Summer 1994 - Berklee College of Music

Summer1994
Berklec
A Forumfor Coeltemporary
Musicand Musicians
12
Studio AceJohn"J.R." Robinson
’75:
L.A.’s Hit Man
17
TheMusici~anMi.d
SUMMER
¯ 1994
VOLUME * VI
NUMBER °
1
Contents
LEAD
SHEET
by President Lee Eliot Berk .
BERKLEE
BEAT
~-Ionorarydegrees for Sting and NancyWilson,BerkIee’sL.A. Center,
bookstoreexpansion,faculty notes, visiting artists, and more
FILLINGTHESILENCE
Pianist BobWinteron playing film musicfromthe silent era
throughthe JohnWilliamsera .
ONTHECOVER:
Session ace
John "J.R." Robinson ’75
describes the world of a
top studio drummer, beginning onpage 14. Cover
photo by Jim Hagopian.
THEBPC’SPASTANDFUTURE
by Mark k. Small 73
Oneof Boston’smostnotable film and concert venuesfor nearly 80 years,
the BPCis also a world-classeducationalfacility
10
A PLACE
IN TIMEby Mark L. Small ’73
Oneof L.A.’s top studio drummers,John "J. R.." Robinson’75 has played
on morehit singles than any drummerin recording history
12
THEMUSICIAN
MINDby Mitch Haupers
Current perspectives on the roles of the consciousand unconscious
in the improvisingand learning of music.
17
A CROSS-INTERVALLIC
CONCEPT
by GeorgeGarzone ’72 and Joe Viola ’52
Howto open up your improvisation with wide interval leaps.
20
ALUMNOTES
News, quotes,
22
and
recordings
of
CODA:
co-da\’kb-da by Charles Combs
Connecting
musicians
with the world
note
............
of ideas
.........
32
LEAD SHEET
Berklcet 0 d
APublication
of theOfficeof Institutional
Advancement
Advancing
Editor
Mark
L. Small’73
Feature
Editors
RobHayes
Director
of Public
Information
College
News
Features
Lawrence
McClellan
Jr.
Chair,Professional
Education
Division
Education
Features
LarryMonroe
’70
ChairlProfessional
Performance
Division
Performance
Features
Joseph
Smith’75
Chair,
Professional
Writing
Division
Composition
Features
Donald
Puluse
Chair,Music
Technology
Division
Music
Technology
Features
Production
Consultant
JudithLucas,
Director
of Publications
Copy
Editor
Stephen
Melisi
Dean
of InstitutionalAdvancement
John
Collins
Assistant
to theDean
of Institutional
Advancement
for Donor
Relations
Chika
Okamoto
’87
Director
of theBerMee
Center
in LosAngeles
PeterGordon
’78
Assistant
Director
of Development
for Alumni
Relations
SarahDodge
Assistant
Director
of Development
Cecilia
Navratil
Director
of Corporate
Relations
Beverly
Tryon
’82
As the alumni-oriented music magazine of Berklee
College of Music, Berklee today is dedicated to informing,
enriching, and serving the extended Berklee community.
By sharing information of benefit to alumni about college
matters, music industry events, alumni activities 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 commentary in contemporary music.
Berkleetoday(ISSN1052-3839)
is publishedthree times a year
the BerkleeCollegeof MusicOffice of Institutional Advancement.All contents©1994by BerkleeCollegeof Music.Sendall
addresschanges,pressreleases, letters to the editor, andadvertising i*~quiriesto Berkleetoday,Box333,BerkleeCollegeof Music,
1 i40 BoylstonStreet, Boston,MA02215-3693,(617) 266-1400,
extension325. Alumni
are invited to mailin details of activities
suitable for feature coverage.Unsolicitedsubmissionsaccepted.
2
Berklee today
President
Lee Eliot
Berk
~
erklee’s upcoming50th anniversary will provide a
time for reflection on the past and future of the
college. The anniversary theme, "AdvancingCareers in
Music,"seemsan appropriatetitle for the year-longcelebration for several reasons.
Most Berklee today readers are aware of the many
musicianswhohaveentered Berklee’s portals as students
over the past half centuryand goneon to greatnessin the
industry. Keyfigures interviewed on these pages have
revealed someexperiences they had here whichhelped
them advancein their careers. JohnRobinson
"75mentioned learning to play with a click track in a Berklee
studio (see page15); Branf0rd
Marsalis’81 spoke of his
classmates whonowwork in the "Tonight Show"band;
Joe Lovano’72 cited the impactof his ensembleclasses.
The individual experiences whichadded color and texture to the musicallives of over 30,000Berklee alumni
are as multifacetedas the styles of musiceach pursued.
For 50 years Berkleehas beena place of confluencefor
disparate musicaltributaries, flowingtogether for a time
before diverging again. TheMethenybrothers (Mikeand
Pat), werefaculty colleagues of JeronimasKacinskasand
John Bavicchi, and taught someof the samestudents. As
the lives of musiciansworldsapart stylistically andculturally have intersected at Berklee, individual careers
havebeengreatly affected.
As alumnireach every echelon of the music business,
the resonance has been heard throughout the industry.
Theinfluence Quincy
Jones
"51, GaryBurton
’62, JanHammer"69, SteveVai ’79, MikeGibbs
’63, Bruce
Hornsby
’74,
Arif Mardin’58, JohnScofield"73, JoeZawinul
’59, or
MelissaEtheridge
"80 have had in contemporarymusicis
considerable. Theirs maybe easier to track than that of
the vast numberof alumni whoare the rank and file of
the music professions. Whatabout those working away
fromthe glare of the spotlight in musiceducation, film
composing,music copying, record marketingand distribution, music products and software development,music punishing, studio engineering, musicretailing, and
numerous
other fields? Their collective influence is also
far-reaching.
Stay tuned in the upcomingmonths for announcementsof special events and publications whichwill commemorateBerklee’s 50th. They will underscore the
achievementsof the college, and you, the alumni whose
advancingcareers have so advancedthe musicindustry.
Summer
1994
Berklee b e a t
greatestsongstylists.
STING ANDNANCY ca’sThrough
his six albums
WILSONHONOREDwith the Police, five as a
Nez~$ of r~ot8
from about
town and
around the
world
Ahighlight of eachacademic year is the May
Commencement
exercises
where the college honors
outstanding musicindustry
figures by awarding them
the honorary doctor of
music degree. This year’s
honorees were Sting and
NancyWilson.
Thatthis year’s recipients merit such an honoris
evidencedby their lifetime
commitments
to excellence
in their art. Twelve-time
Grammy Award-winner
Sting has thrilled millions
with his music and acting
since he burst on the scene
in 1978. Grammy and
Emmy Award-winner
NancyWilson has gained
acclaim as one of Ameri-
President
LeeEliotBerk,Sting,andNancyWilson
atthe1994
Commencement.
Stingservedas Commencement
speaker.
Summer
1994
1994release, Love, Nancy,
Nancy Wilson’s musical
output of 55 albums has
solo artist, andconcertap- had a powerful attraction
pearancesworldwide,Sting for audiencesof three genhas becomeone of the most erations. Morethan 30 of
distinctive voices in con- her albumshave charted in
temporarypopular music. Billboard magazine.
Ironically, Sting began
Although generally
his professionalcareer as a characterizedas a jazz singjazz musician--it wasn’t er, she won a Grammy
until the middle’70s that Awardfor Best R&BSong
he beganto sing and write with "How Glad I Am."
songs. In 1977, with drum- Additionally, Wilson has
mer Stewart Copeland,and appearedin several featureguitarist Andy Summers, length films and hostedher
he formedthe Police.
own TV show on NBC. In
Thefirst four Police al- 1993,she joined the cast of
bumssold millions of cop- the Foxsitcom "Sinbad"in
ies, rocketing the band to a role whichhas continued
supergroup status. Their into 1994. Also recognized
most successful album, for her work as a humaniSynchronicity,sold 11 mil- tarian, Wilsonhas devoted
lion copies within four her efforts to such organimonthsof its release.. Its zations as the American
biggest single, "Every CancerSociety, the Martin
Breath You Take," was Luther King Center for
played over one million Social Change,and the Natimes on Americanradio.
tional Heart Association.
Sting has continuedhis
As 1994’s Commenceascent as a solo artist with ment speaker, Sting spoke
a string of hit singles,plati- of memories
fromhis childnum-selling albums, Gram- hood, and howmusic puts
myAwards,world coi~cert one "in touch with sometours, and movieroles.. He thing beyondthe intellect,
has also committedhis en- something otherworldly,
ergies to help humanitari- something sacred." Upon
an agencies focusing on receiving their degrees,
suchissues as apartheid,the Sting told the graduates,
destruction of Brazilian "Thisis very significant...
rain forests; and Amnesty I wishyou the best in your
International’s campaign careers," and NancyWilfor humanrights.
son stated, "Thegift we’ve
From her first hit beengivenis precious.Prorecord with Cannonball tect it, respect it, andalAdderley in 1962, to her waysgive it your best."
Berklee today
3
BERKLEE
OPENS
LOSANGELES
CENTER
Berklee alumnus Peter Gordon
’78
has been appointed director of the
new Berklee Center in Los Angeles.
The opening of the center this spring
marks a new commitment
to
strengthening relationships between
the college, the L.A.-area alumni, and
the music industry at large. Located
at 15760Ventura Boulevard, in Encino, the new center will be the locus
for a numberof activities designed to
further the mission of the college.
Working in cooperation with the
Admissions Office and. the BARcoordinator, Gordonwill assist in increasing awareness of Berklee in area
secondary schools, and will cultivate
partnerships between corporations
andthe college. He will also help to
plan alumni club networking, career
advancement,and educational events.
Born in Australia, Gordon graduated summacum laude from Berklee
in 1978, and was a Berklee faculty
memberfor six years. Peter, his wife
Gloria (Metzger) Gordon ’81, and
their daughter Amandalive in Van
Nuys. A busy composer and saxophonist in Los Angeles for the past
decade, Gordon has released three
albums under his ownname. His lat-
est, DoublePlay, was featured in the
Radio and Records national airplay
top 10. An active studio musician,
Gordon has worked
on the
soundtracks to "Star Trek: The Next
Generation," The Flintstones, "Melrose Place," In the Line of Fire, and
What’s Love Got to Do With It.
Assessing what the future holds,
Gordonstated, "I see this position
as an opportunity to help Berklee
become regarded as the higher education center of the music industry."
L.A. CenterDirectorPeterGordon
"78
BOARD
OF VISITORSESTABUSHED
The January, 1994 National Association of Music Merchandisers
(NAMM)show in Anaheim, California, provided an opportunity for
the first meeting of Berklee’s newly
established boardof visitors. This diverse group of 30 top professionals
and executives from the publishing,
manufacturing, retailing, and recording fields will provide advice, networking, and other support to enrich the life of the college. Board
members pictured below (from the
DELERUE
SCHOLARSHIP
In January, Deanof Institutional
Advancement John Collins, along
with Associate Professor of Film
Scoring David Spear and some bright
lights of the Hollywoodfilm industry gathered at the homeof Mrs. Colette Deleruefor the launch of a drive
to establish a Berklee scholarship in
memory of Colette’s husband, the
late Georges Delerue.
Mr. Delerue, a native of France,
studied composition with Darius Milhaud, and was one of the most respected figures in film composing.
He scored several of Francois Truffaut’s best films, and won an AcademyAwardin 1980 for his score to A
Little Romance.Delerue died in 1992
after suffering a stroke during a recording session. David Spear, a friend
of Colette and Georges Delerue for
manyyears, has been a key figure in
establishing this scholarship.
The Georges Delerue Memorial
Scholarship in Film Scoring is the
first endowedscholarship fund for
the Film Scoring Department. Annually, it will provide a scholarship
for. one film scoring major, and fund
a six-week internship scholarship for
another. Daniel Allen Carlin, president of Segue Music in Los Angeles-the world’s largest post produc-
left) are: Steve Johannesen (Young
Chang), Jack Maher (Downbeat magazine), Ronald Means 0BL), Brian
Cordell (Rayburn Music), Board
Chair, Jack Coffey (Coffey Music),
Vic Firth (Vic Firth), Daniel Allen
Carlin (Segue Music), Ron Noonan
(Lexicon), Gene Joly (E.U. Wu:ditzer), John D’Addario(J. D’Addario
Inc.), Jim Roberts (Bass Player magazine), Sidney Davis (Music Merchan- AssociateProfessorDavidSpearand
launch
dise magazine), and Karl Bruhn ColetteDelerueat the January
of the Georges
Deleruescholarship.
’American Music Conference).
tion music facility for film and TV,
enthusiastically supports the idea of
the recipients interning at Segue.
Film Scoring Chair Don Wilkins
stated, "Georges Delerue’s music inspired us all. His memorywill be
preserved in a tangible way through
this support for the education of aspiring film composersat Berklee."
4
Berklee today
Summer
1994
TWOBERKLEE
DISCSRELEASED
formed, recorded, and proRock Ensemble concerts.
duced entirely by the stuThe disc was funded in part
dents. The music runs the
by the TDKCorporation
sylistic gamut, and includes and will be distributed free
This spring saw the re- gospel, R&B,fusion, dance, of charge to all Berkleestulease of two Berklee CDs. southern rock, a cappella
dents, faculty, and staff
The Studio Production
vocal, heavy metal, pop,
courtesy of TDK.
Projects CD, a Berklee traand folk tracks.
There are manynotable
dition since 1989, is a samThe TDKPresents Singperformances among the
pler of the best of this year’s ers Showcase, features mu- CD’s 16 cuts by both voproduction projects sub- sic originally
produced
calists and instrumentalists,
mitted by students of the during the 1993-94 concert including:
Sherma AnMusic Technology Diviseason for the Singers
drews’ stirring
perforsion. All of the 15 songs on Showcase and the Jazz/
mance of "One Momentin
it were written, arTime," Robin Spears’ emoranged, pertion-packed version of
"Neither One of Us," and
Kenya Hathaway’s
moving rendition
of Billy Joel’s
classic "And.So
It Goes," recorded at the 1993
Commencement
Concert. Three of the
tracks were recorded
live at the Berklee Performance Center, the others
cuts were recorded in the
Berklee recording studios.
TWOELECTED
TO BERKLEE’S
BOARD
OF TRUSTEES
Sandra Uyterhoeven
the board of directors and joly entered music retailand Gene Joly were recenttreasurer of the Boston ing after playing in bands
ly elected members of Harbor Association.
as a guitarist, vocalist, and
Berklee’s board of trustees.
Berklee alumnus Gene songwriter for 30 years. He
The two new trustees will Joly ’73, has been president holds a bachelor of science
help broaden and strengthof E.U. Wurlitzer Music degree in marketing from
en the board as the college and Sound, which operates Bentley College, and is a
continues to advance.
four music retail stores in respected figure in the muSandra Uyterhoeven, a Massachusetts, since 1984. sic products industry.
pianist, has helped the college on a voluntary basis
on diversity issues. She
holds a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a
master of science in management from Stanford
University’s
Graduate
School of Business in Palo
Alto, California.
Ms. Uyterhoeven currently serves as assistant
director of management
systems for the Massachusetts Water Resources Au- PresidentLeeEliot Berk, center, with Berklee’snewest
thority, and is a memberof trustees, SandraUyterhoeven
andGeneJoly.
Summer
1994
NEWCHAIRS
NAMED
After an intense search
process, Barbara London
has been selected to chair
the Harmony Department,
and Jay Kennedy will be
the chair of the Commercial Arranging Department.
Barbara London, a gifted composer, instrumentalist and vocalist, has been a
Berklee faculty memberfor
eight years. She graduated
from the University of
NewHampshire sl4rrlrrl~
cure laude with a bachelor
of arts degree, and has studied composition privately
with John Heiss, voice with
Patricia Stedry, and flute
with Hubert Laws. She
brings to the position extensive experience as a musician and educator, and has
been involved with a number of committees addressing some of the college’s
pressing issues.
Jay Kennedywill be relocating to Boston from
Los Angeles where he has
worked as an arranger,
composer and producer.
He is co-owner of LA/NY
iMusic and is responsible
for manyradio and television commercials for Coca
Cola, Levi’s Jeans, Nike,
McDonalds, Nissan, Pacific Bell, Budweiser, and
other clients.
Jay Kennedy earned his
bachelor of music education degree from Northwestern University, and has
presented numerous lectures and master classes on
subjects ranging from the
business of music to scoring musicto visuals.
Barbara and Jay will be
assisted in their transition
by the acting chairs of their
respective departments:
George Hargan for Harmony and Richard Evans
for Commercial Arranging.
8erklee today
5
VISITINGARTISTS
AT BERKLEE:
A FEWMOI~EI~TS
WITHTHE MASTERS
Ray Brown,one of the tion for their recordings.
Harmonica virtuoso
most influential bassists in
the jazz world, presented a HowardLevydemonstrated
his amazing and revolulecture and master class
where he gave pointers to tionary techniques for
playing chromatically on
several student bassists.
Guitar Week:, sponsored diatonic harmonicas. Levy
by the Guitar Department, was accompanied by Guibrought numerous top gui- tar Department Chair Lartarists to the campus. The ry Baione.
Jukka Linkola, a top
high point was a special
Finnish composer, had an
BPCconcert by poll-winning electric guitar virtuo- extended visit to Berklee
so Steve Morseperforming for clinics in jazz arranging
with a faculty rhythm sec- and composition, and an
tion and two of the depart- overview of Finland’s musical scene.
JazzbassistRayBrown
duringhis Marchvisit to Berk~ee. ments finest student rock
guitarists.
Also
visiting were HarOnceagain, the Visiting ebration in February, sing- vey Reid, Reeves
presented a Gabrels"81, Andy
Artist Series has brought a er Oleta Adams
wealth of talent and exper- clinic and a Performance Timmons,Steve
Khan, Benjamin
tise to the Berklee campus Center concert with a stuMonder,andJohn
dent
ensemble.
Also
feafor dialog and musical in"86.
teraction with acknowl- tured in that series was Petrucci
Flutist
and
edged masters. This term’s award-winning South AfFulbright
Scholar
series included seminars rican vocal group Ladysmith
BethForest, with
Black Mambazo.
and concerts by performLatin jazz trumpeter and guitarist Sergio
ing musicians of every styrecording
artist Claudi0 Costa ’93, perlistic stripe, songwriters,
R0diti
’72
and his sideman, formed works by
music lawyers, journalists,
saxophonist
GregAbate’68, Hermeto Pascoal
and medical professionals.
gave
a
demonstration
of and Patapio Silva.
The diverse roster of spePianist
and
cialists offered powerful Latin rhythms, and perShabalalaof Ladysmith
Black
composer
Ran Joseph
formed some of Roditi’s
learning opportunities.
Mambazo
during
a
February
visit.
Blake,
chair
of
the
compositions with a stuAs part of Berklee’s
Contemporary
Black History Month Cel- dent rhythm section.
Improvisation
Alan Cohen
"74, a songDepartment at New Enwriter, composer, and guigland Conservatory, offered his insights on devel- tarist, shared his thoughts
on art and commerce, and
opmentof the ear.
Musical therapist Arthur keepingone’s creative spirit
alive in NewYork City.
Br0die provided informaThe Women in Music
tion on causes, prevention,
and cure of tendonitis and Forum brought trombonfor a perother physical problems of ist AbbieConant
formance of her one-womperforming musicians.
Jay Cooper,one of the an show Miriam, and a
clinic on composition and
most respected entertainment attorneys in Los An- trombone techniques.
Keyboard session playgeles, discussed current
er DavidRosenthal
’81 detrends in record contracts.
He detailed how a band can tailed his work with Richie
Blackmore, and Red Dawn
have a platinum-selling
record and still lose mon- in a seminar sponsored by
SteveMorse(left) andfaculty member
JonFinn trading ey, and howartists can bar- the Piano and Music Syngain to get iust compensa- thesis departments.
choruses
at Morse’sPerformance
Centerconcertin April.
6
Berklee today
Summer
1994
BERKLEE
BOOKSTORE
ENLARGED
March 1 marked the
grand opening of the newly expanded Berklee College of Music Bookstore
now located at 1080 Boylston Street.
At the new address, the
bookstore now has room
for more than 9,000 books,
and boasts the Northeast’s
most extensive selection of
pop and jazz songbooks,
and a large array of performance and instructional
videos. In addition to
course materials and books
authored by faculty members, mini scores, books on
the history of jazz and rock,
the musicbusiness, recording engineering, ethnomusicology, and computer
music production cram the
expanded shelf space:
Shield says, "With 1,200
square feet now, we’ve
greatly expandedour selection of all types of books.
The improvisation books
and guitar books are our
biggest sellers. Alot of people browsing through here
now are becoming aware
of howlow our prices are."
Musicians of the old
school will be pleased to
learn that even with all the
interest in MIDIand computer music applications on
campus, manuscript paper
is still the bookstore’s hottest commodity.
The space the bookstore
used to occupy at 146 Massachusetts Avenue is now
the home of the Heller
Travel Agency. Although
not a part of the college, it
Thenewlyexpanded
BerkleeCollegeof MusicBookstore
at
1080BoylstonStreet has the Northeast’smostextensive
selectionof popandjazz songbooks.
While carrying more
electronic music books,
computer software, and
third party user manuals,
the bookstore continues to
stock a wide variety of
music accessories--guitar
strings, reeds, instrument
bags, variable-speed cassette recorders, and metrohomes-- as well as Berklee
sweatshirts, caps, and other memorabilia.
Store manager Dave
Summer
1994
is the official travel agency
for Berklee. Owner Dan
Heller and his staff have
been booking all faculty
and administration travel,
and have been booking
trips for students too.
"The students have discovered that our negotiated fares to Europe, Asia,
and Africa are the lowest
in the area," states Heller.
"Consequently,
we’re
bookinga lot of flights."
FACILJLTY
NOTES
Assistant Professor of Voice Mill Bermejo
"89
was named a memberof the Jazz Fellowships Panel for the National Endowmentfor the Arts. Her
quartet has just released Casa Corazdn, on the
Xenophile/Green Linnet record label.
Assistant Professor John Ramsay
played drums
with saxophonist Les Arl~uckle ’81 on Arbuckle’s
CDNo More No Les on Audio Quest Records.
Associate Professor of MP&ECarl Beatty was
the mix engineer for "Sofa" which recently won a
Grammyaward for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. The song is from the Zappa’s Universe
albumand features guitarist Steve Vat ’79.
Associate Professor of guitar Charles H. Chapman’72 recently published Guitar in the Classroom: A Teaching Aid for Music Educators.
Distinguished Professor of Jazz Composition
Ted Pease ’66 released Big BandBlues Celebration.
The CDfeatures faculty instrumentalists Greg Badolato, KenCervenka,
DaveClark, JonDamian,Brad
Haffield, GregHopkins,JoeHunt,TonyLada,Larry
Monroe,BruceNifong,Bill Pierce, MarshallSealy,
Jeff Stout,andPhil Wilson.
Mel Bay Publications has released an instructional book entitled Mel Bay’s Complete Book of
Harmony, Theory & Voicing written by Assistant
Professor of Guitar Bret Wilim0tt"7~.
The Courage Brothers, whose lineup includes
Assistant Professor of Percussion Larry Finn "88,
Piano Instructor DaveLimina’91, and bassist Larry
Jackson’88, released Something Strong for Eastern
Front Records.
Instructor BradI-l~tfiehi ’79 is a featured synthesizer and keyboard player on Points of View by
Rand0tauria "9:3 on Narada Equinox Records.
Assistant Professor of Percussion I/i~t~r M~,doza ’81 received an award from Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld recognizing Mendozaas a
top vibraphonist and commendinghim for his involvement with the Mexican and Hispanic communities of Massachusetts.
Associate Professor of Percussion Giovanni
Hidalgo released a Latin-jazz CDentitled Worldwide.
Associate Professor of Piano Bill Davies is featured on What Two Can .Do, on Rush Records.
Lydia0kumura,assistant professor of ear training, has published a folio of her French-language
songs titled Veins. The book comeswith a cassette
which was recorded[ in the Berklee studios.
Trumpeter WayneNaus ’76 and his group Heart
and Fire opened the 1994 Boston Globe Jazz Festival June 12. The group includes faculty members
RussH0ffman
’84 (piano), Larry
Finn ’88 (drums),as
well as saxophonist Pat L00mis ’92, and current
Berklee students, percussionist I~enat0 Thomas,
trombonist Jeff Galindo,and bassist DavidWeisner.
Berklee today
7
RLLING
’THESILENCE
Mentionsilent films and most people think of flickering, scratched
black and white images of Charlie
Chaplin or Laurel and Hardy scurrying around to the sound of honkytonk piano. Slapstick comedywas but
one facet of the pioneering film efforts-there are many serious dramatic titles in the earIy film archives.
Piano professor Bob Winter is
quick to point out that the same was
true for silent film music. Historically it was played live by a pianist or
organist employedby the local theater, and frequently displayed more
Antonio Adolfo
range and depth than happy stride
BRAZILIAN
MUSIC
WORKSHOP
piano tunes or tremoloed diminished
(140 page bookw/CD)$ 39.95
chords played as the train approaches the heroine bound on the tracks.
This
book
notonly
concentrates
onthose
styles
Deac Rosseli, who used to head
the film department at Boston’s Muwhich
have
travelled
successfully
around
the
globe,
butalso
onstyles
which
have
notyetbeen seum of Fine Arts (MFA)called Bob
Winter to accompanythe silent film
explored
outside
ofBrazil.
portion of the annual film series the
Thethreemain
sections
of thebook
cover:
MFAinaugurated 10 years ago. In
general
characteristics;
harmony;
rhythm; Winter, Rossell found an improviser
phrasing;
melodic
and
stylistic
considerations;
whose musical palette was multicolpatterns
and
hints
forallmusicians,
composersored and stylistically diverse.
and
arrangers.
"It is in the tradition to improvise
The
explanations
areaccompanied
byhundreds
of the soundtrack," said Winter. "But
written
and
recorded
examples.
Each
presented to do it effectively you have to havea
certain amount of technique and
style is concluded
by a complete
composition.
Also
included
areanextensive
discography
and imagination and then be fearless-biography,
a glossary
aswellasnumerous
photos just let yourself go."
One French film Winter accomofBrazilian
artists,
panied this April was Carl T. Drey~Antonio
is a brilliantcomposer/arranger. er’s 1928 epic, Passion de Jeanne
D’Arc, which runs 98 minutes, and
Hegivestheessence
of Brazilian
music.~~
was based on authentic records of
(Paulinhoda Costa)
Joan of Arc’s trial.
~It is verydifficultteaching
ourmusic
to the
"It is unbelievable to see a film
world.Antonio
hasa sense
of synthesis
thatjust
like this and realize it was madein
greateducators
have.~(Antonio
CarlosJobim)
1928," said Winter. "It is so stark and
real. I used snippets of very angular
>~Antonio
Adolfo
is oneof a rarebreed
c~fworldmusic and even atonal-sounding
classmusicians
witha sound
andstyleuniquely
things without a lot of cadences. For
his own.<~
(JazzTimes
Magazine)
a film of an hour and 38 minutes, you
really have to stretch your imaginaPublishedby ADVANCE
MUSIC
tion. SometimesI’ll leave silence, but
today’s film audiences are so used to
Askyourfavoritemusic
supplier
or call:
hearing somethingthat I can’t lay out
JAMEY
AEBERSOI.D
for more than a minute or two."
P.O,Box12444,NewAlbany,IN 47150
Winter found accompanying this
Phone:
1-800-456-1388
¯ Fax: 1-812-949-2006 year’s series of 19 films soIely with
CARISMUSICSERVlCES
the timbral resources of a piano withRD7, Box7621G,Stroudsburg,
PA18360
out being repetitious a real challenge.
"Having an orchestra for a modFax: 717-4765368
ern film score gives you so many
strumentai possibilities," says Winter. "On piano, you only have 10
fingers to create the largest textures.
I will play in the higher and lower
registers, and sometimesplay just a
single line for contrast. Youcan get a
lot of music out of very few notes."
A professional pianist since he was
12 years old, Winter has earned an
enviable reputation in manyquarters
for his reading and improvisational
abilities, coupled with the stamina to
play creatively for long periods at a
stretch. Bobhas taught at Berklee for
the past 20 years while keeping a busy
and varied performing schedule. He
has released two albums under his
ownnameand a trio of discs with the
Jazz Pops Ensemble.
As pianist for the Boston Pops
Orchestra for the past 14 years, Bob’s
playing has become familiar to two
prominent contemporary film figures--Henry Mancini and composer/conductor John Williams, with
whomhe has toured and recorded.
Winter’s playing can be heard on
two recordings with John Williams
and the Boston Pops Orchestra on
their Swing, Swing, Swing album and
on their new Sony release, Unforgettable. Winter’s playing is showcased
on three cuts on Unforgettable.
"In ’Satin Doll’ I improvised an
introduction for about 45 seconds.
John Williams asked me to ’rhapsodize,’ and play anything I wanted,
then to give a lead-in for the orchestra. I was thinking that there can’t be
too many non-jazz orchestras that
would use an improvised introduction. After I played it and heard the
strings comein, I just thought, I have
to be a very lucky person to be doing
what I love to do, and expressing
myself with musicians like these." -.~
BobWinter:playingfilm musicfromthe
silent era to theJohnWilliamsera.
Summer
1994
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The Past and Future of the BPC
Mark L. Small
M
ular singers" werepart of the openingnight festivities
precedingthe feature, The Iron Strain--A Story of Alaska. Ticket prices rangedfrom10 to 25 cents.
Twenty
years since it became
the BPC,the hall is still
spokenof in s-uperlatives, thoughnot for its merits as a
moviehouse, but as a concert venue.Since1915,the hall
has played manyroles, and narrowly avoided a few
others. The FenwayTheatre was seriously considered
for conversioninto a giant First National supermarketin 1959after the
proliferation of television put a serious dent in movieattendance. In
the ’60s the theater houseda bowling alley in its basement.Prior to
Berklee purchasingthe property in
1972, its former owner,Bryant and
Stratton College, contemplateddemolishingthe entire structure and
replacingit with an eight-story educational facility for its business
~ school. In 1974,after extensiverenovationsto the then-dilapidatedtheater, Berkleeopenedit as a premier,
1227-seatconcert hall. In resuscitating oneof the city’s choice cultural landmarks, the college provided a fourth generation of
Bostoniansthe chanceto experience
top-notchentertainmentin the hall.
Since the BPCbegan bookingtop
touring
acts, countlessartists of inThisWorld
WarII-era photo
of theexteriorof theFenway
Theatre
shows
theti(:ket
ternational
stature and widelyvarybooth
flanked
bya delicatessen
andsmoke
shop.
A1925adboasted
of thefacility’s
ing
musical
styles haveptayedthere
$20,000
cooling
plantwhich
made
the Fenway
Theatre
the"coolest
spotin town."
Summer
1994
10 Berklee today
nad in the December20, 1915issue of The Boston
Globeannouncingthe openingof the FenwayTheatre (nowthe Berklee PerformanceCenter or BPC)hailed
it as Boston’s "newestand most up-to-date photo playhouse."TheFenway
Theatrewasthe first theater built in
uptownBostonexpressly for movies, but somelive entertainment waspresented in those days too. A 20-piece
orchestra, a pipe organconcert, and"high class and pop-
study position. Our music business
graduates will have a leg up on others
when they enter the job market because they will have worked in the
BPCbox office as students. They will
knowall about TicketMaster’s operations and about the dynamics of
booking major professional acts by
working with our Events Coordinator Dorothy Messenger."
Another new use of the hall includes providing a rehearsal space for
the Concert Wind Ensemble. The 40piece group had never had a large
enough or acoustically suitable rehearsal space until they began schedTheBPC
crew(clockwise
fromthe left), MikeMarchetti,RobRose,BradBerger, uling weekly rehearsals in the BPC.
"The change has been significant,"
andDorothy
Messenger,
providesupport
for professional
actsatthe BPC,andare
says
the group’s director, Assistant
alsoplayinga largerrole in the educational
mission
of thehall. "TheBPC
is not
Chair
of Composition Greg Fritze.
onlya greatconcertvenue,"statesRose,"wealsoseeit as a giantclassroom."
"As a large, purely acoustic ensemble, we needed to rehearse in an
as a pop musicartifact residing back- ment to provide both faculty and stuacoustic environment. Nowinstead
stage testifies. The formerly white dents greater access to the resources of just learning the notes in rehearsal,
"autograph door" is almost complete- of the BPC.
we can know how the music will
ly blackenedwith the felt-tip pen sigRob Rose, recently named acting
sound the night of the concert."
natures of many diverse performers assistant to the performancedivision
Dean of Institutional
Advancewho have played the hall, including chair for the Berklee Performance ment John Collins has found the BPC
Roy Orbison, James Brown, Pat
Center and director of on-campus a great spot for fundraising events.
Metheny, Carole King, Oscar Petersummerprograms, states, "Wesee the
"We recently presented a Jan
son, and hundreds more.
BPCas a giant classroom where peo- Hammerscholarship concert, a NetRecently, Michelle Shocked and ple can learn about performing and works Expo scholarship show with
CowboyJunkies utilized the tie lines
the technical side of presenting a Berklee’s Gospel Choir, and a Yelto the Berklee studios a floor below show. For example, Brad Berger is
lowjackets/Korg scholarship fundthe BPCstage for live broadcast of teaching his sound reinforcement
raiser," states Collins. "The hall is
their shows. A few months ago, flaclass in here. This is a great opportu- great for these events because benemencoguitarist Paco de Lucia chose nity for the ensembles who get to factors get to see how talented the
to record a live albumin the hall.
perform in the hall for the class and students they support are."
Performance Division Chair Lar- the MP&Estudents who get handsRob Rose plans many other crery Monroe, who was M.C. and con- on training in sound engineering in a ative uses for the hall, such as Berklee
cert producer for the early college real-world venue.
concert series and theme festival
shows, remembers, "When the hall
"Mike Marchetti, the BPCstage
events. Instead of a single internafirst opened, it was work to convince manager, gives technical and logistitional night concert, perhaps there
the faculty to play concerts there. We cal support to the crews of the pro will be a week-longfestival celebrathad no tradition of faculty concerts shows booked here, but also works ing the musical roots of Berklee’s inthen. Todayit is different, manyfac- on set design for the large-scale stu- ternational students. Rose also plans
ulty are very eager to play the BPC." dent shows like the Singers Show- to use the hall for a larger numberof
As the theater movesinto its third case and commencementconcerts.
the summerprogram lectures, showdecade as the Performance Center,
"Wewill also begin providing im- cases, and clinics usually held elseaside from continuing its role as a portant new training for our work- where. He also plans to make time
top performance venue, Berklee’s fu- study students this fall. Theywill have available so more students and faculture plans for the hall include book- a chance to learn about all facets of ty can present concerts as well as
ing more of its time for use as an technical services. They maychoose makerecordings in the hall.
educational facility. With perforto work as stage hands in the proThe theater’s original projection
mance being the second most popu- duction end, or perhaps specialize in boothis still at the backof the balcolar major Berklee offers, and with a sound reinforcement, or they may ny and rear projection equipment is
swelling in the ranks of the music specialize in lighting, or in videotap- available for setup on stage. Roseeven
production and engineering (MP&E) ing live performances.This is all sep- foresees the theater getting back to
and music business/management ma- arate from their chosen major; it is
its roots by occasionally featuring
jors, the college has madea commit- on-the-job training in their work film events.
~1
Summer
1994
Berklee
today 11
A Place 11"1 Tl~rne
Studio rn~inst~yJohn’[J.R." Robinson’75,:
rock-steady presence in ever-changing industry
fter more than a decade and a half in
L.A. where manymusical careers flash
then fade within months, John Robinson ’75 (alias "J.R.") continues to be one of the
most sought-after drummers in the business.
J.R.’s soulful, razor-sharp time-keeping has
been the heartbeat for a good portion of the
soundtrack to contemporary American life
heard via radio, TV, and movies since 1978.
Someof his studio colleagues refer to him as
the "Hit Man"because he holds the record for
playing on more hit singles than any other
drummer in the recording world--including
20-year studio veteran Hal Blaine.
The roster of superstars whose gold and
platinum discs feature J.R.’s stickwork is extensive and includes Rufus, Eric Clapton, Madonna, Steve Winwood, Diana Ross, Earth,
Wind, and Fire, Michael Jackson, Stevie Nicks,
Rod Stewart, Whitney Houston, Vince Gill,
Elton John, Michael Bolton, Quincy Jones ’51,
Peter Cetera, Natalie Cole, and dozens more.
Raised in Creston, Iowa, J.R. was in the
garage with his first band at 10. Attending summet band camps in Missouri and Illinois during his junior high school years solidified his
desire to becomea professional musician. After graduating high school in 1973, J.R. left the
A
by
Mark
Small
L.
"73
heartland for Berklee where he studied for six
consecutive semesters. He began working with
various jazz groups around Boston, and ultimately went on the road with a showbandcalled
Sheh:er. A providential gig the band played in
Cleveland in 1978 catapulted J.R. from the
nightclub circuit to the concert stage and studios. One night, Rufus and Chaka Khan
stopped in at Cleveland’s Rare Cherry club
and liked what they heard from the drums.
Things happened fast, and within 24 hours J.R.
was asked to join Rufus, finish their world
tour:, and then record their Numbersalbum.
Quincy Jones produced Masterjam for Rufus the following year, and liked J.R.’s drumming (Quincy also started calling him "J.R.").
Quincy invited him to play on Michael Jackson’s blockbuster album Off the Wall. When
that :record soared to multiplatinumstatus, J.R.’s
stock as a session player rose with it. Hundreds
of sessions with the top artists, producers, and
film composers in the business followed. In
1983., J.R. and Rufus won a Grammywith for
their hit "Ain’t Nobody."In 1987alone, J.R.’s
drumming was heard on eight Grammy-winning songs. By now he has played on more
than 25 Grammy-winningefforts.
In the weeks before we met, J.R. had spent
PHOTO
B¥NElLZLOZOWER
12
Berklee today
Summer
1994
six days recording with Stephen Curtis Chapman., completed a live taping of "ComicRelief," a few episodes of "Murder, She Wrote,"
and played with an all-star lineup at the 40th
Anniversary of the Playboy Jazz Festival. He
also signed on for Barbra Streisand’s international tour which opened in LondonApril 17.
With the big gigs comes big pressure. In
talking with him, it is apparent that J.R. has
always thrived under pressure. This fact combined with his unique abilities and charismatic
personality, keep him on the short list of the
producers, artists, and contractors whoare spinning out gold and platinum records in southern California’s studios.
eople knew I’d played in
Rufus and assumed I was
black. I don’t think race has
any bearing on musicianship.
Your initial encounter with Rufus and Chaka
Khanis one of the classic, fairy tale "discovery
stories. "Do you think that kind of thing happens much today?
I pray it does, but I think discoveries happen more by recommendation today. I remember being in Boston playing clubs, and if a
famous musician walked in to listen, I would
find myself over-playing. WhenI would pack
up mydrums that night I would feel really bad
about over-playing because I knew the cat
wouldnot call me. I was playing with an eightpiece soul/show band in Cleveland, just after
leaving Berklee. Wewere at a huge, 3,000-seat
club which had one of those lightboards that
flashes messages. I looked up and it read "Welcome Rufus and Chaka Khan," and my heart
started beating faster. Whenthey sat in the
front row, I got even more paranoid, but I
rememberednot to over-play. They asked us if
their whole band, except their drummer,couid
sit in to play with me. Wedid a bunch of Rufus
tunes, and I thought I was in heaven. They
asked meto cometo their soundcheckat Cleveland’s Front RowTheater the next night to
play some more.
Weplayed again and it was burning. I could
see their drummerfading behind the speaker
cabinets. He was their second drummer and
14 Berklee
today
had only been with them a short time. Incidentally, he and I are still friends to this day. After
we played, they told me I was in, and we figured out the logistics of getting me movedto
L.A. to rehearse and then join the tour.
What do you think attracted Quincy Jones to
your playing?
When Quincy produced Rufus and Chaka
Khan, he had the option of using a studio drummer, but he wanted to use me. I think he liked
the fact that I listened to him, I had song sense,
my playing was understated, and my time was
strong;. I also think he was attracted because I
am a Berklee alumus as he is. He’d been using
Ernie Watts [’65], Nell Stubenhaus [’74], Abe
Laboriel [’72], and a lot of other alumni.
What did you pick up from working with
him so closely on several hit albums?
I learned about producing and about the business. Quincysays that a producer is like a casting director. Youcast the right people around
you to makethe record successful. For instance,
on "WeAre the World," he cast Greg Philinganes on piano, Louis Johnson on bass, and me
on drums. That was the rhythm section which
cut the tune--after we kicked 50 cameramen
out of the studio.
Did you know Nell Stubenhaus when you
were both students at Berklee?
Yeah, we played the same showband circuit
in Boston with different groups, and did some
jamming together as did most of the young
players from Berklee. Now21 years later, we
are close friends. WhenI get calls for sessions
and I’m asked whoI would like on bass, Nell is
myfirst choice. I work with bassist Abe Laborid a lot, too, probably once a month. Abe and
I have a lot in common--spiritual things as well
as ideas about the industry.
What Berklee faculty members had an impact on your musical development?
I was a performance major with drums as
myprincipal instrument. I couldn’t choose piano as mysecondary instrument, so I took vibes
with Dave Samuels. He got me into Gary Burton’s four-mallet technique, but I found it was
giving me blisters which interfered with my
drum playing. Dave and I became good friends
and have since workedon gigs together.
I studied drums with Alan Dawsonat Berklee. He is a legend and an incredible player. I
wasn’t from an urban area with a jazz scene as
he was’.; I used to love to go into mylessons just
to hear him talk. During mylessons, he would
play wibes and I would play drums. He got me
singing rhythms out of a syncopation book and
Summer
1994
working on single strokes with a metronome. tronically inclined. Mydad’s hobby was electronics. He madea Heathkit television set once,
He was very influential.
and I helped by passing him the resistors, caWhatwas the most useful experience you had pacitors, and diodes. It was a natural for meto
learn programming. Drum machines did cut
at the college?
Learningto play with the click in the studio. into the work for a lot of drumn~Lers,and I saw
I went into one of Berklee’s first studios in the manyleave town or get a totally electronic
Mass. Ave. building with fellow student Doug drumset up to imitate that sound. I’ve always
Getschal [’75] whowas working as Joe Hostet- been pro acoustic, and I’ve played acoustic
ter’s engineering assistant. The engineers asked drumson all the records.
Rufus did a reunion album called Stompin’
me if I knew what a click was. I said no, and
they played it for me and asked if I thought I at the Savoy in 1983; we won a Grammyfor
could read a chart and play to it. I said no "Ain’t Nobody"off that album. That tune has
problem, and nailed the track on the first take. a very syncopated groove, it is precise like a
They had been having trouble finding a machine,but feels human.After hearing it, Mike
drummerwhocould play in time with the click Baird [studio drummer] came up to me and
while maintaining a human feel, and read a complimented me for what he thought was a
great Linn drum program on the tune. I told
chart at the same time. Consequently, I started
workinga lot in that studio. I endedup playing him that I had played everything, it wasn’t a
drums on all of the instrumental performance programmedpart. He didn’t believe me--a lot
tapes of 1974, replacing the drum tracks by of people still think it was a drumprogram.
other drummers--whichis something I am freDo you get studio calls for one particular
quently called upon to do today.
style or because you can cover manys(yles?
Originally I was a typecast because I was a
To what do you attribute your longevity in
member of Rufus, and they were known for
the studios?
Style is one factor, and being able to adapt mixing funk and rock. The band was regarded
and change that style is very important. I can as a black band even though three of the memthink of a lot of drummersin L.A. who had a bers were white. A lot of people heard that
style that was in for a while but found that John Robinson played in Rufus and assumed I
their work dried up when their style went out. was black. I personally don’t think race or
WhenI came into the studios in 1978 and color has any bearing on musicianship.
I worked with a guy, Jim Stuart, who was
began working with Quincy, the four-to-thefloor style on the bass drumwas really in. On one of the owners of Stax Records in the old
someof the albums I did, like George Benson’s days. He flew me down to Memphis to work
GimmeA/[e the Night, the Brothers Johnson’s with some musicians in their studio. Wehad
Stomp, and a bunchof others, I played that, but never met, and he came to pick me up at the
airport. After everyonehad filtered off the plane
on top of the drum kit I would add other
and out of the airport, I was standing there
syncopations to makethe groove sound different. From the Off the Wall album by Michael with mybags. I saw this guy looking all around
Jackson through the ’80s to Steve Winwood’s and I knew what was happeni~lg. Finally he
"Higher Love," I’ve been able to add to the came up to me and said "John? John Robinson?" I said, "Hi, Jim." He knew my playing,
current drumstyle, as well as adapt.
I’ve gotten a reputation for being a human
clock. With the influx of machines and everything being locked to SMPTE
code now, drummers really have to be as precise as possible
without sacrificing style, musicality, feel, or
dynamics. A lot of drummersfreak out Crying
handle all of those aspects. Theystart feeling a
train wreck approaching and drag the tempo or
miss something in the track. Then they have to
go back and do it over again or, worse, they get
axed from the session.
JohnRobinson’75:
"Being able to
adaptis important.
I knowplayers
whosestyle was
in for a while,but
their workdried
up when their
style wentout."
You have been in heavy demandin the studios even through a time when drum machines
have been used extensively.
To deal with that, you need to master the
drummachineas well. I have always been elecSummer
1994
Berklee
today 15
later. It is hard on drummerswhen you
make: them play in a way they are unaccustomedto, but as I recall, Johngot each
part on the first take.
"If you give a great musician like John
an idea, he’ll play it better than you imagined it. On Steve Winwood’ssong ’Back in
the High Life Again,’ I asked him to try a
am that Hawk press roll in the section following the chorus. Whenhe did it, I just said, yeah, that’s
John basically
it! He always gets what I want."
but added this
get from a matrack down in
Multi-Grammy-winning producer Russ
Titelman has just finished working on an
Eric Clapton blues disc and a Vince GillMichael’MacDonaldcollaboration.
be-
and that I came out of Rufus, and told me he
was expecting to meet a tall black guy. I told
him I considered that a compliment.
want to be late. I always showup early.
As for personality, if you come off cold,
hard, or uncaring, chances are the producer
won’t: call you again even if you did well on his
session. You have to remember that you are
What are producers expecting when they
building a 360-degree circle of people you work
hire you for their sessions ?
SometimesI get called in to help repair a for. You don’t want things to end after you
track. For Rod Stewart’s "Rhythm of Your have been around the circle once, you want to
Heart," Trevor Horn called me because they work with those people again. That happened
in the early ’80s for me--I started around the
couldn’t get what they wanted from three
circle again.
drummers they tried in NewYork. I did ali
Since a lot of drummersare not great readkinds of overdubs--fulI kit, timpani, and rudiers,
they can’t do moviedates, which are very
mental snare drum--which gave the song a
lucrative.
They pay double scale like records,
very Scottish feel. I get calls to comein and add
but
have
extra
incentives like residuals from
something to a track. It might just be a highhat whichwill give a humanfeel to a track that films that sell well and then go to cable.
is too machine-like. Sometimes you can just
punch in a little part that adds some beauty.
Are you doing a lot of TV and movies ?
Somethingthat simple can make a hit record.
I do TV primarily when I am in between
I got called to work on George Benson’s other projects. It really keeps you on your
version of "Beyond the Sea." Russ Titelman,
toes---there is a lot of reading and the pace is
the producer, came out from New York to
quick.. I have been doing a lot of motion pichave Joe Sampleand me play on the tracks he’d tures recently. I did MyCousin Vinny, Dennis
cut with a big band. It was a great band, but the the Menace, Wayne’s World II, Diggstown,
acoustic bass player and the drummerwere not GrandCanyon, Intersection, and a lot of othtogether, the time was all over the place. I wrote ers. I hope to get into composingfor films.
a chart and madenotes of every little idiosyncrasy in the time, and Joe did the same. I had to
What’s next in your career?
really bend to get with the horns. It was a
I have been writing for years and wouldlike
challenge, but that tune ended up being the big to eventually spend more time producing than
one off the record.
playing, although myplaying will always continue--God willing. I have a full studio in my
Beyond talent, what attributes make some- new home, so I could do most of the producone successful in the studio?
tion on myown projects there.
Personality, promptness, and reading abiliI originally had a goal of spending 15 years
ty. WesHensel used to tell his Berklee classes in Los Angeles. I’m past that now, I’ve been at
that to be a professional musician you have to this for 16 years. I figure I’ll just rock this thing
be a good reader and be on time. You never out and see what happens.
~
16 Berklee
today
Summer
1994
¯
¯
The Musician l~/[ind
Whatcan scientists expect to discover about the
creative process by probing the musicianbrain?
usical creativity is considspecifically concernedwith the physical world. Creativity, on the other
ered one of the most myshand, is most often referred to in a
. terious andcomplexhigher
spiritualcontext(i.e., the creativespircognitive functions of the human
brain. Accordingly, musical compoit) andi~’;, in its purestmanifestations,
glimpsedin fleeting momentsof insition and improvisation must rely,
spiration whichremain elusive and
in part, uponthe flawless operation
unpredictable.Whatcan scientists reof a vast and highly elaborate series
of neurologicalprocesses. In recent Willthebrainre- w’.al by examiningthe process that
years, the discoveryof those struc- vealthe"secrets"the artist doesn’t alreadyperceiveby
tures and pathwaysin the brain which of improvisers? experiencing the process? Woulda
maybe involved in the creation and
performanceof musichas becomethe
focus of majorneurologicalresearch.
As a result, manyinvestigators are
predicting the emergence
of a science
of creativity.
For those whobelieve in the inspirationalorigins of creativethought,
anyattemptto define creativity might
devalue its meaning. Creativity is
deeply linked with our natural sense
of wonder,whereasscience is "fundamentally opposed to the romance
of superstition."~ Science,by its very
definition, attemptsto obtain andunearth knowledgecovering general
truths or the operationof generallaws
M
by
Mitch
Haupers
Guitarist MitchHaupersis an assistant professorin the Ear TrainingDepartmentand chair of the Committee
for Music Perception and Cognition
Studies (COMPA
CS) at Berklee.
Summer
1994
Berklee today 17
demystification of the creative process diminish or
heighten the role of the artist in society?
I will address these questions from a musician’s perspective through the exploration of recent neurological
research. In particular, I will
present a current neuropsycholgical theory of learning
as it relates to musical performance practice. A review
of this research reveals some
insight into the music-brainrelationship while raising some interesting
questions regarding the practicality
of this line of inquiry.
imagined before. In part,
this development of musical "syntax" seems to
evolve on its own. These
moments of "true improvisation" often surprise
the improviser, yet are
usually considered the
gems of an improvised
solo. Like the natural formation of a diamond, to
continue the analogy, this
type of musical creativity
requires the tremendous
The neural components and cirpressure of performance over a long
cuitry which make up the memory period of time in order to materialsystem function in parallel. Sensory ize. Anintelligent approach to pracinformation is processed through a ticing can help prepare the improvisseries of feedback loops between ar- er for these unforeseen musical
eas of the brain thought to be re- moments. Whether or not the brain’s
sponsible for the storage of neural random generation of unique combinations of rehearsed ideas is a type of
representations as memories. Evi.dently, these neural representations
creativity whichcan be fostered, sugof objects or events are capable of gests an interesting area of study.
being stored in as little as one exposure. Thus, through association, we LearningMusic
can consciously make use of stored
According to internationally renowned guitarist/teacher
Mick Gooknowledgevery rapidly and efficientdrick ’67, there are two basic aply within the memorysystem.
~
This does not imply that cognitiw,
proaches to learning music. The first
learning by association is more im- is thinking of goals and ignoring the
portant, complex, or useful than be- process; the second is thinking of
havioral patterning by repetitive re- process and ignoring the goals. 4 He
suggests the latter, pointing out that
inforcement. Rather, the activation
level of both systems during the learn- this approach allows practitioners to
ing process mayvery well affect what discover what sounds good to them
we learn and howwell we learn it.
by examiningall possibilities and permutations of an idea in a playful and
Unconscious
Learning
curious way. The goals are an added
The application of this theory to benefit of exploring the process. In
music must include the occurrence
this way, musicians who struggle
of learning at the unconscious level.
through the process may value what
Without acknowledging the brain’s
is learned becauseof the struggle.
ability to "learn" on its own--free
Saxophonist and author David
from the constraints of the conscious Liebman offers another insightful
mind--how can we account for crelook at the musical learning process.
ativity or original thought? Cogni- He discusses one approach which
tive scientists believe that "all memo- progresses from intellectual curiosiry is unconscious before it becomes ty to the communication of musical
conscious, [and only] one percent
ideas. His proposed scheme for the
"3
ever reaches conscious awareness.
acquisition of newinformation reads:
Thus, the majority of what the un- Intellectual understanding
--~ disciplined
conscious mind knowsmust be "felt"
andorganizedpractice -~ integrationinto
technique ~ emotions shape expressive
as intuition. Improvisation relies
upon intuition and "unpredictable
content of idea ~ communication
of idea.5
responses" of the unconscious mind.
The process of intellectual underImprovising musicians know that
standing requires the active applicathe things they practice will showup tion of analysis, logic, reasoning and
in their playing in different combina- linear organization of information,
tions than they practiced or even all of which appear to be specialized
mprovisationrelies
uponintuition and t/oe
unpredictable responses
of the unconsciousmind.
Theoryof Learning
Recent discoveries concerning the
brain’s involvement in the learning
process have resulted in. a dual-systems model of the brain ~- which supports both the behaviorist--we learn
through repetition which is reinforced by reward--and the cognitivist--learning is accomplishedthrough
associations made between new information and old stored memories-points of view.
According to the dual-systems
model, at least two systems for processing and storing information may
exist within the human brain. The
two networks, called the habit system and the memory system, are
functionally independent. This means
that the information stored within
each system is not available to the
other. The stores of the habit system
are only available at the subconscious
level. Whereasthe information stored
within the memory system is made
available to conscious awareness,
which facilitates the manipulation of
new information.
The structures
and pathways
which comprise the habit system operate in serial. This means that the
activation sequences within the system are linear, like one-waystreets,
instructing the body to respond in a
reflexive mannerto a particular stimulus. Informationis stored within this
system as "predictable responses."
Repetition over time is required before the brain "remembers" the behavior and commitsit to the subconscious level as habit.
18
Berklee today
Summer
1994
functions of the brain’s left hemisphere. This most certainly requires
the attention of the conscious mind.
A disciplined and organized practice regimen also requires focused
conscious awareness. At the early "acquisition" stage, the musician hears
the original idea manifest itself as
sound for the first time. Whenthis
process is repeated over time, the
sound and feel of the idea becomes
integrated into the subconscious as
aural experience and kinesthetic
skill--a musician’s technique.
Both the assimilation of newskills
into technique and equating them
with human emotions are examples
of synthetic and aesthetic thinking,
respectively, which apparently require the receptive modeof processing preferred by the right hemisphere
of the brain. 7 Once this hemispheric
"cross-over" is accomplished--a sure
signal that something is "known"-the idea is ripe for communication
through performance.
The habituation of skilled movement to the subconscious allows the
conscious mind of the improviser to
react more quickly to the ideas of
other musicians in performance. The
conscious mind is freed to makecritical decisions and aesthetic choices.
gila--were the most highly affected.
The study concluded that this area of
the brain was important for the development of assigning motor tasks
to a subconscious level in the most
efficient manner?
Ideally, the musician must relegate all performance procedure to a
subliminal level. By doing this, the
flow state--that
midway point between the unconscious and the conscious where "chaos is given over to
form and order"--can more easily be
reached. 6 This optimal performance
modeis sometimesdescribed as a light
trance state, hyper-awareness, or being "in the zone."
PerformanceMode
Neurologists study subjects during performance by utilizing a technique which involves the injection of
radioactive xenoninto the carotid artery to locate and mapblood flow in
the brain. The metabolic activities relating to sensory perceptions, voluntary movements,and other functional anatomical correlations are then
tracked via highlighted areas of the
brain. This process is known as
positron emission tomography, or
PET scanning.
In a related study, neurologists
scanned the brains of subjects who
were first introduced to the popular
computergame, Tetris ®. In the naive
state, there was a high rate of metabolic activity. However,after four to
eight weeksof practice, the subjects
who had become more proficient at
playing the game showed sharp declines in most metabolic activity.
Only the deepest structures of the
brain--most notably the basal gan-
Musicand Language
Music is often referred to as the
"universal language." As a mode of
expression, it is easy to see howthe
analogy to verbal language can be
made. Musicians often refer to one
motivation for makingmusic as "having something to say." Particular
styles of music are thought to possess their own "vocabulary, syntax,
and grammar."
Science has attempted to makethis
analogy for over a century now.
However, recent findings indicate
that the neurological structures involved in the processing and cognition of music and language are functionally distinct?
As music becomes differentiated
from language, musical intelligence
is viewedas a unique and viable strategy for learning. However, intelligence and creativity are not the same.
Intelligence is measured in terms of
convergent thinking--the ability to
give the "correct" answer on an IQ
Summer
1994
Ideally, the musi-
cianrelegates all
performance procedure to a subliminal level
test--while creativity stimulates divergent thinking--the tendency to
respond to problems by searching for
a "wide range of possible interpretations. 1° Creative artists simply have a
different way of engaging the world.
A Musician’s
Pointo| View
Creativity will not be easily understood. The process operates out
of the reach of conscious awareness.
I do not foresee the discovery of artistic creation as merelya brain function. As well, scientists should not
allow their own musical tastes and
sensibilities to define the parameters
of their research. Composersand improvisers are a most valuable resource
to scientific investigators seeking
clues to the mysteries of creativity.
As practitioners of the art, musicians can view this opportunity as a
chance to contribute positively to the
advancementof their art by guiding
scientists toward asking the right
questions. The music will still speak
for itself, but this needn’t preclude a
willingness to discuss the process by
which musicis learned, perceived, organized and communicated. A collaborative effort between musicians
and researchers could yield tremendous benefits for both disciplines. N
Notes and References
1. MargaretA. Boden,TheCreative Mind:
Myths &Mechanisms(Basic Books, New
York,1991),pp. 261-264.
2. HerbertL. Petri and MortimerMishkin,
"Behaviorism,
Cognitivism
andthe Neuropsychologyof Memory,"
American
Scientist,
Volume
82, Jan.-Feb.1994,pp. 30-37.
3. DanielGoleman,
PaulKaufman,
andMichael
Ray,TheCreativeSpirit (PenguinBooks,
NewYork,1992),p. 20.
4. MickGoodrick,TheAdvancing
Guitarist:
ApplyingGuitar Concepts&Techniques,
(HalLeonardBooks,Milwaukee,
1987).
5. DaveLiebman,A ChromaticApproach
to
jazz Harmony
and Melody,(AdvanceMusic, Rottenburg,Germany,
i991).
6. JennyBoyd,Musiciansin Tune:SeventyFive Comtemporary
MusiciansDiscussthe
CreativeProcess,(Simon&Schuster,New
"York,
1992),p. 79.
7. Peter Russell, TheBrainBook(Penguin
Books,]NewYork,1979),pp. 48-63.
8. Elliott Ross,Notesfromlecture at Music
andthe Brain:A Symposium,
(Art Institute,
Chicago,1992).
9. Justine Sergent, "Mapping
the Musician
Brain," Human
Brain Mapping,VolumeI,
July 1993,pp. 20-38.
i0. Howard
Gardner,Creatingminds,(Basic
Books,]New
York,1993),p. 20.
Berklee
today 19
¯
¯
A Cross-lntervall~c
Chromatic
Concept
Stretch your improvisational thinking by using
wide-interval leaps and chromatic elements
A
by
George
Garzone
"72
and
Joe
Viola
"53
fter initial inspirationfrommyteacher
Joe Viola, and the experiencesof my
own20 years of playing and teaching, I have developeda methodwhichhelps to
expanduponthe traditional approachesto improvising over chord changes. I call it the
"cross-intervallic, chromaticapproach."It involves playing both small and large intervals
coupledwith chromaticapproachesto, and departures from, the notes as a methodof ex-
pandingthe traditional bebopstyle of soloing
over c]aord changes.
Tolearn it, increase your fluidity by practicing leaps of fourths andfifths in succession.
Workingon themin all keys will developfacility and prepare you for playing wide-interval
figures; such as those foundin example1. After
practicing in a constant eighth-note rhythm,
vary the rhythmsa little to keepthe intervallic
leaps fromsoundingrepetitive.
Once you have mastered this wide-interval
............
;o concept, start introducing somechromatics.Inserting themin strategic
places will keep your
lines from soundingtoo
pattern-like and create
melodicflow (see example 2). Thesechromatics
are also instrumentalfor
passing subtly from one
unrelated harmonicarea
to another and for superimposing various
harmonic structures
over an already-established tonality (see example3). This provides
freedomfrom the bebop
approach, opening the
George
Garzone,
left andJoeViola.Violais chairemeritu,~
of Berklee’sdoor to a non-harmonic
Woodwind
Department
andGarzone’s
mentor.Anassociate
professor
and or evenatonal approach.
widelyrenowned
saxophonist,
Garzor~e
hasjust released
~t’s Time
forthe
Depending on the
Fringe
ontheSoulNote~abelwithhisfreejazztrio theFringe.
musical situation you
20 Berklee today
Surnmer
1994
are playing in, you can create as much
or as little musical tension as desired
with this method. I look at this as a
kind of a high-wire act where you
are balancing the sound between harmonic and non-harmonic elements
in your improvisation. As the improviser, you determine the amount
of harmonic and/or non-harmonic
sound to use.
The title of myblues tune, "Hey,
Open Up!," the last musical example, is meant as a challenge to expand
your melodic concepts. This melody
shows that with strong direction to
your lines, many notes that you
would not ordinarily consider playing against a chord can work. On the
IV chord, bar 2, you find an interval
which is enharmonically a major seventh (technically it is a diminished
octave). It creates a clash with the
chord, but, in the final analysis, is
just an octave displacement of the
chord’s flat-nine resolving to the root.
In bars 4-6, there are tritone leaps
within the melody which help to
bring out the augmented dominant
quality of the chords. Note howthe
linear strength of the whole-tonescale
in measures 9-10 makes playing the
major third against the minor chord
in measure 9, and the major seventh
on a dominant seventh chord in measure 10, work.
A strong knowledge of the traditional jazz improvisational vocabulary is a prerequisite to using this
concept to start breaking the rules.
Ultimately, the unity and strength of
direction you create in the lines you
improvise with wide interval leaps
and chromatic elements makes those
lir~es work independently from the
chord changes being played.
~
BREAKING
WITHTRADITION
Example
Example3
(D[,7#9) [;, (A[,7~,9) (B7[,9)
(E[,ma7#11)(B7)
Coodal
throuJmut
...........................................................................................................
Hey, Open Up!
F+7
G-7
B[,+7
C7
b-’’’-
F+7
byGeorge
Garzone
C-7
F+7
"I
13+7
F+7
G-7
C+7
’
©1991George
Garzone.
Aft rights reserved,
Summer
1994
Berklee today ;21
Alum n o t e s
Composer/arranger
Michael
Gibbs
"63is living
in Londonbut frequently
works in NewYork. He
has recently composedthe
score for the film Being
Human, which features
RobinWilliams.
Pianist and composer
Manrat
Srilkaranonda
’65 received the 1993 National
Artist of Thailand award
for his dedication and
RalphMoore’78released achievements in music in
Who
It Is You
Arefor theSa- that country.Healso serves
voy/Denon
label in March. as musicaladvisor to ThaiCompiled by
Clayton Doty "95
22 Berkleet o d a y
land’s KingBhumibol,who
is an avidjazz rausician.
James
J, Castaldi’66 is
bandandchoral[ director at
Woonsocket High School
in RhodeIsland. In 1992
his bandwasthe first place
Concert Bandat the Music
in the ParkFestival in Williamsburg, VA.
ErnieWatts"186has been
promotingmusi[c education
in high schools nationally
with sponsorship from
JVCMusicalIr~dustries.
Richard
Franke’89 performs in Hollywoodas a
solo pianist and with his
dance band.
Tenorsaxophonist,Staff
SergeantRichard
Giroux
"70
will retire from the U.S.
ArmyBandthi!s year after
20 years of service.
ColinBrown
’71 is a behavioral specialist and
record producer living in
Silver Spring, MD.
Randy
Klein’71 has been
performing frequently in
the NewYork area with
his bandthe Jazzheads,and
is the composerof the musical comedyI Don’t Do
ClubDates, playing at the
John HarmsCenter for the
Arts in Englewood,NJ.
Frank
Lasardo
’71 andhis
band Llama have been
opening for acts such as
Billy Preston, DaveMason,
Leslie West,Ric Derringer,
andthe Byrds.In addition,
Frank is the president of
Lost Island Productionsin
Coram, NY.
Manrat
Srikasanonda
’65
RolandVazquez
"72 is
currently living in New
Yorkand released his latest CD entitled Roland
Vazquez:Best of the L.A.
Jazz Ensembleon his own
RolandMusiclabel.
Saxophonist Tim Price
"73 is a featured columnist
in Saxophone Journal.
Amonghis many reviews
in the Juneissue, is a critique of Berklee professor
Andy McGhee’s
CD
CouldIt Be.
RonBergin’74 served as
festival directorfor the first
annual 1993 Chequamegon
Fine Arts Festival. Ron
lives in Cable, WI.
JoshPicano
’74 of Wakefield,
MA, was named
"Teacherof the Month"in
the Lynnpublic school system. Josh is also givingmusic clinics at the MusicPlace
in North Reading.
KimCascone
’75 has released his latest CD,In a
Gardenof Eden, on Silent
Records.
Summer
1994
chine, an interactive guide
to music, sound, and multimedia for the Macintosh.
The book includes a mixedmode CD-ROMwith software so the reader can get
hands-on experience at incorporating
music and
sound into multimedia
projects. The book is published by SYBEX.
Keyboardist and trumpeter Jim Cannon
’77 and
guitarist AndreaRicci-Cannon ’78 from Spring, TX,
have been performing at
schools as GoodVibrations
helping children learn critical thinking skills through
music. Andrea was also
named Berklee’s BARrepresentative of the year in
1992.
Classical
guitarist
MichaelCarenbauer
"77 is
currently serving as director of guitar studies at the
University of Arkansas at
Little Rock.
KenDarsh"77is living in
Pittsburgh, PA, and teaching guitar at Duquesne
University.
Trombonist
William
EmilGibson’77 is living in
Sioux Falls, SD, and is the
director of jazz ensembles
at Augustana College and
instructor of brass at Sioux
Falls College. He recently
directed the Augustana
College Jazz Band at the
Jazz One Upper Great
Plains Festival. Berkleefaculty member Greg Hopkins was a featured trumpet soloist.
Robert
Streitfield,Jr. ’77
of Portsmouth, RI, is chief
musician for the Navy
Band in Newport, RI, and
received the Navy Achievement medal.
Alex Vaughan
’77 is one
half of Atlantic Canada’s
best-known children’s music act, Audrey and Alex.
They recently received the
DavidMash’76 has pub- East Coast Music Award
for their first albumSmile
lished Multimedia
Jazz guitarist
Steve
Masakowski
’75 is based in
NewOrleans and recently
released What It Was for
the Blue Note label.
Nicholas
PatrickPuin"75
is an instrumental music
teacher at Maple Heights
City School in Maple
Heights,
OH. He arranged, played drums on,
and coproduced an album
for singer Dew Watson
which scored five number
one records on the independent record charts. He
is currently workingon his
master of music in composition.
Steven
Saulls"75,classical guitarist, concertizes
throughout Arizona.
MishaSegal "75 wrote
and produced the Randy
Crawford CD Don’t Say
It’s Over for Warner
Brothers. The CDwent to
#1 for several weekson the
new adult contemporary
chart.
dayneZanglein "75, a
Texas Tech University
professor of law, received
the Spencer A. Wells
Awardfor creative excellence in teaching from the
university in 1993.
Composer/arranger
GeneBohlmann
"76 has released a contemporaryjazz
CDtitled Aerial Display.
Guitarist JohnBurns"77
is living and playing professionally in Shelton, CT.
Summer
1994
CLASS;CONNECTIONS
Alumni Chapter
Presidents
New York
Steve Ward’87
MuMusic Int’l.
(212) 929-1161
Orlando
Stan Kubit ’71
Orlando Music
Teachers Inc.
(407) 352-9149
Chicago
Damon
Booth ’9i
ASCAP
(312) 481-1194
Nashville
Rich Adams’82
(615) 297-8967
Boston
Jeannie Deva’75
Voice Studio
(617) 536-4553
San Francisco
Gary Boggs’82
Guitar Studio
(415) 491-9409
Los Angeles
Leanne
Summers ’88
Vocal Studio
(818) 769-7260
The month of May was an active one for alumni as three different chapters held events on the
same day around the world. On
May22, Boston alumni attended
a brunch honoring singer/songwriters BruceCockburn’65 and
PattyLa[rkin’81 whoreceived Distinguished
Alumni Awards.
Former Boston Club President
JosephCardello’66 received the
Boston Alumni Club Award, and
RickScl~ettino ’84, editor of New
England Performer,
and A&R
representative
for Relativity
Records, was the guest speaker.
At the same time, on the West
Coast, Los Angeles alumni held a
"networking-schmooze" gatherir~g with cohosts, Los Angeles
Chapter President Leanne Summers’88 andPeterGordon
"78, director of the Berklee Center in
Los Angeles. Across the sea in
Tokyo, Chika 0kam0t0 ’87 was
hosting a networking social.
Orlando Chapter President
Stan Kubit"71 started the Mayactivities by hosting an alumnigettogether on the first of the month.
KathySheppard
"81 organized and
hosted the fourth annual BAR
Scholarship Fund Benefit Concert at Kenny’sCastaways in New
York, featuring four bands.
The WomenMusicians Coalition, comprising MarciaGuntzel
"84, MaggieGalloway"82, Pam
Quick"85, Lynne
Vadala"81, Gloria
Jasinski"78, andValerie Walton
"79, participated in a panel discussion at the IAJE conference in
Boston this January titled "Integrating Female Students into the
Jazz Classroom."
In preparing the 1995 Alumni
Directory, Harris Publishing
Companywill mail a questionnaire to all alumni in June. To
help makethis an effective networkingtool, please complete and
return your questionnaires as
soon as possible.
Sarah Bodge
Assistant Director
of Development
fi~r AlumniRelations
Berklee
today 23
CA. Musicians on the disc
include alumni Steve Hunt
"80 andRandy
Roos’78.
Steve Pemberton’78,
drummer, performed last
summer at Carnegie Hall
for a Judy Collins benefit.
Others on the bill included
Marvin Hamlisch, Skitch
Henderson, and the New
York Pops. He has also
played and recorded with
Grammy Award-winning
jazz pianist Peter Nero for
the past eight years.
Guitarist SteveVat ’79
wrote the score for the 20th
Century Fox film P.C.U.
(Politically Correct University). KurtSohel’78 was
the film’s musicconsultant.
Drummer Cindy BlackGuitaristMikeStern’77 releasedis whatitisforthe
Atlantic
man
’80 is signed to Muse
Jazzlabel. ThediscfeaturesMichael
Brecker,HarvieSwartz
Records
and recently did a
"70, JimBeard,DennisCl~ambers,
andWill Lee.
world tour with the Lenhie Kravitz band.
Ginny Fordham"80 and
andhave just released a secScottGordon
"78, a pia- SteveWilkes"80 are playond album titled
Song nist/arranger, released his ing frequently with their
Soup.
first CDAt Last, a collec- band dr. carrot throughout
DaveCashin’78 was vot- tion of great American Massachusetts.
ed best keyboardist in 1994 popular standards.
RobertSear~s
’80 is livby the Washington Blues
Saxophonist dan K0n0- ing in Baumain, Australia,
Society, and his group Fat pasek "78 traded fours with and is composing and doJames was voted best band, President Clinton in a Pra- ing sound design for 6Mof
andalso wonthe west coast gue nightclub last January. Australia
and 9Network
Guitarist Randy
Caldwell Corporation for national
regional finals in the Yamaha/TicketMaster
Sound- "79 has toured and record- TV spots.
check Music Showcase in
ed with vocalist Arthur
Steve Thompson
"80, a
September 1993.
Prysock and earned Gram- flutist living in Seattle, WA,
Vocalist/guitarist Chris my nominations
for "A has released his latest CD
Daniels’78 andhis band the Rockin’ Good Way" and entitled
My Romance on
Kings recently released
"This Guy’s in Love with Jazz Cats Records. Steve’s
their third album on the You," on Milestone
music has been featured on
Flying Fish label.
records. He recently pro- television, radio and in the
duced and composed four
film Citizen.
selections for the albumIn
RingoCheung
’81 of OnYour Own Backyard with
tario, CA, is the house
his group American Un- drummer at the Turning
derground.
Point night club in San
GreggGelb"79 is a saxo- Gabriel, CA.
phone instructor
at the
Keyboardist and vocalUniversity of North Caro- ist Aarontoo "81released a
lina at Chapel Hill. His fusion album tided koo-ow
Gregg Gelb Swing Band for the TLCRecords label.
has released its first CD.
Aaron recently made his
Michael Hayes’79 reoperatic debut as; "Zuniga"
cently released a self-titled
in Bizet’s opera Carmen
album through the Chase with the Bel Canto Opera
KevinMcCluskey
’82
Music Group in Glendale,
Companyin Los Angeles.
24
Berklee today
John Russo "81, a composer/producer,
is the
owner of Musicreations
studio in NewYork City.
He is also pursuing his master of music degree at New
York University.
Sande
Sharlat’81 (a.k.a.
Athena) recorded a self-titled album which she coproduced with fellow alum
EdFriedland
’79. In addition,
Sandealso performs in the
Bostonarea as a soloist and
with the band True Love.
DavidDeQuasie
’82 is living in Orlando, FL, and
teaches guitar and other
fretted instruments at Adrian Music Academy in
Oviedo. He also plays with
the band Calamity Jane
throughout central Florida.
donHerbst ’82, a film
composer, video editor,
and producer, lives in San
Francisco.
He composed
music for the PBSspecial
"Abraham Lincoln," the
PBSseries "Cookin’ at the
Academy," and the Disney
Channel’s "America’s National Parks." He also
wrote the score for the 1991
Best Short Documentary
Academy Award winner,
Deadly Deception.
Guitarist KevinMcCluskey ’82 recently won the
NewEngland Broadcasting
Award for iingle production. His Mumbo Jumbo
Productions is releasing
This Distant Light, a CD
of his folk material.
Composer Per-Erik dohansson’83 is living in
Hambden, CT. The internationally renowned Ars
Summer
1994
in Los Angeles.
BryanCroad’84 of Everett, MA,has opened Croad
Guitar & Bass Co.
DanielIndart’84 of Tarzana CA, owns Indart Music Productions.
Alan Jones"84 of Portland, OR, recently released
a CDtitled The Fensters
on Aria Records with his
quartet. They took first
Humberto
Ramirez’84
prize at the Belgium .Jazz
Competition.
Jazz trumpeterAndersBergcrantz"81 of Malmo,Sweden,
Humberto
Ramirez
’134, a album with BobStanton’83
will recordhis fourthCDin August
for Dragon
Records.
composerand arranger, re- producing.
leased the CD, Aspects, on
EddieHorst’85 of AtlanTropi-Jazz
Records in
ta scored five episodes for
Nova Trio recently perband recently released a 1993. His latest collabora- the television show"In the
formed his composition
self-titled CD.
tion is with Willie Colon Heat of the Night."
Introduction and Scherzo.
DaniloBuenconsejo
’84, on Hecho en Puerto Rico.
Gregorio
Froio’86 served
Violinist DavidKim"83of a recording artist and proMusic director and con- for two years as vice presiWatertown, MA,is acting
ducer from Chicago, was ductor BarryRocklin
’84! can dent of the classical music
concertmaster
for the
commissioned by the city
be heard frequently at Club school Centro Studi MusiWaltham Philharmonic
to produce the Earth Day Europe and the Roxy in
ca Sud, in Italy, and is now
Orchestra.
David also
’94 fundraising concert fea- Boston. Alumni in his or- living in Worcester, MA.
served as the violin soloist turing jazz artists Bobby chestra include Jim Pastore
Saxophonist
Steve
for the premiere of a work Enriquez and Ester Hana. ’66, DaveSass"87, BIryan Norton’86 performs in the
by Dan Cooperstein at the
Guitarist Kenny
Carr"84 Young’88, and faculty mem- Boston area with the avant
Charles River Museumlast
of Springfield, VAhas been ber Jackson
Schultz’76.
jazz group Debris which
spring.
touring with Ray Charles
JohnDonahoe,Jr. "85 features bassist Bob Ross
BenjaminSchachter’83 since 1986. Kennyappeared plays electric fiddle and "82, cornetist KeithHedger
toured Spain playing alto
on Ray’s album Just Be- saxophone, and has recent"91, and trumpeter Herb
saxophone with the Ger- tween Us.
ly joined Boston based
Robertson
"74.
ald Veasley band in 1993
EvynCharles’84 is a sing- band Boogaloo Swamis.
Tenor saxophonist Scott
and will tour with them er/songwriter performing The band is recording an Brubaker’87 of Austin, TX,
again this year. He has
been performing as a member of Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s hip-hop ensemble and
will be a featured soloist
and arranger for Tacuma’s
NEW¯ USED ¯ BUY ¯ SELL ¯ TRADE
forthcoming Sony Music
/N STOCK-SdmerMARK
VI and
CD.
BalancedActionin original lacquer.
BACH
RICO
BOBBYDUKOFF
CynthiaSinclair ’83 was
CONN
OMEGA BERG L&RSEN
selected for inclusion in the
KING
OTFOLINK OLIV]ERi
BUFFET BAR[
ARMSTRONG
next Sterling’s Who’s Who
YAMAHABEECHLERYanDOREN
Executive Edition.
MEYER LA ¥OZ
CLAUDELAKEY
ARTLEY BRILHARTMIRAPHONE
OvidAlexis ’84 recently
DeFORD LOREE
G EMEINHARDT
released a new album entiFOX
BUFA;CHERCABART
GEIZFdq EMERSONMITCHELLLURI
tled Calypso Flower with
SELMER HOLTON SCHREI]3ER
Professional and
his Rhapsody Jazz Band.
~vt,~s ALCASSKRUSPE
personalservice by
LeBLANCYET-1DNE ALEXANDER
Woodwind player and
EMILIO
LYONS
BENGE SCHILKE YANAGISAWA
vocalist LeRoy
Bach"84 and
Servingprofessionalmusicians,students, musicschoolsand universitiessince 1939.
guitarist EvanColeman
’89
are currently working with
their band Uptighty in Chicago. They have opened for
263
HUNTINGTON
AVE.,
BOSTON,
MA 02115
the Smashing Pumpkins
(NEXT TO SYMPHONYHALL) 617-266-4727
and Ziggy Marley. The
IMPROVE YOUR SAX LIFE
Summer
1994
Berklee
today 25
SPRING
BREAK
"9a, IN NASHVILLE
This March, a group of 50 student
songwriters continued the six-year-old
Berklee spring break tradition. Instead
of laying on the beaches of Canctln
with their peers from other colleges,
they opted to lay some groundwork
for their futures in the Nashville music
industry. Songwriting Professor Pat
Pattison was faculty sponsor and organizer of the trip, as he has been since
1988. The Nashville Record Label Division of the Warner Music Group was
the chief sponsor of the trek, though
sponsorship for some events also came
from NARAS, BMI, ASCAP, Ronnie
Milsap Publishing, and EMI.
After a 16-hour bus ride, the group
stretched out and immersed themselves
in the ambianceof the MusicCity, beginning with local nightspots. The nocturnal excursions gave the Nashvilie
sojourners a chance to hear and meet
dozens of successful songwriters and
performers--many
alumni among
them--and were an important component of the trip. One highlight was a
trip to Windowson the Cumberland,
where alumnae Gillian Welch’92, (who
has just signed a deal with the Almo
Irving publishing firm) KamiLyle ’92,
EveGoodman
’89, and LynnBiddick’80
played their original music.
During the daytime there were clinics, studio tours, seminars, and panel
discussions led by the songwriters, engineers, publishers, and entertainment
lawyers of the Nashville industry elite.
Pete Fisher, publishing director of
WarnerSongs, organized many events,
ranging from a tour of WarnerSongsto
a Nashville Chamber of Commerceinformational session detailing the reali-
Hit songwriterJohnImsgavea clinic
andsangstudents
a few of his songs.
26
Berklee today
PeteFisher(left), publishing
director
WarnerSongs,
receivestheBerkleeRecognitionawardfromPat Pattisen.
ties of day-to-daylife in the MusicCity.
High points of the week were: clinics given by hit songwriters Janis Ian,
John Ires, Carl Jackson, Fred Knobloch and Tim Mensy; alumni panels on
publishing; and tours of the Ronnie
Milsap and Fireside studios. Throughout, students and alumni were able to
quiz clinicians and panelists at length
to determine what the Nashville music
scene has to offer a Berklee graduate.
One of the most exciting events of
the week--the fifth annual Berklee
Alumni Showcase--took place at the
Bluebird Care. Organized by the Nashville BARAssociation President, Rich
Adams"82, alumni previously selected
by taped audition presented a series of
in-the-round performances for an SRO
audience. Writers included David Rawlings ’88, HunterMoore
’77, LeeSatterfield "82, JohnMock"80, AaronHsuFlanders"88, DavidThomas
"83, Gary
Culley’88, LynetteAsheim
’9,2, Betsy
Jackson
Sheridan’84, Ilene Airman
’92,
and DebbieSalvucci "89. Afterward,
MikeMorris’82 and his band Mto the
3rd Power hosted an alumni jam session. Sitting in wereNancyT. I~lichaels
’83, CamilleSchmidt
"84, DanBaggot
"82,
AlanPowell’89, JazzydoeTurley"81,
and Rich Adams.
Between performances Pat Pattison
presented Pete Fisher the Berklee Recognition Awardfor advancing careers
in music and Lee Satterfield the Distinguished Alumni Award.
Too soon the week was over and
the group saddled up for the trek back
to Boston. Manyexpressed hopes of
movingto Nashville after graduation.
earned his master’s degree
in art, and owns the Corn
Brewrecord label.
Woodwind player Dr.
Tamas
G.K. Marius"87 is an
associate professor at the
University of Central Florida where he received his
doctoral degree in education. He also teaches sound
recording at Orlando’s Valencia CommunityCollege.
JohnChristopherMcCaffrey ’87 of Coconut Creek,
FL played drums for 10
years with the underground Drag Queens and
has now assembled the Velvet Flesh Peddlers for his
own Twin Records label.
DennisMitcheltree ’87
and his quartet have been
playing in NewYork City
clubs, and performed at the
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall this May.
DavidRadin’87, a mastering engineer at Precision
Mastering, recently worked
with Bob Dylan, Prince,
and others.
Fritz Renold’87, an alto
saxophone player from
Schonenwerd, Switzerland,
has released two albums on
EPMRecords in Paris with
the Bostonian Friends. He
has also produced discs for
the Herb Pomeroy(’52)
Quartet and the Christian
Jacob Trio. In May, Fritz
recorded his latest album
with Berklee alumni Mark
S0skin’74 on piano and Hatvie Swartz’70 on bass.
KathieTwa"87is currently working on Sundown
recording artist and president Gilbert Yslas’ next album and her own keyboard-oriented solo album.
Israeli vocalist Varda
Zamir"87 released her first
CDentitled Freein ’93, featuring songs cowritten by
Argentine composer Sergio
Barcala. With her band Shirou, she represented Israel
at the Eurovision Contest
in Ireland.
Summer
1994
BERKLEEGRAMMY
AND BMAWINNERS
Locally and nationally, a num- tal Solo, and Best Jazz Instrumenber of Berklee alumni received tal Performance, Individual or
prestigious musicawardsthis win- Groupcategories. Quincy
Jones
’51
ter and spring. At the Grammy wonthe Best Large Jazz EnsemAwardspresentation this Febru- ble Performance award for the
ary, BruceHornsby
’74 andBran- Miles and Quincy Live at Monford Marsalis’81 wonBest Pop treux album.
Instrumental Performancehonors
Aerosmith swept the Boston
for "Barcelona Mona." Aero- Music Awardsin April with wins
smith, featuring J0ey Kramer
’71 in seven categories. AimeeMann
and BradWhifford’71, took the ’80 was namedBest FemaleVocalBest Rock Performanceby a Duo ist andMelissa
Ferrick"90topped
or Groupwith Vocal category for the competition for Best Folk/
the song "Livin’ on the Edge." AcousticVocalist. AssociateProFrank Zappa’s "Sofa," featuring fessor of Guitar Garrison
Fewell
SteveVat"79 and mixedby Asso- ’77 wonthe Best Jazz Albumon
ciate Professor Carl Beatty,was an Indie Labelcategoryfor his denamed Best Rock Instrumental
but disc A Blue DeeperThan the
Performance.Joe Henderson’sal- Blue. The group BimSkala Bim,
bumSo Near, So Far (Musingsfor with guitarist JimJones"83, took
Miles)featuringJohnSc0field’73, two awards for Best Club Band,
wonin the Best Jazz Instrumen- and Best Ska Band.
Bobby
Borg’88 of Princeton, NJ,
was formerly drummerwith Atlantic recording artists Beggars &
Thieves. His newband Left for Dead
toured the U.S. with Warrant and
Saigon Kick.
TracyChisholm
’88 engineeredthe
self-titled debut albumof the band
Truck Stop Love.
KennyCooke"88 lives in Washington, D.C., andis lead singer for the
band Liquid Rhythm.
JaredRobinson
"88 of Bermudais
musicspecialist at several elementary
schools and performsfrequently with
his gospel group Psalms.
KelleyBolduc
"90
Summer
1994
Nashville songwriter, "guitarist,
and vocalist GaryCulley’89 recently
released Flight of Dreamswith the
groupCulley & Elliott.
Guitarist Joy Basu’90 is teaching
and performing throughout southern California, whileseekinga record
deal for his instrumentalmusic.
TrumpeterKelleyBolduc
’90 performed with Machel Montano and
Xtactic at the TrinidadCarnival ’94
and will be touring the Caribbean
andU.S. late in 1994.
TodHilton"90 is coownerof Great
Plains Recording Companyin Des
Moines,IA.
KeithDavid
Martinelli’90is living
in Allston, MAand playing with his
band MedicinePipe. Theband’s latest CDis titledCrucifixation.
Jorge"Lobito"Martinez’90, who
studied at Berklee on a Fulbright
Scholarship, wasguest pianist in a
concert performanceat the Fulbright
Association’s 16th AnnualBanquet
in Washington,D.C.
TonuNaissoo
"90, a pianist/composer, and saxophonistDaniel Walsh
"85 performedat the Tallinn International Jazz Festival in Estonia.
Mark
Nemk0ff
’90 recently had his
musicfeatured in the CBStelecast of
the 1994 Winter Olympics.Markhas
Nadine’s
will give
Youthe Best
PriceandService.
30-dayMoney
BackGuarantee!
If you’re
notsatisfied
withyour
purchase
send
it backwiththe
originalbox,packing
materials
and
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for a full refund
orcredit.
in finance/marketing.
Troy Richardson’90, a
bassist, recently joined
Stanton Park Records/Helter Skelter recordingartists,
Voodoo Dolls.
Matthew
Stone’90 vocalist, andDamirPrcic’93keyboardist,
are playing
around the New England
area with their band Random House of Soul.
Jeff Thacher’90 is the
vocal
percussionist for the
GuitaristJoyBasu
"90
New York City-based
a
cappella group Rockapella. They toured for eight
also written for the television shows "Sunshine Cui- months and have a new CD
sine" on PBS, "Death By entitled Vocobeat on Life
Records of Japan, and are
Chocolate" and "Burger
Meisters" on the Learning featured on the "Carmen
Channel, and the theme San Diego" soundtrack.
Ary (Rico) Toto’90 commusic for the Hometown
poser,
is working with his
TV Network.
HiroeNomura
’90 is cur- band Moundjahka, comrently living in Hollywood bining Asian, European,
American, and African
working as an entertainstyles of music.
ment industry business
LisaVonesch
’90, a bass
consultant and owns Live
player,
has
backed
up SpenEntertainment.
Colin 0’Dwyer ’90 and cer Davis, The Coasters,
Steve Spungin’90 of Ani- The Drifters, The Platters,
and others with her band.
mal World performed at
Sheis also a substitute bassthe 1993 International
Folk/Jazz festival in the ist at Walt Disney World
AzoresIslands off the coast in Orlando, FL.
MarkLiberty"91recently
of Portugal.
did
engineering on Stan
Deborah
Phillips "90 of
Strickland’s
latest album
Whitney Point, NYis asAscension.
sistant project managerfor
G.P. Snlser "91 is comInternational Service Syspleting a master’s degree in
tem and will be studying
composition at New Enentertainment law this fall
after receiving her M.B.A. gland Conservatory.
JazzvocalistElizabethDeters’92 hasbeenperforming
and
recordingunderthe name
"Liz Forester"in Minnesota.
Stephen
Cha![Igaris
’92 is
currently gigging around
New England with his
band Gingerbutkis.
The
band also includes saxophonist TonyEdelbute
’91.
AlexClements
’92 is enrolled in a master’s degree
program in jazz perfor-
mance at McGill University in Montreal. This summer his group, the Jazz
Vigilantes, will be playing
at the EdmontonJazz Festival in Canada, and the
MontreuxJazz Festival and
Festa NewOrleans/Ascona in Switzerland.
Berklee
Alumni Student Referral
Help give an interested, deserving young musician
more information on Berklee by filling out this form
and sending it to the address below.
Name
Address
City
State
ZIP
Instrument
Your Name
Send the completed form to:
Berklee College of Music
Office of Admissions
1140 Boylston Street
Boston, MA02215-3693
ETOD0694
ColinO’Dwyer
’90 (left) andSteveSpungin
’90
28
Berkleet o d a y
Summer
1994
JOURNEY
FROMRECIFE
Listeningto Nando
Lauria’s
(’87) a secondcompilationwasreleased,
Billboard-charting, debut album Naradaoffered him his ownconPoints of View,released on Nara- tract. Butits terms werenot close
da Records, is like reaching the to being acceptable to Nando.
beachin the midst of a heat wave.
"In the draft contract, Narada
Themelodiesare cool, the rhythms threwin all kinds of absurdities,"
refreshing, andthe vocals are like he says. "It seemsthey wantedmy
the spray of an ocean mist on an soul, myhouse, my wife. After
Augustafternoon. Points is a true reading the contract, I said I was
tropical delight containing every goingto get out of music."
elementof Lauria’s native Brazil.
But Lauria persisted, pouring
Lauria has been a regular on over bookson the music business
the Boston jazz club circuit for and contracts in Berklee’s Career
manyyears, and wasinitially in- ResourceCenter. He scrutinized
troduced to wider audiences by every paragraphin his contract,
Pat Metheny.It was the wordless and after a year of personallynevocals that drewLauria and Meth- gotiating with Naradalawyers, he
enytogether. Lauria, noticing that signed. His efforts paid off, LauMethenyused vocals similar to his ria’s five-recorddeal includessome
ownstyle on the albumsFirst Cir- things he knowsare not found in
cle and Letter from Home,sent a other Naradaartists’ contracts.
tape to Metheny,and received an
Somethingthat contributes to
instant request for a second re- the freshness of Nando’salbumis
corded sampleof his singing. Af- the rhythms. Drawing on more
ter complying,he received a call than 350 rhythms learned in his
from Methenyand soon found the youthin the Braziliancoastal city
guitarist in his living roomcon- of Recife, Lauria composed
a hum-
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ductinga personalaudition. Meth- ber of the tunes on his albumwith
eny offered Lauriathe slot vacat- rhythms he feels will be newto
ed by Pedro Asnar, and, after two American listeners.
His song
rehearsals, the band hit the road "Northeast Tide" is built on a
for a short tour.
rhythmcalled a ciranda,imitative
Methenybassist Steve Rodby of the soundsof sea waves.
later introducedLauria to an A&R "By the response myrecord is
person at Narada. Nandowas in- getting, I think that Americais
vited to contribute someoriginal ready for the rhythmsof Brazil."
tracks to a compilationdisc. After
--Allen Bush"89
Summer
1994
~{~: [VISA.~e~C.%(~D.i~.rCaOdVee
~~ate#
SOUND
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Weare yourcomplete
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Contact: LeeWalkowich
Class of’81
PeterWettre’92
Drummer Marcelo Contento’92 released his latest
CD titled
Magic Touch.
Personnel on the new disc
includes
saxophonist
George
Garzone
’72.
Jazz vocalist Elizabeth
Deters’92 is living in Wayzata, MN,and recently de-
FAX(617) 266-1517
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buted her album under her
professional identity "Liz
Forester." Liz also teaches
voice at MusicTech in Minneapolis, MN.
JasonEckardt’92
is playing guitar for ensemble21,
a contemporary music ensemble in NewYork.
EstebanMolina ’92 and
Alex Alevar’92and their
band Tinku released a
CD Cuyabeno,
and
toured Equador in
February.
ALUMNOTESINFORMATION
FORM
Full Name
Address
State_
City
ZIP_
Home Phone #
Q This is a new address.
Your Internet address:
Last year you attended Berklee
Did you receive a
Q Degree
Q Diploma?
Professional Identity
Professional
Address__
State
City
ZIP
Work Phone #
Your title/role
Please give details of newsworthyperformances, recordings, music projects, awards, recognitions, or other
events you would like us to knowabout (please print or type, use a separate sheet if necessary):
Q Send me more information on the Berklee Alumni Representative program.
~ Send me more information on. becoming a Berklee Career Network advisor.
Pleasesendthis form,alongwithanypublicity,clippings,photos,CDs,or itemsof interest to:
Berkleetoday,BerkleeCollegeof Music,1140BoylstonStreet, Boston,MA
02215-3693.
Internet address:[email protected]
30
8erklee today
Summer
1994
THINKABOUT
THEBARPROGRAM
Berklee AlumniRepresentatives (BAR)visit dozens of high schools, conferences, and college fairs
each year, talking about their Berklee experiences
and answering questions about the college from
talented young musicians.
If you are interested in sharing your time and
talent to help us reach the next generation of music
industry leaders, call us at (800) 421-0084, or mark
the BARinfo box in the alum notes form on page
30. Wewill send you more information on the
BARprogram along with an application. Join us.
PianistCyrus
Chestnut’s
(’85) CDRevelation
is onAtlantic.
playing fiddle and recording with country and jazz
singer/songwriter Freddy
Powers.
Drummer and vocalist
Blake Windal "92 toured
Panama with San Diegobased band the Mar Dells.
He works with keyboardist/vocalist Scarlett
Key,,;’92.
Torah Majlesi ’93, a
drummer, is performing
and doing recording work
in Istanbul, Turkey.
JustinPetty"93 was given the Youth Role Model
of the Virgin Islands, 1993
award for his outstanding
achievements in music by
the University of the Virgin Islands. Justin is also
completing graduate studles at Boston University in
communications.
DebyPasternak"92 was a debut CD A Touch from
top-10 finalist in Boston’s Up Above.
Acoustic
Underground
Benjamin
Wilborn’92 is
Competition held at the living in Reno, NV, and
Berklee Performance Center in February.
RuthieRistich ’92 orgaBret Willmott’s
nized "The Wall of Respect
CompleteBook of Harmony,
for Women," a mural in
Somerville, MA. She was
Theory & Voicing
joined in the dedication by
fellow Berklee alumni and
Bret Willmottis a highly acclaimedprofessor at
faculty RobertaRadley’75,
Berklee College of Musicand a noted educator
GayeTolan"82, Mill Bermeand performer worldwide. He has been a facjo "89, Kris Adams
’91, and
ulty memberof the college for more than 18
years and a performing guitarist for over 25
EdFriedland"79. Themural
years. Mr. Willmott’s musical history would
was painted by Be Allen.
include studies and performance with Pat
CarlosRuiz’92, a drumMetheny, Gary Burton, Mick Goodrick, Mike
mer, completed a recording
Stern, Bill Frisell, Wolfgang
Muthspiel,Jeff Berwith guitarist/poet
Greg
lin, and Steve Smith,as well a currently appearGlazner which was broading on CDsthat include notables BobMosesand
cast on national radio.
MikeStern. Bret is also the creator and primary
ComposerPatrick Anthoteacher of twopopular coursesoffered at Berklee
ny Waiters ’92 took second
College dealing with harmonic and rhythmic
place in the original comdevelopmenton the guitar. (95112)Book$19.95.
position division of the
This text is a combination
of harmony/theory/voicing
with emphasis
placedon "voice
1994 Toronto Music Festileading." Harmonicmotionand understandingare key elementsfor "comping"in
val for his orchestral work
today’sjazz andpopidioms.Through
knowledge
andlistening, studentswill discover
and compose
newvoicings and sounds.
The Mist of November.
Thistext’s primaryfocuswill be that of presentingandexamining
four-notevoicings
Peter Wettre’92 a saxoonthe middlefour strings of the guitar. Students
will learnto recognize
eachnote’s
phonist living in Oslo, rerelationto the chordas well as eachnoteslinear motionto thenextchord.Thisbook
is completein itself with over 240pagesandis highly recommended
to anyone
who
cently toured Norway and
wants
to
learn
harmony,
theory,
and
voicing.
performed at the K6nigsberg Jazz Festival. Peter was
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Summer
1994
Berklee
today 31
CODA
co-da
n [It, lit., tail, fr. L caudal(ca. 1753)
Charles
~
Combs
invited several experts to present their views on the topic.
Berklee faculty members and administrators Walter
Harp, Paul Smith, and Robert Myers helped to arrange
the symposium. The keynote speakers were Sandra E.
Elman, associate director of the Commissionon Institutions of Higher Education; Ernest A. Lynton, senior
associate at the NewEngland Resource Center for Higher Education; and Donna Plasket, of Harvard’s Project
Zero. A total of 50 professors and administrators from 15
professionai colleges of various disciplines participated
in the symposium.
The speakers raised important issues to consider as we
explore ways to integrate general education with the
academic lives of our students. Dr. Plasket noted that
since the ideas and values of professional mentors play a
strong role in shaping students’ worldviews, the faculty
of the major are often very influential in general education thoughit maynot be their formal responsibility.
Dr. Elman stressed developing curricula unique to
our ownstudents’ needs, since specialized colleges have
an advantage in knowing what students require to prepare them to be successful professionals in the context of
contemporary society. Dr. Lynton
suggested that because students in
specialized colleges major in a single discipline, general education
could be conceived as an "extended major," an array of courses
which inform the specialty from a
variety of liberal arts perspectives.
The most provocative idea of the
symposium was that general education is more than a small liberal
arts curriculum embeddedin a large
professional course of study. Rather, it is a way of connecting the
students’ professional study to the
worldof ideas and values. Thus, it
is not solely the responsibility of
the liberal arts faculty, but a shared
responsibility of faculty across the
Charles Combs:"Generaleducation college. It is integral to the college
shouldprovidea wayfor studentsto experience, not loosely appended
perceive connectionsbetweentheir to it. Hence,it is like the tail of the
academicworkand
professionalOives." bird which enables it to soar.
~1
oda comes from the Latin word for tail--something
which may or may not have much of a function. A
monkey’s prehensile tail is a handy appendage; a dog’s
tail is mainly an indicator of mood;but a bird’s tail, in
additionto being attractive, is essential for flight, providing stability, direction, and balance.
Is general education at Berklee a kind of institutional
coda? Is it a decorative afterthought, or is it integral to
the mission of the college, providing our students with a
sense of direction; with the social, cultural, and intellectual context of their music; and an informed worldview
which mayinfluence their careers and artistic decisions?
These are a few concerns I’ve been dealing with during my past four years at Berklee. Previously, I was
director of theater at another college for 12 years. There I
served as an advocatefor the arts in a liberal arts setting.
Now,in a 180-degree turn, I find myself advocating the
importanceof the liberal arts in an arts college. WhereI
previously arguedfor the necessity of aesthetic literacy, I
now espouse the literacies engendered by immersion in
the liberal arts. Historically, in manycolleges’ curricula,
general education consisted of introductory, foundational "service" courses whichstudents hastened to "get out of the way." But
general education, which embodies an
institution’s conception of an "educated person," includes more than a study
of the liberal arts alone. Its desired outcome is that students also develop
thinking skills, integrative competencies, and intellectual perspectives.
Berklee recently hosted a regional
symposiumentitled, "General Education in the Professional College Curriculum." Wewere interested in how
other specialized institutions handle the
size, configuration, and function of
their general education programs, and
Charles Combschairs Berklee’s General Education Department, is executive V.P. of the NewE, ngland Theatre
Conference, and founding editor of the
NewEngland Theatre Journal.
32 Berklee t o d a y
Summer
1994
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