedly different from the pre-rock-era
popular songs with their 8+8+8+8measure song
structure.
Thefinishedproduct:
"In many
ways,rhythm
is the mostimportant
structuralelement
in composition."
24
Berklee to day
Summer
1991
I|hythm
First
Because rhythm is so important in
contemporarysongwriting, it cart
proveinteresting andsometimes
liber-ating to approachmelodywriting from
a rhythmicperspective.
Howdo you begin to conceive
melody from rhythm? The simplest
methodis to start thinking like a
drummerplaying a solo, concentrating oninteresting rhythms.Set a beat~
tap your foot, or use your metronome
or drummachine.
Wecan step through the process
moreeasily through example.Though
the followingprocesshas beensimplified for the sakeof space,it shouldget
youstarted in the right direction.
~itepbyStep
WhenI compose from a rhythmic
perspective,I beginby creating an interesting rhythmicphrase(see ~).
Next, I study the rhythmsI have
created. Theoutstandingcharacteristic
rhythmof the phraseis ~d’~. This is
called a rhythmicmotive.Storing this
knowledge
away,I continueto create.
I like the first phraseand decideto
repeatit (see®).
The repetition of the phrase has
caused the music to becomesymmetric. Since symmetrytends to cause
monotony,
it is timeto create a different phrase. AsI do this, I amawareof
the length of myphrase (two measures, endingonthe third beat). I decide
to create anothertwo-measure
phrase,
this time endingin a different place
(the second16th of beat four), as seen
in example®.
Thefourth phraseis importantbecauseit potentiallybalancesthe section.
I begin this phrase with the same
rhythmsas phrases one and two, but
decideto use the rhythmicmotiveto a
greater extent(example
®).I also use
developmental technique (:ailed
"rhythmic displacement," whichinv.olves the placementof a rhythmin a
different metric area than the one in
whichit originally appeared.
Onceyou have decided on a melodic rhythmwhichpleases you, the
elementof pitch maybe added.In fact,
as you create the rhythms of your
melody,youmayalso be creating some
or all of yourpitches.
The "final product" (on page 24)
showsthe section after pitch has been
Summer
1991
addedto the melodicrhythm. I have
added mychosen harmoniesto give a
glimpseof the final composition.Of
course,the processof selectingthoseis
anothersubject altogether.
Phrasethree begins in a different
vocal register and becomesthe tonal
high point of the section. Displacing
the rhythmic motive in phrase four
allows meto cadenceon it (on "do")
andprovidesa likely area to hangmy
title line.
At best, this article maylead youto
think more about the rhythms you
choose as you create your melodies.
Of course, melodicpitch is also important-so is harmony.However,by
concentratingon melodicrhythmfirst,
you maymakesomevery exciting discoveries in your melodywriting. ~B
Some
FinalNotes
Be awarethat whena rhythmicphrase
repeats, someor all of the pitchesmay
be changedto maintainthe interest of
the listener.
For example,phrasetwois a rhythmicrepetition of phraseone. This repetition of a rhythmicphrase causes
closure, removing
the senseof forward
motion.If I wantto retain interest,it is
best to end the second phrase on a Jack Perriconechairs Berklee’s Songpitchwhichcalls for resolution(in this writing Department.His songs have
case, "re"). Thisis onewaypitch works reachedtop-20status on pop, country,
with rhythmto create interest.
andrhythmand blues charts.
Berklee today 25
Alum n o t e s
Ronahl Spagnardi ’63
founded Modern Drummer
Carrie
Semanco
Publications in 1976. Since
that time, Ronald has been
"86
the president, editor, and
publisher
of Modern
Drumme;, magazine.
Gene
Perla"65 is a sound
design consultant/producer
at Fox and Perla and a
member of the sound dePianist Hal Galper’57 and sign team for the musical
his trio aretouring
theUnited City of Angels,playingat the
Statesthis summer
in sup- Virginia Theater in New
port of their newreleaseon York. Gene lives in WoodConcord
dazz.
cliff Lake,NJ.
Compiled
26
by
Berklee today
Pianist DaveBurrell ’65
has toured, recorded, and
performed with numerous
jazz artists, including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders,
Lester Bowie, and Ron
Carter. His Xatest release,
entitled Daybreak, with
saxophonist David Murray,
was nominatedfor Best Jazz
Recording by the Philadelphia Music Foundation.
Dave was selected to perform an original work for
the Smithsonian Institution’s American Classical
MusicSeries.
Knownaround California as "pianist to the stars,"
I~ict, ardFranke
"69is a featured performer at various
Beverly Hills restaurants,
including Bistro and I1 Giardino’s. Richard was recently elected to the Trial
Board of the AFMLocal #47
in Los Angeles, CA.
Severinod. Calice ’70
owns and operates R.C.&J.
Productions, a video and
music production company
in San Diego, CA.
Chief Musician Thomas
C.
Wholley’70has served in the
U.S. Navyband for 19 years.
Thomas is stationed in
Norfolk, VA.
AndyWidders-Ellis’70was
appointedassociate editor of
Guitar Player magazine. In
his position, Andyinterviews artists, prepares and
coordinates benchtests, and
writes and edits music columns. Andyis also an accomplishedStick player and
RonaldSpagnardi
’63
performed the Stick solo on
Amy Grant’s
Grammywinning track "Angels."
Terence
A. Bonnell
"71received national airplay of his
CD Handwrought on ITI
Records. The recording features Bobby Shew, Kim
Richmond, and Bob Summers ’69. Terence has
worked for Universal Studios in Los Angeles, CA,
since 1977as a music copyist and proofreader for more
than 100 major motion pictures.
Piano teacher William
Rossi ’71 founded the
Rhythm Section Workshop
in Seattle, WA,in 1986. This
workshop for private and
ensemble instruction has
proven successful in developing good rhythm section
skills in youngmusicians.
Trumpet player Steven
Lowry’73 lives in Lahaina,
HI, wherehe is a disc jockey with KPOAradio and
hosts his own weekly jazz
continued on page 28
Summer1991
ALUMNI NEWS
Nashville
Last Marchmarkedthe second annual Nashville AlumniSongwriters
Showcase
in the MusicCity, featuring a week-long
series of studentand
alumni events (see page 34). The
eventprovideduniqueopportunities
for both students and alumni. Students learned moreabout the Naslhville industry, whilealumnihadthe
chance to makeimportant connections withtheir classmatesand peers.
charge, the networkingopportunities hereare terrific."
What’snext for Big Applealumni? The alumni club committeeis
opento suggestions,and lookingto
expand. Anyonewishingto get involvedcan contact the AlumniRelations Office for moreinformation.
area alumni. Hostedby the Alumni
Groupof Boston, the day featured
three differentevents.
Aclinic/tape critique by wellknownsongwriter Janice Ian got
things rolling in the afternoon,followedby a Networking
Party at the
Soft RockCafd.
More than 40 alumni swapped
professionalinformation,met visiting songwritingprofessionals, and
got to knoweach other better over
dinner and drinks. Afterwards,everyone headedto the Berklee Performance Center for the annual
Songwriter’s
Nightconcert,featuring
the winnersof the studentsongwriting competition.
Specialthanksfor this eventgoes
to Alumni Group of Boston members Jeannie
Deva’75, Yumiko
Matsuoka
’89, Lenny
Cole"87, Pengbian
Sang
"86, MaryMorgan
’86, DaveMedeiros
~82,andJackBlovits
’88.
NewYork
Not to be outdoneby the Nashvi]le
alumni, the NewYorkalumni club
committee hosted the first-ever
Berklee AlumniBand Showcasein
Marchat the Cat Club in NewYork.
The committeesent requests for
tapes to NewYorkalumni in January. Alumni-led bands or bands
having two or morealumni members
wereeligible. Thenext step in the
processwasthe mostdifficult.
"Choosingthe top three tapes Songwriter
Janislan (left) andfac- Florida
fromthe morethan 35 entries wasn’t ulty member
PatPattison
takea break The SunshineState is becomingan
easy," says committeechairmandon duringtheAlumni
Group
of Boston’sincreasingly popular homebase for
Press "79. Jon and volunteer com- SpringNetworking
Day.
Berkleealumni. Withtheir numbers
mittee membersKathySheppard
growing,Florida alumnidecidedto
SteveWard
"87, andRickStone"80 NewJersey
establish somenetworkingopporspent an entire Saturdayreviewing The Berklee MIDIBand went "on tunities. TheAlumniRelations Oftapes anddecidingwhichthree bands the road" to PrincetonUniversityin fice hosted two alumni events in
would perform.
Princeton, NJ, in April. Lead by Floridalast April.
"The top ten bands were a real MusicSynthesis DepartmentChairEastern Florida alumni met for
toss-up," Wardsays. %was really manDennis Thurmond,the Berklee an informalnetworkingparty at the
impressedwith the quality of tile MIDI Band conducted a Music Biscayne Bay Marriott in Miami.
tapes wereceived."
SynthesisSeminarand performedfor Central Florida alumniconvenedin
Thefinal bandsselectedincluded: Princetonstudents and faculty. Lo- Maitland(near Orlando)for a special
OutBack,featuringWilliePellock’135cal Berkleealumniwere invited to dinner honoringlegendary writer/
and Ge0rgeLacks"78; Shipwrecked the eventsas well.
arrangerJesse Stone.
Daughter,led by RobinKreinces’81;
"It was heartwarming to see
Mr.Stonewasa keyto Atlantic’s
and WorldDivewith SamSaffatti ’88 Berkleealumniin the audience,"said early success,writing andarranging
and MattKaslew’88.
Thurmond
after the concert. "They manyof the label’s early hits, inEachbandplayeda blistering 35- gave a real showof support. The cluding the classic single "Shake
minuteset to an enthusiastic crowd wholeeventhada great feeling."
Rattle’n’ Roll."
of 200 guests and invited industry
Membersof the MIDIBand inTheJesse Stone Lifetime Scholrepresentatives. Alumniattendees cludeKaiTurnbull
’87, Dow
Brain’88, arship, awardedto promisingpiano
hada great opportunityto hear their Hirolida "89, Andrew
Sherman,Alex playersentering Berklee,wasestabpeers and connect with important Fr0wein’88, and Adrian Harpham. lished six years ago by Atlantic
NewYorkindustry contacts.
All members work in Berklee’s Recordsfounder AhmetErtegun.
"I’m surprised that more New MusicSynthesis Department.
If youare interested in moreinYorkalumsdidn’t turn out for this
formation on hosting or attending
event," one alumnus commented. Boston
alumniactivities in yourarea,please
"Giventhe great music, the number April 17 markedthe first annual call the AlumniRelationsOffice at
of A&R
representatives,andno cower Spring NetworkingDayfor Boston- (617)266-1400,extension479.
Summer
1991
Berklee today 27
CLASS
CONNECTIOI~IS
Most faculty and
staff members at the
college spent the better
part of May saying
"goodbye" and "good
luck" to the graduating
seniors. I would now
like to say "hello" and
"welcome."
The 480 members of
the class of ’91 (minus
the few who stayed
through the summerto
It wasa
pass that last pesky Carrie Semanco:
yearfor alumni
proficiency exam) ioin busysecond
andAlumni
]Relations.
the Berklee alumni
body of 22,000 who
share their experience at Berklee as a common
bond.
It is great to haveyou with us.
It was a busy second year in the AlumniRelations
Office. The alumni body continues to grow not only
with the addition of recent graduate.,;, but with the
many"lost" alumni whohave reconnected with the
college to fill us in on their persona1and professional
activities and to participate in regional alumnievents.
Harris Publishing Companyreports a record number
of requests for the AlumniDirectory (see page7). The
information they gathered for the directory will be a
tremendoushelp in updating college records.
This past year, the AlumniRelations Office and
regional alumni club committees hosted 15 separate
events for alumni and students, including concerts,
career and professional panels, networking parties,
and receptions. Weare also developi~Lgnewways to
assist current students and young alumni through
programs such as the Berklee Career’ Network and
by seeking alumni professionals whowill volunteer
their time and services to assist Berklee graduates.
With input from faculty and alumr~i, we hope to
continue to expand and diversify activities in the
coming year.
I wouldlike to extend a special thank you to the
hundreds of alumni who took the time to send information, pictures, tapes, CDs,and press kits for the
"Alumnotes" section of Berklee today as well as for
release by the NewsBureau. Sending information
about your professional activities not only helps
Berklee keep in touch with its alumni on a personal
level, but the information is vitally important to the
college for self-evaluation, grant applications, and
public relations. As Berklee continues to grow and
develop in an increasingly competitive educational
market, the ability to accurately report on the activities of our alumniis moreimportant than ever.
--Carrie Semanco’86
Alumni Relations Coordinator
28
Berklee today
show. Steven performs frequently at Blackie’s Bar in
Lahaina with ShiroMori’74
and Sean Lyons"86. Steven
encourages Berklee alumni
to submit new and classic
iazz recordings for possible
airplay on his show.
D~nnisCarrera’74 teaches guitar for the United Cerebral Palsy organization in
Neptune, NJ. Dennis also
performs at local clubs as a
guitarist and vocalist.
Pat Harman
’74 works for
the National Museum of
American History in Washington, D.C., as a production specialist for the Department
of Public
Programming.
IVlichaelJ. Kuvinka
"74of
Freedom, PA, received a
Composer’s Guild award in
the jazz category this year.
Yamaha Corporation of
Americarecently announced
the appointment of ~very
IBurdette’75 as product marketing specialist. Averyhas
an extensive background in
retail and performing.
A 15-year veteran of
SESAC,TomCasey ’75 has
been promoted from director of repertory administration to vice president for affiliate
management. Tom
operates from SESAC’s
Nashville, TN,office. Last
March, Tomhosted a clinic
at SESAC
for visiting Berklee students.
After graduating, 8ichie
Contartesi"75, knownprofessionally as saxophonist
Richie Corm, relocated to
New York where he performedwith Philly Jo Jones,
the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis
big band, Clark Terry, and
others. Nowresiding in
southern Florida, he established C & R Digital, a music production, publishing,
and distribution company.
Richie produced his own
adult contemporary CD
entitled Ultimate Visions,
receiving airplay throughout
the southern United States.
ReggieClem"76, known
professionally as J. Schoeneman, sings with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society in
Baltimore, MD.
DonKoldon"76 has accepted a clinical fellowship
at Harvard Medical School/
Massachusetts
General
Hospital. A doctoral candidate, Don is studying the
creative process of contemporary composers.
Guitarist JeffreyWallace
’76 plays with the Connecticut-based country band
Desert Skies.
TerrySiganos
’76 of Athens, Greece, produced and
LanceDuncan’79(left)andJimAnderson’74(center)
opened
Sound
Techniques
in Boston
this April (also shown
is engineerRickSweetser).
Thefacility offersthreestudiosand
centra~machine
roomfor audio/video
applications.
Summer1991
sang back-up on vocalist
Sam Redman’s self-titled
debut album released by
CBSlast fall.
GaryHaggerty’77
received
an Outstanding Service
Awardfrom Berklee for his
innovative work in the college’s library.
BrentMingle’77 is chief
engineer at the 24-track recording studio East Coast
Sound Lab in Baltimore,
MD.Brent plays bass for
the group Root Boy Slim
and ran sound at the North
Sea and Montreauxjazz festivals this year for the
vocal group After Hours.
Drummer Michael M.
Schimpf"77, knownprofessionally as Gino Michael
Schimpf, leads and performs
with his ownjazz quartet.
iMichael often appears at
Tamiment, in the Grand
Hall in East Stroudsburg,
PA, and as part of the "Jazz
,on Sunday Evening" program at the Hillside Inn in
the Poconos.
SamHolmstock
’78 leads
an Afro-Latin drum ensemble called Die Kunst Der
iDrumin Martha’s Vineyard,
IMA. The group sponsors
drumclinics with artists such
as Ibrahima Camara and
Jerry Gonzales. Sam also
performs with world-beat
band the Ululators.
LeesDunnYunits ’78 of
Brockton, MA, recorded a
CD of original pop/jazz
songs released on the Breckinridge Companylabel.
Saxophonist Greg Degler
"79 completed a tour with
vocal jazz great MelTorm4.
Greg also performed on
several recent Disney movie
soundtracks and television
recordings.
Julia RogersFraser ’79
lives in Sepulveda, CA,
where she is marketing director for Alfred Music
Publishing.
Guitarist JimRobetls"79
is a memberof the United
Summer1991
.AerialDisplay,a contemporary
jazz bandbased
in Torrance,
CA,features(left to right):Larry
Steen’84, Darrell Block"80, James
Wheeler
’85 (seated),Anthony
Shogrin,Gene
Bohman
’76,
andDavidLeach.Thebandperformed
at the Carson
JazzFestivalin May.
States ArmyBandstationed
:in Ft. Myer,VA.
MichaelWenslow
’79 has
established Ten Squared in
North Hollywood, CA. The
company’sservices include
audio recording, administration, of copyrighted materials, instructional media
production and publication,
publication of choral arrangements, music video
production, and computer
software development.
DavidBurdick
’80 teaches
theory and composition at
Millikin University in Decatur, ![L.
MarkGarnerKlagstad
’80
freelances in Boulder, CO,
playing clubs, casuals, and
producing concerts.
DanielLevitin’80 has been
appointed consulting editor
for REP: The Pro Audio
Applications Magazine. As
consulting editor, Daniel
will be responsible for the
musicreview section as well
as inte,~views.Daniel’swriting has been featured in Mix
magazine.
Drummer/songwriter
[lean Lopes"80toured with
the Tubes during their 1989
and 19’90 tours through the
United States and Canada.
Dean has also toured and
performed with the groups
Area Code, Robert Tepper
Band, F-Sharp, Push Comes
to Shove, and the Pull.
As drummer and backup vocalist for the Los Angeles rock/funk
group
BLOC, Christopher Mancinelli "80 looks forwardto
the group’s first release on
A&MRecords entitled In
the Free Zone.
Thomas
W. Santagata"80
recently formed the Rhode
Island quintet Jealous Fury.
Thomasalso plays trumpet
and flugelhorn with several
other bands in RhodeIsland.
Robert
d. Searls"80, owner and director of Arizona
Productions in Sydney,
Australia, writes and produces music for television,
documentaries, films, and
advertisements.
MarkEdwardBoling "81
wrote The Jazz Theory
Workbook, published by
Advance Music of West
Germany and available
through Jamie Abersold
Publications. Markis an assistant professor of musicat
the University of Tennessee.
KevinDaley’81authoreda
new guitar method book for
Kjos Music Company. The
work is one of a series of
comprehensive
method
books for individual or
group study published by
Kjos for guitar, keyboards,
bass, and drums.
HansFagt ’81, drummer
with KimLarsen and Bellami, has two albums to his
credit, Yummi-Yummiand
Kielgasten. Both albums
went double platinum in
Denmark, gold in Norway,
and silver in Sweden.
PeterB. Olson
"81worksas
jazz coordinator for the
MacPhail Center for the
Arts, part of University of
Minnesota Extensions in
Minneapolis, MN.
LorenMichaelParkins’81
earned his master’s degree
in communications from
Emerson College in 1985.
As a producer, Loren has
worked with James Williams, Rob Mounsey, Bucky
Pizzarelli, and manyothers.
Berklee staff member
Winston MacCow"82 received an award for outstanding service from the
college for his work in the
Ensemble Department.
Anassistant registrar at
Franklin Pierce College in
Berklee
today
29
DEVELOPMENT,~;
At Berklee, our advanced contemporary
curriculumis supported
bythe latest in acoustic
and electronic instruments and sound reinforcement equipment.
Yetmaintainingthis
cutting edge status
whilereplacingexisting
instruments is not an
easy task. Wehavemore
than 300 acoustic and
digital pianosalone! In JohnCollins:Instrument
to Berklee
offer
supportof our mission, donations
Berkleehas beenfortu- a win-win
opportunity.
nate to find support
fromthe musicindustry in the form of donatedinstruments, equipment,andsupport services.
In a recentarticle in the BostonBusinessJournal,
Toni Mansfieldwrites that in-kind giving to nonprofit institutions is a "win-win"situation for the
donorand the recipient. Thecorporationis able to
movesurplus inventory,or perhapsstocks of product
in the wrongsize or color whichare taking up space
in the warehouse.Leavingthe goodsin inventory
inflates the profits whichmustbe reportedfor taxes.
Accordingto Ms. Mansfield,"Donatingthe products will reduce the excess inventoryand gain the
corporationa charitable gift deductionup to twice
the cost of the inventory. Theamountof the deduction is the cost of the goodsplus half the gain that
wouldhavebeenrealized had the goodsbeen sold."
Aside fromthe tax benefits, a companyalso has
the satisfactionof knowing
that their productis being
used at Berklee by almost 2800students from more
than 70 countries, whoupongraduationwill join the
ranks of approximately22,000alumniprofessionals.
Obviously,
the experienceof these talentedindividuals
on the company’s
instrumentswill l~Lelpthe status of
the manufacturerworldwidefor years to come.
Andfinally, the businesshas the satisfaction of
giving backto the profession throughmusiceducation. Berkleehas been fortunate to receive recent
donations from Kawai, Korg, Technics, and Apple
Computer.Suchdonationshelp the college keepexpenses down,resulting in moreaffordable tuition
fees. Wehope others will join this distinguished
business and professionalleadership group whorecognize the long-termbenefits of supporting music
educationat BerkleeCollegeof Music.
If you wouldlike moreinformationabout in-kind
donationsor givingopportunities,please don’t hesitate to call meat (617)266-1400,
extension438.
--John Collins
Director of Development
30
Berklee today
NewHampshire,Elizabeth Technologyin addition to
8ichardson
Martin’82 grad- his duties as an assistant
uated with a master’s in professor in the piano decounselingfromKeeneState partmentat Berklee. MakoCollegethis year. Elizabeth to appearsregularlyon teleperformsregularly with lo- vision and radio programs
cal theater groupsandcon- in the Bostonarea, including frequent spots on
cert productions.
KevinMcCluskey
’82 has WMJXradio’s "Sunday
beennameddirector of sales MorningJazz" program.
Jean-PierreVanEerdand marketingfor the Bos’82is an artistic agent
ton Potato Chip Company. ewegh
Past musicalcareer achieve- and producer in Brussels,
mentsinclude a tour of the Belgium.
Berklee Office Services
Soviet Union performing
with LivingstonTaylor and CoordinatorRenaWade"82
received an Outstanding
othernationalartists.
BobRoss"82,profession- Service Awardfrom the
ally knownas R. Hoover college for her continuing
Ross, played bass on the level of excellence in the
Carboy’s debut album for BusinessOffice.
As marketing manager
MCARecords.
Benjamin
IF. Smeall’82 for Mendez & Company,
assisted with
earned his master’s degree LuisAlvarez’83
of the
in music education from this year’s production
South Carolina University I-IeinekenJazzFestin Puerand is pursuinga doctorate to Rico.Thefestival featured
in GreenBay,WI.As a vio- performances by several
linist, Benjamin
specializes Berklee alumni, including
Laboriel
’72, Justo
in jazz, folk, andethnicmu- Abraham
Almario
’71, andRicardo
Silsical styles.
’77.
Pianist Makoto
Takenakaveira
Guidancecounselor for
’82 teachespart-timeat the
MassachusettsInstitute of Grove School of Music in
Thereggae/funk
group
Burning
Brass
featuring
(left to right)
NildaI~ichards
’82, Pam
Fleming,
andJenny
Hill ’83.
Summer
1991
NOTJUSTANOTHER
L.A. STORY
For composerPeterMel~lick"85,
landingthe film scoringjob for Steve
Martin’s film L.A. Story was all a
matter of "atmosphere."
"I prepared a demoof a musical
texture for the scenes whereSteve
Martinis talkingto the sign,"he says.
"Thedirector, MickJackson, liked
whatI did. Andso I got the job."
Those whosaw L.A. Story will
rememberMartin’s conversations
with a highway-sidesign as highlights of the film. Butfor Melnick,
the highlightwasthe chanceto work
with director MickJackson.
"Heis really a composer’s
director," he explains."Hehadclear ideas,
but he also knewwhento give mea
direction andthen standbackandlet
mecreate. That is a rare combination."
Butthat rare combination
did not
ease the pressure to completethe
scoreat the last minute.
"Wespotted the film the daybefore Thanksgiving," he says. "We
went into the studio on December
16. So I basically had twoweeksto
write the score."
Before L.A. Story, Melnickdid
most of his creating for the small
screen, scoringthe movieof the week
GetSmart,Again/,as wellas several
episodes of public television’s
"Nova," afterschool specials, and
series such as "Nightingales"and"A
Fine Romance."He also has been
involved in stage work, providing
music for the Circle Repertory
Theater in NewYork and the L.A.
ShakespeareFestival, as well as an
original dance theater workfor the
Williamstown
Theater Festival.
Since he left Berklee in 1985,
Melnickhas seen music technology
alter the faceof his business.
"Synthesishas really changedthe
wayin for newcomposers,"he explains. "Youused to workthrough
Steve
MartinandVictoriaTennant
in a scene
fromthefilmL.A.Story.
Van Nuys, CA, Gerald E. BrooklynLager WorldBeat
(derry)Gates
’83also teaches Competitionthis year. Jenprivately and writes and or- ny has toured and recorded
chestrates jingles. Recent extensively as a former
clients include Scopeand memberof the Jamaican
l:;ank of America
reggae group BurningSpear
Jeff Harrington
’83 played andas a freelanceperformer
lead tenor with the Gene in NewYorkCity.
KrupaBandfor Royal CarAs staff engineer for
ibbean’s Great Entertainer A&M
Recording Studios in
RobertJ. JaczCruise last October. Jeff Hollywood,
servesas chairman
of the jazz ko, Jr. ’83, has workedon
department at the South recent projects for Bruce
Shore Conservatory in Springsteen, Joe Cocker,
Hingham, MA.
Hall & Oates, Crowded
Tenorsaxophonist denny House,the Pretenders, and
I~till ’83 co-leadsthe reggae/ ][)on Henley.
funk group Burning Brass
RickKuethe
’83 co-owns
(].eft) withNildaRichards’82.
andoperates Air Studiosin
Fiurning Brass won the Boston, MA,with partner
Summer
1991
apprenticeships.
Now,first scoresare
very often synthscores. It is hardto
imaginebreaking in without access
to a synthesisset-up."
Melnick’ssuccesswith L.A. Story
has led to other majorprojects, includingthe up-coming
film Convicts
starring RobertDuvall, JamesEarl
Jones, and LukasHaas.
"A lot of people ask mehowyou
get breaksin this business,"he says.
"The answer is that you create
breaks. Youfind out whereyou can
get a purchaseandyougo after it."
BobReardon
’85. Rick has
written commercials
for radio andtelevision, network
themesfor television, and
has scored three documentaries. Hehas released two
recordings of his keyboard
performances, Nebraska
Suite and The Child Within.
NEBRASKASUITE ]
Berklee staff member
Reggie
Lofton
’83 receivedan
OutstandingService Award
fromthe collegefor his work
as concerttechnicalcoordinator in the Professional
PerformanceDivision.
FormerBerklee faculty
memberAnthonyMichael
Peters0n
’83 is a guitarist in
the blues/funk band PBR
Street Gang.
RichardSchumacher
’83
co-leadsthe fusion bandArt
Beyond, which performs
throughout Germany.
Singer/songwritergindy
Sinclair’83 lives in Santa
Monica, CA. Her songs
havereceivedairplay on raBerklee today 31
dio stations in Bostonand will oversee the production
Holland.
of in-houseaudio andvideo
BARREPORT
LynnMichelleWilliams- projects and will produce
Patterson
"83is presidentof demonstrationsequencesfor
This past year the
Old
Line
Productions in current and future Kurzweil
Berklee AlumniRepproducts.
Baltimore,
MD.
resentative (BAR)
Keyboardist J0n R. AIDanMockensturm
’84
program expanded
be~ts ’84 performswith the worksfor Full Sail Center
its network of
groupSabella Consort,runs for the RecordingArts in
Berklee alumni to
a musicrecording and pub- Winter Park, FL, as an ininclude internalishing business called Ace structor, engineer,andSyntional representain the HoleProductions,and clavier programmer. Dan
tives in suchfar corteaches piano and theory at workswith AI DiMeolaas a
ners of the world as
KennellyKeysmusicstores programmer/technician.
Argentina, Japan, and
Formerlymusical direcin Seattle, WA.
England.Liketheir U.S. TheBARprogram
nowenSky
Robert
W.Dull’84 plays tor for the Scandinavian
newcultures
counterparts,
BAR compasses
worldwide. drums with the Minneapo- Cruise Ship, drummerDavmembersin these areas andcontinents
’84 nowlives in
lis band Citizens Patrol, id Nuding
meet with student muNashville,
TN,wherehe is
whosefirst release is entisicians to describe Berklee’suniqueanddiverse mutled
Range
of
Emotion.
producing
local
artist Steve
sic career-orientedcurriculum.
Bouch&.
David
also works
Robert
is
also
a
salesman
at
Marcelo
Braga
’83 of BuenosAires assisted Directhe
Guitar
Center
in
Roseas
the
house
drummer
at
tor of Admissions
StevenLipman
’69 at the Berkleein
Nashville
East
Recording
ville,
MN.
Argentinaprogramlast December.Steve and Marcelo
KenE. FixII ’84 played Studiosandplaysfive nights
hosteda receptionfor prospectivestudentsliving in
guitar on KimKalman’snew a weekat Willies of GatlinBuenosAires to answertheir questionsabout Berklee
release All HeartsGoHome burg, a SmokyMountain
andassist themwith the application process. Since
for Christmas. Ken also resort town.
then, Marcelohas servedas a liaison with Argentinifounded his own music
laren S. Oosterman
"84
an musiciansapplyingto the college.
works
at
Natick
High
publishing
company,
WaTimCauller’81,formerBoston-areaBARmember,
terman LakeMusic.
School in Natick, MA,as a
moved
to Yokohama,
Japan, last year andhas assisted
Jungle
Afternoon,
an
K-12musicspecialist.
the AdmissionsOffice by visiting with students at
original
orchestra
composiGuitarist Cameron
Scott
the Mate School of Musicin Tokyo. Timaiso has
’84 teachesbass and
tion byChristopher
Florio’84, Schmitz
interviewed
applicantslivingin Japan,helpingus learn
guitar north of Boston,MA,
was premiered by :the
moreabout their musical background.
Greater Trenton Sympho- andperformswith the group
Lawrence
Jones"80of Philadelphia, PA,has been
ny. Last year, Florio made Savvy. He has recently
an active jazz musicianin the UnitedStates andEnhis first major symphonic teamedup with noted bassgland since graduating. This past year, Lawrence
Bean
’76 to form
hosteda receptionwith the Jazz in the Southprogram presentation with his com- ist Michael
position
Family,
also
prea
funk/rock
group
perin England
for interestedprospectiveBet!deestudents.
miered
by
the
Trenton
forming
at
Alexander’s
Place
Lawrence
has also servedas a liaison betweenBerklee
in Peabody, MA.
Symphony. A guitarist,
and student musiciansabroad.
Christopher performs
John
Stein’84is the assisThese accomplishmentssignal the expansion of
aroundBostonwith several tant director of Berklee’s
BARto encompassnew cultures and continents.
However,westill needalumniassistance worldwide different performinggroups. Office of Learning AssisHealso teaches in the Bos- tance. He was honored by
in learningabout waysto reachstudentsinternationton public schools.
ally. Information on the musicprogramstaught in
Berklee staff member
the schoolsystems,the private musicschools, music
Raelene
Hourany
’84 was
festivals, musicconferences,andmusiceducationorhonoredwith an Outstandganizations aroundthe worldwill help us structure
ing Service Awardfrom the
BARinvolvementmoreeffectively.
college for her workas asIf you are interested in becominginvolved with
sistant to the deanof curricBARand live outside the United States, we would
Hlum.
like to here fromyou. Ofcourse,if youare interested
Young Chang America
andstill live on American
soil, wewantto hear from
announced
the appointment
you, too. Just check the BARbox on the form on
of
Steve
dohannessen
’84
page37, or call medirectly at (617)266-1400,
exten(right) as director of cussion 366. I look forwardto hearing:from you.
tomersupportandartist re--Rich Adams"82
lations for the Kurzweil
AlumniAdmissionsCoordinator
"84
Electronics Division. Steve SteveJohannessen
32
Berklee today
Summer
1991
the college with an Outstanding Service Awardfor
the continuingquality of his
leadership and his innovative educational software
design.
DarrylBrenzel
"85,saxophonist with the United
States ArmyJazz Ambassadors stationedin Ft. Meade,
MD, performed at the
NewportJazz Festival last
August. Darryl also freelances, composes, and arranges for the big band
Jazzmania, based in Washington, D.C.
Guitarist JohnT. Drysdale
’85 freelancesin rock,blues,
and progressive idioms in
Wilmington,DE, Philadelphia, PA,and southern New
.Jersey.
Gerald
M.(Jerry)Smith
’85
FOR WEEKENDINGAPRIL 27, 1991
ONTHECHARTS
Top
JazzAlbums~
Complied
fi’cmanaffonai
~mpie
ofretailstore
Berklee alumni have always
ando~-stop
sales/eports.
rankedhigh on Billboard’scharts.
ARTIST
TITLE
Buta glanceat this April’slistings
NO. 1 **
showedjust howhigh. At least five
SHIRLEY
HORN
VERV~
847**
482/POLYGRAM
of the top 15 jazz albumsinvolved
NOVUS
3109/RCA
alumniin leading roles. Three of
COLUMBIA
47063"
themwereheadliners.
GRP9627"
RoyHargrove
"89 entered the
ANTrLLES
848213/(SLAND
charts high with his new Novus
BLUE
NOTE
90264./CAHTOL
release PublicEye.Alsofeaturedon
COLUMBIA
47346
the recordingis recent graduate,
NOVUS
3110./RCA
saxophonistAntonio
Hart"91, who
COLUMBIA
46146
is hard at work on his ownsolo
BOBBY
WATSON
BLUENOTE95148./CAPiTO~
debut.
MUSE
5433
Charting just belowHargrove
ROY HAROROVE
NOVUS3113"/RCA
is jazz mainstayKeithJarrett’64
VERVE
843751"/~OLYGRAM
with his newECM
release Tribute,
£CM
847
135"/~OLYGRAM
featuring Gary Peacock and
BLUE
NOTE
95479*/CAPITOL
Berklee honorarydoctorate recipient Jack DeJohnnette.
,John
Scofield’71
heldsteadyon the chart
with his BlueNoterelease, MeantTo Be, also featuringsaxophonistJoeLovano’72.
In
his recent visit to Berklee,formerfaculty member
Pat Metheny
hinted at a possible
future duo project with Scofield, whichwouldbe almost guaranteeda high chart
position,as well.
Other alumniappear on the charts, although not by name,in important backgroundroles. Delfeay0Marsalis"89 producedMarcusRoberts’ Novusrecording,
Alonewith ThreeGiants. Andthe newrelease by DianneReevesfeatures a wealthof
alumniperformances,
including TerriLyneCarringt0n
’83, Greg0sby’83, andKevin
Eubanks
"79. ["TopJazz Albums"chart © 1991BPICommunications,
Inc. Usedwith
permissionfromBillboard.]
sounds Productions in
Wollaston, MA.Jerry has
written jingles for Gerber
and Store 24 and produces
demos
for local artists.
JenniferSmith’85 was
ihonoredfor her exceptional
workin Berklee’sOffice of
Information Systems with
an Outstanding Service
Awardfrom the college.
LindaWingMedini"85 award-winningBoston jazz
Dennis
Mitcheltree’87 heard on the Crusaders’reperforms with the groups group Either/Orchestra.
appeared with the Brook- union album, thanks to an
~msoand Marl as percusAngela
Piva’86 received lyn Jazz Trio at Visionesin invitation fromJoe Sample.
sionist and gives private an Ampex Golden Reel NewYork this past year.
0wen
Yost"87 plays bass
voicelessons.
Awardfor her workon the His owntrio performsreg- for the NewYork band
JulioC. Zelaya
’85 heads Big Tyme album by Heavy ularly at various NewYork Tyner-BensonProject with
the art departmentfor the D and the Boyz. A music jazz venues.Dennisis a de- the sons of jazz greats
University of Honduras. production and engineering centralizationgrant recipi- George Benson and McCoy
]ulio also writes jingles, graduate,Angelais a princi- ent and a panelist for Re- Tyner.
produces music for radio pal of INFXProductions in grant, an organizationwhich
Berklee Administrative
andtelevision,andis guitar- ]NewYork.
appropriates grant money AssistantJackBI0vils’85was
ist for a jazz quartet based
Formerly the conductor for arts projects.
honoredwith an Outstandin Tegucigalpa,Honduras. andmusicaldirector for the
ChikaOkamoto
"87 re- ing Service Awardfrom the
Guitarist Mordy
Ferber’s ]an Le, wan Showand the ceived an award for out- college for his workin the
’~6first solo CDentitled All WayneNewton Orchestra standing service fromBerk- CounselingCenter.
the Wayto Sendal was re- in Las Vegas, NV,Stephen lee for her strongsupporting Drummer
Bobby
Borg’88
leased by Enja. Therecord- Kaminski’87
foundedCrown role in the Officeof Devel- plays with the rock group
ing features fellow Berklee Stone MusicProductionsin opment.
Beggars& Thieves, signed
alumni Tiger 0koshi"75, Perth Amboy, NJ, and
Guitarist and Warner to Atlantic Records. The
"lFeese
Gohl
’80, Miroslav
Vi- writesmusicfor advertising. Bros. recordingartist Mark band’s video has been featous’67,
Gildas
Boc1~’85,
and Tamas
G.K.Marius’87
is an WhRfield’87 performedon tured on MTV.
Marry
Richards
"85.
audio instructor and engi- the Donald Harrison and
Benjamin Davis "88
Trombonist Russell neer for Valencia Commu- Terence Blanchard album formed Frontline Music
Jewell"86 performswith the nity Collegein Orlando,FL. BlackPearl. Hecan also be continuedon page35
Summer
1991
Berklee today 33
NASHVILLE
MUSICINDUSTRYBRINGSALUMNIANDSTUDENTS
TOGETHER
Traditionally,studentsspendtheir
spring break in Fort Lauderdaleand
other warmrelaxing hot spots. But
this year, morethan 50 Berkleestudents traveled to Nashvilleto spend
their spring sojournlearning about
the musicbusiness.
Pat Pattison, a faculty member
in
Berklee’s SongwritingDepartment,
and CarrieSemanco
’86, coordinator
of alumnirelations, organizedthe
five-day event that mixedbusiness
with pleasure.
A who’s whoof the Nashville
musicindustry supportedthe event.
Sponsored by Jim Ed Norman,
president of WarnerBros., and arranged by Pete Fisher of Warner/
Elektra/Asylum (WEA),the students wereprovidedbus transportation to the MusicCity. Othercom- Alumna
Debbie
Salvucci
’89 performs
for alumni,students,
andfriendsat
panies contributedtime, talent, and Nashville’s
Douglas
Corner
Caf&
funds,as well.
professionalsrelatedto the students: in Nashville,workingwith such art"Youjust have to learn to trust ists as JohnnyCash, LeonRussell,
Songs
andStories
T.G.Sheppard, Michael Johnson,
At ASCAP,Director of Member- yourself."
andCrystalGayle.His first solo alship Relations TomLonghosted an
informative session on performing NSAIandthe AlumniShowcase bum, Black Hat & Saxophonewas
rights. Hethen presentedsongwrit- The students aiso attended the releasedlast year on CBS(see Berker Pat Algier,whosharedhis insights Nashville Songwriters Association lee today,Fall 1990).
International (NSAI)conference.
andplayedhis songs.
At SESAC,alumnusTomCasey’75 NSAIdirector Pat Huberarranged AwardTime
and DiannePetty providedmorein- a special discountfor the studentsto But "Blue Jay" Patten was not the
put on the songwritingbusinessand attend the conferencepanels. In ad- only awardwinnerof the day. Upon
presented writer KendallFranches- dition, Pete Fisher hostedan exclu- a close reviewof the Nashvilleevent,
ca--a talented, transplanted New sive songwriters panel at NSAIfor the Council for the Advancement
Yorker whoexplained howhe made Berklee participants. Later, the and Support of Education (CASE)
the transition. TomCaseylater pre- alumnirelations office hosteda pan- awardedBerkleea silver medalas an
sented SESAC’s
scholarship dona- el of its own,featuring Nashville outstandingexampleof an individual
Jackson
’84, LeeSatter- alumni program.Manythanks go to
tion to Berkleeat the AlumniSing- alumniBetsy
Salvucci
’89, Marie the Nashville alumniand musiciner/Songwriter Showcase.The gift field ’83, Debbie
Morris’80,
andMike dustry, as well as to our ownsongrepresentsthe fifth annualinvestment Mattei’84, Nancy
writingfaculty, staff, andstudents,
’82.
made by SESACin the future of Morris
for makingthe eventsucha success.
The Berklee Alumni Singer/
songwriting.
Thetrip wasthe secondcollaboThe young songwriters visited Songwriter Showcasewas the high
ration
betweenthe Nashville music
point
of
the
weekend,
as
the
alumni
more than 20 other studios, pubindustry
and Berklee’s innovative
panelists,
along
with
Camille
$chmidt
lishing houses,and clubs, learning
Songwriting
Department. Faculty
’84
and
John
Mock
’88,
took
the
stage
whatit takes to makeit in Nashville.
Theyattended seminars at Warner/ to share their musicat the popular and studentswerepleasedto see the
industry recognizingBerklee’sproChappell Publishing, BMI,AFTRA/ DouglasCorner Caf6.
Alsoduringthe event, Nashville gramsandinvesting in their future.
SAG,Fireside Studio (with alumnus
GaryCulley’89), and WEA
Studios. alumni honored saxophonist Jay Everyoneat the college looks for’69for his achievements
in the wardto a continuedpartnershipwith
At Warner Bros., acclaimed Patten
music
industry.
Patten
(known
to the MusicCity...and, of course, to
songwriterJanis Ian spokewith the
nextyear’s spring break.
his
Berklee
colleagues
as
Joseph
group, played a few of her songs,
--John Collins
Pellacchia)
is
a
leading
session
player
and summedup what manyof the
34
Berklee today
Summer
1991
iDesign in FarmingtonHills,
MI, with alumna Jen Brunetti "85. Theyhave recorded several industrial scores
and national and local radio
ads in addition to working
on an album project with
the band Sister Psycho.
JoeDelmerico
’88, an active guitarist and instructor
living in Charlestown, MA,
is composingoriginal music
for an albumto be produced
in collaboration with guitarist MikeRathke
"84.
A resident of San Francisco, CA, James
Eason’88
plays saxophone with the
local group Scatman Joe.
The group is planning a
California tour.
DavidD. Eisnor"88 began
as an audio engineer at Atlantic Television System/
Atlantic Satellite Networkin
Halifax, Nova Scotia, last
spring. David does audio for
netwo:rk news, commercials,
cross-Canadafeeds, and va:dety entertainment shows.
David Friedlander "88
"worksas assistant engineer
for Prince’s Paisley Park
Studios in Minneapolis,
MN.
DavidKorchin
"88lives in
Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he
is a drummerand programmer for Nosso Studio Sound
&Image. His extensive jingle work includes productions for McDonald’s and
Coca Cola. David is martied to vocalist kucianoSouza ’88 and plays drumsin her
band with Eduardo
Souza’87
on keyboards.
A graduate of the Songwriting Department, Laaee
C. McCollum"88 owns and
operates Business Notes, a
regional music advertising
agency based in West Boylston,/VIA.
REVOLUTIONARY
REUNION
"91
Besureto watch
yourmailbox
for theopportunity
to join the
revolutionwithAlumni
Weekend
’91 onAugust
17and18(see
page5). Visit withold friendsandnetwork
withotheractive
music
professionals
asyoureturnto theBerklee
campus
to see
what’snew.
Thisyear’seventcelebrates
therevolution
in contemporary
musiceducation
Berkleestartedmorethan46yearsagoand
marks
theevolution
ouralumni
havehelped
thecollegeachieve.
Special
classreunions
will beheldfor theclasses
of ’86,’81,
’76, ’71, ’66,’61, ’56, and’51. But,of course,
all alumni
are
welcome.
Please
call theAlumni
Relations
Officeat (617)266-1400,
extension
479,with anyquestions,andwatchyourmail for
moreinformation.
ChrisJ. Parks’88 joined me"89, Jeff Ramsey
’90, and
Virgin Records artist Lalah David Cowan"90. Berklee
Hathaway
"90 as her musical student vocalists Kenya
director and bass player.
Hathaway and Mike EisenOther alumni backing Lalah stein are also on the album.
on her self-titled debut in- Chris has performed with
clude AndreWard’88, Stacy MicaParis, Walter Beasley,
Campbell
"90, DavidDelhom- and the R&Bgroup 9.9.
Berklee
Alumni Student Referral
Help give an interested, dese:rving young musician more information on Berklee by filling out
this form and sending it to the address below.
Name
Address
City
State__
ZIP
Instrument
Send the completed form to:
Berklee College of Music:
Office of Admissions
1140 Boylston Street
Boston, MA02215
ETOD0691
Summer1991
Berklee
to day 35
nental SingersandChristian
Artists Music.
FATHERS
ANDSONS
ColinD. Mandel
’89 leads
his ownband and was featured in the September1989
issue of Guitar Playermagazine. Colinteachesjazz and
music theory at Learning
Tree University in Los Angeles, CA.
Yumiko
Matsuoka
"89received an OutstandingService AwardfromBerldeefor
her innovative workin the
college’s Career Resource
Center.
ScottSheriff"89is an experiencedhouseengineerfor
McSpadden
Music Groupin
Nashville, TN.
Gene
IchitaShimosato
’89
leads his ownBoston jazz
group GSQwith D0wBrain
’88 on keyboards,RichKalsar ’90 on drums,and curFather
andsonalumni
(left to right):John
Doherty’91,
Shaun
Doherty’91,
President
Lee
rent Berklee student Matt
EliotBerk,JoeMardin
’85, andArif Mardin
’58.
Garrison on bass. Geneis
Parents of graduatingseniors are al- son Shaun neared completion of his
also guitarist for the popuwaysa welcome
sight at Berklee’s Com- studies, Johndecidedto return to Berklar alumni-led Bostonrock
mencementceremonies. Their guidance lee to finish requirementsfor a fullband Bob Meloonand the
and support often has had a deciding fledgedbachelor’sdegree.
Big Argument, with Bob
Also on hand at the ceremonywas
role in the success of their graduating
Mel00n"87. As a student,
sons and daughters. But at the 1991 another famousfather-son team. AtlanGene won Down Beat
’58 andhis
Commencement
ceremonies, both par- tic VicePresidentArifMardin
magazine’s Outstanding
had
ent and child werewearingthe robes and son producer/arrangerJoe Mardin’85
Performanceaward in the
shaking the hands as a father and son a similarly double honor in 1985when
classicalsoloist categoryand
Joe graduated and Arif was awardedan
receivedtheir degreestogether.
last year receivedan honorAlumnusJohn Dohertyreceived[ his honorary doctor of music degree by
able mention in Guitar
diplomafromBerkleein 1969.Butas his PresidentLee Eliot Berk.
Player magazine’sReader’s
Soundpagecompetition.
Asstaff engineerfor the
Quartet.
The
group
is
planVolker
also
trades
and
reScottStillman
"88worksin
Sierra
Recordings studio
ning
a
New
England
tour
pairs
woodwind
instruthe set-up departmentat the
complex
in Athens,Greece,
for
next
fall.
ments.
RecordPlant in Hollywood,
Spetseris
"89 has
Kristen
Guldseth
"89is vice Antonios
Freelance drummer/perCA.
worked
on
several
album
Recordingengineer and cussionist/programmerRim president of NancySies
projects
for
CBS,
Polylives in VanNuys, Presents, an established
producerAki0Ueda’88 lives Hissar’~19
Gram,
as
well
as
EMIperforming
arts
booking
and
of the
in Honolulu, HI, wherehe CA,and is a member
Greece
and
Minos.
consulting
agency
based
in
freelances for various re- world-beatbandSahara.
JohnBaldwin
"90teaches
Christopher
James
Fass- Alexandria, VA.
cording studios and postHardy
WiRiams
Hemphill
guitar
at
Mr.
C’s
in Marlbobender
’89
plays
drums
for
productionhousesincluding
ro,
MA.
’89,
of
Thousand
Oaks,
CA,
Steve
Smith
and
the
Nakeds,
A.D.D.,Fortunate Sun, and
RoderickCamelia"90
teaches privately in New is director and musiccoorAudioFactory.
teaches
guitar andpiano. He
Volker
Xandry
’88, profes- England, and worked as dinator for The Jeremiah
has
started
a performing
sor of saxophone,
flute, and copyist for the movieDick People,a musicaltouringthe
group
in
Boston
that fuses
United
States.
Hardy
comclarinet at LeingartenMusic Tracy and the group New
the
rhythms
of
his
native
posed
the
theme
song
for
School in Germany,per- Kidson the Block.
Curacao
with
rock
and
jazz.
the
television
pilot
"Atlas
Saxophonist
Susan
Fero
forms with various groups
Ruth
Campbell
’90
recentTomorrow"
and
freelances
"89
mar~.ages
and
plays
sothroughout Germanyand is
president of the Metropoli- prano sax for the Boston- as a songwriter, working ly relocated to Nashville,
tan Jazz Clubin Heilbronn. based Atlantic Saxophone extensively for the Conti- TN,whereshe freelances as
Summer
1991
36
Berklee today
a digital editor and CD
masteringengineer.
JonH. Denney
"90will be
tOuringthe UnitedStates as
keyboardist with the group
Le Vert. Jon resides in Mayfield Heights,Ontario.
EricFontana
’90 performs
with the hard-core thrash
bandSirhanSirhan, appearing throughout Massachusetts, NewYork, and Rhode
Island.
Richard
J. Forziati
’90joins
several fellowalumniat the Cinzia~
Maria
Gizzi’90
PowerStation in NewYork
as a productionassistant.
Pianist CinziaMaria
Gizzi
RobHolt "90joined the
Aproductionassistant at ’90 returnedto Rome,Italy, staff of Arista Recordsin
Superdupe Creations in after attendingBerklee.She NewYork. As East Coast
NewYork, Jeffrey R. Frey- performswith her trio at lo- manager
of artist andrepermann’90 composedand re- cal jazzclubs, festivals, and toire (A&R)
administration,
corded the music for the for radio. This past year, RoboverseesArista’s busiAmericanCancer Society’s Maria performed with the ness dealings with recordnew public service an- Santa Cecilia Symphonony ing studio owners, enginouncement
featuring Yul Orchestra and with clari- neers, and producers. Rob
Brynner’sson.
netist TonyScott.
also produced and engi-
neeredthe recent debut release by the bandPhaedrus,
entitled Eyes.
ShunsukeKikuta ’90
moved to Chicago after
graduating from Berklee.
Shunsukeis guitarist with
the popularfusion/popband
Chaz,the Lurrie Bell Blues
Band, and the Louis Myers
Band.
Guitarist GarySchutt"90
operates Shut Up!! Productions in Dorchester, MA.
His recordingsLost in Paradise and Sentirnetal are
available at TowerRecords
in Boston.
Adam
Wirdzek"90 completed Tentmakers Relational MinistryTrainingand
will be involvedin the Minneapolis music ministry.
Adam plays for youth
groups in Minneapolis,MN,
andsurroundingstates.
ALUMNOTESINFORMATION
FORM
Full Name
Address
City
State
ZIP
HomePhone #
~ This is a newaddress.
Last year you attended Berklee
Did youreceive a
~i Degree
~ Diploma?
ProfessionalIdentity
Professional Address
City
State
ZIP
WorkPhone #
Yourtitle/role
Please list anyprofessionalactivities, performances,
recordings,notablemusicprojects, awards,recognitions,or
other events youwouldlike us to knowabout (please print or type):
~i Sendmemoreinformation on the Berklee AlumniRepresentativeprogram(see "BARReport," page 32).
~ Sendmemoreinformation on. becominga Berklee Career Networkadvisor.
Please send this form, along with any publicity, clippings, photos, or items of interest to:
Berklee today, Berklee College of Music, 1140 Boylston Street, Boston, MA02215. Welook forward to hearing from you.
Summer
1991
Berklee today 37
Shop t a l k
piex operatingsystems, ar- B3, yet weighsless than 20
cane terminology, and the pounds, since it produces
separationof physicalaction sounds with chips rather
than tone generators.
from soundproduction.
Even those instruments
Thelast issueis a fallout
which
are geared toward
of
MIDI
itself,
as
it
is
a
sysThis year’s
NAMM
sound
synthesis
are being
tem
based
on
converting
acshowwaslabeledthe largest
showto date with morethan tions into codes which, in affected by this "retro"
640exhibitors.In spite of a turn, control the generation movement.Rolandreleased
downturnin the economy, of sound. While the MIDI a newsynthesizer, the JDandthe fact that the Persian standardhas revolutionized 800, which goes back 10
Gulf war broke out on the the industry, the technology yearsin user-interfacedesign
eveof the show,the spirit of inherently separates the (thankfully) to provide
both exhibitors andattend- physical expression (per- fully activelive panelinterformedon the controller) face. There are sliders for
ees wasupbeat.
The show gave further from the resultant sound every function in the audio
path, giving muchbetter
evidenceto the evolutionof
real-time control over the
two trends in the technolovariousparametersof sound.
gy side of the musicindusOberheim,also, showed
try. Thefirst trend marksa
a
new
rack-mount analog
return to simpler instrusynthesizer
with knobsfor
(produced
by
the
synthementswith fewer capabilievery
function,
a clearlylaid
sizer
module).
This
often
ties. Theseinstrumentsare
out
and
labeled
front panel,
causes
inconsistencies
in
exoften packaged with what
the industry is calling the pressive response to the andwith the digital accura"classic" sounds.Thesecond player’s actions andcan in- cy of sound whichwehave
trend is a natural maturing terfere with the musical cometo expect from contemporarysynthesizers.
of the music software in- performance.
In manyways, Rolandis
dustry into providingperProductivity
sonal productivitysoftware. leading the waytowardin- Personal
As
the
industry
recognizes
struments
with
limited
caThe idea of the personal
the
decline
of
sound
design
pabilities,
"classic"
sounds,
computer
for musicis finally approachingthe realm of and simpleuser interfaces. as a major portion of the
the musicalinstrument,with Thisis particularlytrue for synthesis market,the focus
greater emphasis
on tailoring the Rhodesline of products, has shifted to the personal
the responseof the machine which produce sounds productivity stage, with
to individual work habits through digital synthesis desktop music production
that recall the old Rhodes beingthe fastest growtharea.
andtastes.
Sequencershavematured
electric piano and HamAReturn
to Simpler
Times mondorgan (complete with to the point wherejust about
any type of production
The movement to more drawbars).
Hammond-Suzuki has techniqueis possible, from
limited instrumentsappears
to be a responseto lagging also releaseda digital syn- MIDIdata to audio recordmusicinstrument sales and thesizer namedthe Ham- ing and processing. Opcode
increasing customer com- mondx-B3. This instrument is leading the wayin softplaints about overly corn- soundslike the old favorite ware-based productivity
National
,~ssociation
of MusicMerchants
January2’8-21, 1991
Anaheim, CA
Notes from
musicindustry
conferences,
conventions,
and confabs
38
Berklee today
Summer
1991
packages which integrate
MIDIsequencing,audio recording, and soundediting
and storage into a single
user-configurable environment. Its programs allow
musiciansto customizethe
waythe software worksto
meettheir personalpreferences and diverse equipment
set-ups.
Newtools are pavingthe
wayfor musiciansto develop their ownproductivity
applications through programs like HyperMIDI
(HyperCard plus MIDI
functions) and a newprogram from Opcode called
MAX.These applications
provide simple object-oriented programmingtools
for processing and storing
MIDIinformation.
International
Association
of JazzEducators
January10-13, 1991
Washington,D. C.
performance
of Berklee’sVocalJazz Ensemble. The group’s enthusiasm and
positive energymadeit a hit of the conference,
Otherclinics of particularinterest inThis year’s IAJE conference was a cludeda personalreflection of Ellingcelebrationof the life andmusicof Duke ton’s musicby Wynton
Marsalis, a panel
Ellington. Manypresentations, perfor- discussionon the preservationand pubmances,andclinics focusedon aspectsof lication of the musicof jazz masterworks,
Ellington’swork.Thesessions covereda and the keynote address by composer
widerangeof other topics, as well.
and scholar GuntherSchuller.
As in past years, Berklee was well
In his address,Schulleroutlinedmany
representedin the program.Professional of the significant contributionsof Duke
Education Division
Ellingto~..:.:te~:~ontempo,Chairman Larry Mc~iiington s
~’ ..... ~.~~,~’~,~
..........
Clellanpresenteda clinic
,~
ositional goalstook
on reachin,
g jazz impro....
...~.,,
.~,~,~.:~J"
~:~.~
~"" ~zzpast the li@tationof
visation. His approachto .~
dance music. Central
~:~
develo
- pin gbasic im ro~:~
.......
’
.......
’~:~.~"~
to
his sound was the
p ..:~;~.:~
wsationalskills invol~;......
unique harmony and
~~
directed listening to e~[
~
timbrethat resulted from
tablishedperformers,transcriptions, and writingfor his particular players’sounds
performance.Hefelt it was important andstyles.
for the student to internalize the music
Performanceswere another highlight
Intelligent Accompanimentbeforefully analyzingit. McClellan
also of the IAJEevents, and manyBerklee
Newadvancesin intelligent
showededucators howthey could ex- alumnishinedbrightly on stage. Evening
arranging software allow
tract anduse certain exercises fromthe performances each night showcased
musicians to enter chord
transcribedsolos.
KennyWerner’73
andhis trio. Werneralso
symbols, tempo, and style
Faculty memberRick Peckhampre- presenteda clinic entitled "Channeling
information and have a
sented a clinic on developingjazz comp- the Music,"in whichhe encouragedpercomputer generate a coming skills. Aspart of his discussion,he formers and teachers to allow time for
plete rhythm section accomparedthe compingstyles of Duke pure, instinctual creative improvisation,
companiment.
Ellington, TheloniousMonk,Jim Hall, enjoying the "soundof the moment."
Twocompanies showed
and John Abercrombie.
The Boston-basedEither/Orchestra
hardware-based products
Later that day, Peckhamled the wasalso featuredin a majorperformance.
whichincorporatethis type
Berklee Thelonious MonkEnsemble, Thebandis led by RussGersh0n
"85and
of technology:Kawai’sGB2
comprisingseveral Berkleestudents, in a features other alumni, including John
session trainer and Yamatribute to the legendaryjazz pianist and Dirac’86, Russell
Jewell
’86, MikeRivard
ha’s QY10(which might
composer.
"85,andJohn
Carlson
"86.
also be classified as a perFaculty memberApril Arabian con--KennethPullig,
sonal productivitydevice).
tinued her past successesat IAJEwith a
Ted Pease, John Hagon
Both products incorporate
the ability to generate a
convincing rhythmsection I~lational
BlackMusic
Caucusto hold conferences every gion, andpolitics, andthat
part from minimaluser in- February28-March3, 1991 twoyears.
the arts speakto universal
put, and havebuilt-in sam- Charlotte, NC
Dr. Carlesta Henderson needs while providing a
pledsounds,as well.
of KeeneState Collegepre- lifeline frompastto present.
Other developmentsinThe NBMC
is an organi- sented a discussionon "AfA "Music Supervisor’s
cluded the rack-mountKorg zation of African-American rican-American Music and Roundtable"raised imporWavestation A/D, which music educators whoare the RelatedArts." She pro- tant issues regarding the
features stereo audioinputs dedicatedto finding better posed the use of materials powerof believing in the
and integrated analog-to- waysto teach musicand in- other than recordings
student, the lack of school
digital converters. Also, fuse the music curriculum (paintings,sculpture,slides, materialsthat accuratelyreOpcode announced their
with art awarenessof Afri- etc.) to enhanceand support flect African-American
Studio V MIDI/SMPTE
in- can-American
contributions musiceducation. Her three contributions
to the arts, and
terface, featuring an on- to the arts. Founded
in 1972, mainpoints werethat music the need for increased
board processing chip to its first nationalconference andthe related arts are mir- teacher awarenessof those
reduce computerwork-load. in 1988 was so successful rors of our lives, that they contributions.
--David S. Mash that the NBMC
now plans depicthistory, society,reli--Carl Beatty
Summer
1991
Berklee today 39
Ahrnet Ertegun:
A .Life in Music
~’l~or the graduatingclass, this is a mostimportantjunction in your life. Someof you maycontinue your
educationin post-graduatestudies. Otherswill seek gainful
employment
in the musicindustry.
Whateverdirection you choose to embarkon, remember that you havehad an opportunitythat mostpeoplewill
neverhave:the benefit of a highereducationin this marvelous institution. I hopeyou havemadegooduse of it, and
will continueto makegooduse of it throughoutyourlife.
I wenttO a small liberal arts college, Saint John’sin
Annapolis,whereI studied philosophy,literature, andscience. I graduatedwhenI was20 and spent the next three
years attending Georgetown
University, whereI studied
medievalphilosophyand St. ThomasAquinas.
In between,I spent hours in a rhythmandblues record
shop in the black ghetto in Washington.Almostevery
night, I went to the HowardTheater and to various jazz
and blues clubs. Mylove for jazz had been kindled by my
older brother Nesuhiwho,whenI wasonly eight or nine
years old, took meto see the orchestras of DukeEllington
and CabCallowayat the Palladiumin Londonin 1932.
I had the great fortune of havingNesuhias myolder
brother. Hewasmymentor,not only in music, but in the
fine arts andliterature, guidingmetowarda soundeducation in the classics of the Westernworld.
Whenmyfather died in 1944,I was21, a college graduate, philosophystudent, jazz lover, a hangeraboutat jazz
nightclubs, and, as Jerry Wexleroncepointed out, I was
totally unemployable.
WhatI really loved was
music, jazz, blues, and
hangingout. SinceI wasnot
a musician,I decidedto becomea record maker--what
wecall today a record producer. To do this, I had to
start myowncompany.
Atlantic Records founder
and co-chairman Ahmet
Ertegun was principal
speaker at the 1991 Commencement.These are excerptsfromhis remarks.
41}
Berklee today
I managed
to convincemydentist to invest $10,000in
what appearedto most of myfriends to be a harebrained
adventure.I also got an old friend HerbAbramson,
a jazz
fan and collector, to be mypartner. Hehad workedpart
time as an A&R
manfor National Records, and knewthe
ins andouts of the business. Themusicwasonething, but
the businesswastotally newto me.
Since I started Atlantic 44 years ago, musichas gone
througha series of incredible changes. Styles have come
and gone, mergedand evolved, becometransfigured and
transformed.Todaywecan talk of an endless variety of
musicalforms:fromrap to alternative, fromhouseto metal,
fromfusion to newage, frompure pop to jazz purism.
Butthe true bottomline is andwill alwaysbe talent and
excellence, regardless of category. Whatever
youdecideto
do, the importantthing is to do it well. Youcan’t always
find the job youmaymostdesire. But whateverjob youdo
get, doit well. Andit will lead to other opportunities.
In yourcareers, someof youwill reachsuccess.Someof
youwill face failure. For those whofail, I wouldstrongly
advise younot to acceptit. Keepgoing. Mostof the great
people in our business have gonethroughmanytrials and
tribulations beforemakingthe grade.
For those of you whosucceed,whethersooneror later,
please remember
that the greatest attribute of a winneris
humility.Youall musthavegreat pride in whateverit is you
mayachieve. But you also mustnever lose sight of where
you camefrom. Youmust retain a humbleoutlook toward
the world as you face the
challengesthat awaityou.
Learn this lesson from
your heroes--like Eric
Clapton, Arif Mardin, Ben
E. King, and myfriend and
fellow honoreetoday, Phil
Collins. Theyare true kings
of the musicuniverse.
~: I wouldlike to thank you
~ all onceagainfor this great
~ honor. AndI wish every
~ memberof the graduating
class the thing without
whichI wouldn’tbe here:
good luck.
~1
Summer
1991
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