summer 1991 a forum for contemporary music and musicians 16

Summer 1991

A Forum for Contemporary Music and Musicians

16 Abraham Laboriel ’72 on the Rewarding

Journey to First Bass

26 Special Extended Alumni Section

Copyright 1991 Kawai America Corp.

|Whether the imprint left upon listeners is classical, jazz or rock and roll, one can

alwa~ys be sure the action will feel the same when the piano is a Kawai.

Because every piano has been meticulously tested by our craftsmen, and improved

by years of research and development. Resulting in extremely consistent feel and

concert quality tone. From note to note, from piano to piano.

That’s why so many concert pianists, competitions and music schools request

us. They know what to expect. And in a world made up of incredibly sensitive

t~ingertips, that’s the highest compliment there is.~Wlg~The Master Builder

SUMMER o 1991

VOLUME ̄ III

NUMBER ¯ 1

Contents

ON THE COVER: BassistAbraham Laboriel ’72 re-calls high points of his ca-reer, starting on page 16.Photo by David Bassett.

LEAD SHEET by Dean of Faculty Warrick L. Carter ......... 2

BERKLEE BEATHonors for Ahmet Ertegun, A1Jarreau, and Phil Collins, Uchida FoundationPresents Major Gift, Gearing Up for Summer, and Berklee CD: Part III. .3

11

ABRAHAM LABORIEL’72: HIGH STYLE ON THE LOW END by Andrew TaylorFrom Lee Ritenour to Henry Mancini to Michael McDonald, bassist AbrahamLaboriel provides a firm foundation with a warm, personal style ..... 16

THE CRISIS OF SILENCE IN OUR SCHOOLS by President Lee Eliot BerkThe continuing de-emphasis of music education in American public schools isunfair to our children and unwise for our society .......... 21

RHYTHM IN MELODY WRITING by Jack PerriconeAn approach to songwriting from a rhythmic perspective can bring some excitingdiscoveries to your music ................ 24

ALUM NOTESA special extended section of news, quotes, and recordings of note ..... 26

SHOP TALKReports on NAMM, IAJE, and the National Black Music Caucus ..... 38

CODA: A LIFE IN MUSIC by Ahmet ErtegunIn these excerpts from his 1991 Commencement address, Atlantic Records’ founderand co-chairman describes his climb to success and his view from the top. . 40

BERKLEE HOSTS MUSIC SYNTHESIS SYMPOSIUMMoog, Pearlman, Kurzweil, and Coster: Three major innovators of synthesis andone major player convened on campus for an unprecedented meeting of minds.

FACULTY PROFILE: TED PEASE ’66 GOES BACK TO THE BOARDSAfter 25 years at Berklee and six years as a division chairman, composer Ted Peaseis moving back to the classroom as a full-time professor ........ 9

Berklee t o dA Publication of the Office of Oevelopment

DirectorJohn Oollins

Managing EditorAndrew Taylor

Feature EditorsAlma Berk

Chief Public Affairs OfficerCollege News and Alumni Features

Lawrence McClellan, Jr.Chairman, Professional Education Division

Music Education and General Education Features

Larry Monroe ’70Chairman, Professional Performance Division

Performance Features

Ted Pease ’66Distinguished Professor, Professional Writing Division

Composition Features

Donald PuluseChairman, Music Technology Division

Music Technology Features

Production ConsultantJudith Lucas, Director of Publications

Copy EditorStephen Melisi

Coordinator of Alumni RelationsCarrie Semanco ’86

Assistant to the Office of DevellopmentChika Okamoto ’87

As the alumni-oriented music magazine of BerkleeCollege of Music, Berklee today is dedicated to informing,enriching, and serving the extended Berklee community.By sharing information of benefit to alumni about collegematters, music industry events, alumni activities and ac-complishments, and musical topics of interest, Berkleetoday serves as both a valuable forum for our familythroughout the world and an important source of com-mentary in contemporary music.

Berklee today (ISSN 1052-3839) is published three timesa year by the Berklee College of Music Office of Develop-ment. All contents © 1991 by Berklee College of Music.Address changes, press releases, letters to the editor, andadvertising inquiries should be addressed to Berklee to-day, Berklee College of Music, 1140 Boylston Street,Boston, MA 02215, (617) 266-1400, extension 438. Alumniare invited to mail activities materials suitable for featurecoverage to the chief public affairs officer; or Alma Berkcan be reached at extension 236. Submissions accepted.

LEAD SHEET

To the Year 2000Dean of Faculty Warrick L. Carter

~ mong Berklee’s most important strengths, and theones that we feel will keep the college most attractive

to prospective students, are our curriculum, faculty, andalumni.

In previous editions of Berklee today, President Berk andDean Burton have each written about this important trio.As in the past, our curriculum continues to keep pace withthe diversity of commercial music development. Jazz, pop,rock, soul, rhythm and blues, and other styles all find theirway into the curriculum. These blend with traditional mu-sic study and training in music technology to provide aneducational experience unique to Berklee.

To keep pace with this ever-evolving curriculum, facul-ty are constantly striving to stay current with their disci-plines. Through active work in the field as music profes-sionals and through attendance at industry and educationalseminars and events, faculty are encouraged to expand theirknowledge and to pass on that knowledge in the classroom.

Additionally, the work of alumni through the structuredBAR program and the many voluntary non-structuredrecruitment efforts have helped the college maintain itspositive student enrollment.

That enrollment continues to be extremely diverse. Fortypercent of our first-year class are transfer students fromother colleges. Almost 30 percent are international stu-dents. This breadth of age and experience, musical back-ground, and geographic origin has enriched the Berkleecommunity as it has helped ameliorate some of the enroll-ment difficulties of colleges with narrower constituencies.

My crystal ball is no clearer than anyone else’s. Conse-quently, I cannot predict what new technologies, styles ofmusic, or pedagogical approaches will be appropriate forthe year 2000. I do predict, however, that Berklee willcontinue to be on the cutting edge of contemporary edu-cation in music. This prediction is based on the stronghistory of our curriculum, faculty, and alumni, as well asour past ability to adjust to the needs of our students, ourmusic industry, and our role as an educational institution.

As we look to "Berklee 2000," we must build on thecurrent power of the trio of curriculum, faculty, and alumni.Our future success will be tied to the quality of the Berldeeteaching/learning experience, to our ability to keep currentwith musical developments, and to the continued involve-ment of our alumni in recruitment and image building. Ourfuture is bright and can be even brighter with the equalsuccess of these factors.

2 Berklee today Summer 1991

Berklee b e a t

News of notefrom abouttown anda~~ound theworld

Honorary doctor of musicdegree recipients (left toright) Ahmet Ertegun, AIJarreau, and Phil Collins.

Summer 1991

ERTEGUN, COLLINS,JARREALI HONORED

Berklee honored threemajor industry figures dur-ing the college’s 1991 Com-mencement ceremonies thisMay, as President Lee EliotBerk conferred honorarydoctor of music degreesupon Phil Collins, A1 Jar-reau, and Atlantic Recordsfounder and co-chairmanAhmet Ertegun.

"The tradition of thehonorary doctoral degree isa long and impressive one,"said President Berk at theceremony. "It was estab-lished to recognize thosewho have earned the over-whelming respect of their

peers for outstanding pro-fessional achievement andthe benefiting of humanityas a result of their talent andenergies."

Phil Collins first emergedas a vital force in popularmusic as drummer and vo-calist for the British pro-gressive rock band Genesisin 1970. The group’s legacyof chart-topping albums andsingles provided Collins alaunching ground for hissolo career in 1981. His in-ternational hit "In the AirTonight" established him asa solo performer almostovernight.

Over the past 10 years ofhis solo efforts, Collins hasreleased a string of hit sin-gles, including "Another

Day in Paradise," whichearned him his seventhGrammy for"Record of theYear" at this year’s Gram-my ceremony. Today, Col-lins is recognized as one ofthe music industry’s topstars. His recent release ButSeriously held the numberone album position in 22countries simultaneously.His eight-month 1990 worldtour took him across fourcontinents to an audience oftwo million. And his solorecords have collectivelysold in excess of 38 millioncopies.

Through his synthesis ofelements of contemporaryjazz, pop, and dance music,AiJarreau has carved himselfa unique niche in the musicindustry, and earned wide-spread critical acclaim. Thesinger released his first al-bum, We Got By, to ravereviews in 1975, kicking offa spectacular career whichhas netted him platinum al-bum sales, four Grammyawards, and numerous in-ternational awards.

Jarreau’s stream of hitsingles includes such classicsas "We’re in This Love To-gether," "After All," "Rag-ing Waters," and "SoGood." Jarreau’s eleventhand latest album, Heart’sHorizon, includes the song"Killer Love," a Jarreau/Henry Mancini collabora-tion composed for the filmSkin Deep.continued on next page

Berklee today 3

For more than four de-cades, Ahmet Ertegun andAtlantic Records have madepop music history, bringingto international audiencessuch groundbreaking artistsas Ray Charles, Phil Collins,Aretha Franklin, John Col-trane, Bette Midler, Cream,Led Zeppelin, Stevie Nicks,INXS, and dozens more.

Ertegun also has the dis-tinction of being the long-est-standing record labelfounder still at the helm ofhis company. As principalspeaker at the ceremony, heoffered his experiences andinsights to the graduatingclass of 500 students (seepage 40 for excerpts fromhis remarks).

"Through almost 45years in the music industry,Ahmet Ertegun has provenhimself to be both the con-summate music business-man and the ultimate musicfan," said President Berk inhis introduction. He wenton to recognize Ertegun for"his outstanding dedicationto musical excellence, hisunending support for tal-ented musicians, and for the

Phil Collins joins students on stage during the 1991 Commencement Concert.

indelible mark he has madeon our music and our lives."

The evening before theCommencement ceremony,the three honorees, alongwith a full house of Berkleeseniors, family, faculty, staff,and friertds, enjoyed a spec-tacular student concert in theBerklee Performance Cen-ter. Phil Collins joined thefestivities by taking the stageto perform a moving rendi-

tion of his song of home-lessness, "Another Day inParadise."

All of the honorees wereenthusiastic in their praiseof the event.

"I never enjoyed a showas much as I enjoyed theshow last night," said Ah-met Ertegun. "So much tal-ent, so well produced, somany really soulful singers,the band was fabulous. Itwas just a thrill to be there."

Ertegun, Jarreau, andCollins seemed equallypleased with their recogni-tion at the 1991 Com-mencement event.

"I am tremendously

honored to accept this," saidCollins. "This means to methat someone out there hasbeen listening, that someonefought through the haze ofpop stardom and all thatgoes with it and saw a seri-ous musician trying to writebetter songs and make bet-ter records."

"To be recognized withapplause or pennies in yourhat is quite special," saidJarreau in accepting hishonor. "To be recognizedfor your work by Berklee,which has prepared all ofthese incredible profession-als year after year after year,goes way beyond that."

Above: AI Jarreau bows to the crowd at the Berk-lee Performance Center. Right: Ahmet Ertegunspeaks with student performers inthe green room,


GEARING UPFOR SUMMER

A potent combination ofeducational and recreation-al events will heat up theBerklee campus this summeras alumni, faculty, and othermusic industry leaders cometogether.

Alumni Weekend ’91 andthe BAR Rap-Up are set forAugust 17 and 18 (see page35). In addition, four eventsin the college’s "SummerProfessional Program" se-ries will offer active musicprofessionals and music ed-ucators the chance to dis-cuss and explore importantaspects of their fields.

This year’s AlumniWeekend is sure to be bothrevolutionary and evolu-tionary. Events and activitieswill provide a perfect back-drop for meeting old friends,

making new friends, andnetworking with other ac-tive music professionals.

On August 12 through16, music educators willdiscover the future of theirdiscipline with a workshopon "Music Technology Ap-plications for the Music Ed-ucator." The course of study

will include "The Synthe-sizer as an Ensemble Instru-ment," "Using MIDI In-struments in MusicComposition and Produc-tion," and "Studio Vision/

Integrated Music Software."Classes will provide amplehands-on time.

The Professional Perfor-mance Division will host the"Jazz Improvisation Work-shop" on August 14 through17. This workshop will pro-vide students, teachers, andprofessionals with an inten-sive performance-centeredexperience in Berklee’scontemporary approach toimprovisation. Throughlectures, demonstrations,and ensembles, participantswill discuss techniques, the-oretical concepts, practiceroutines, and stylistic appli-cations related to the art andcraft of improvisation.

On August 15 through17, the Music TechnologyDivision will host a "Sym-posium on Digital AudioWorkstations." This na-tional forum will address thebooming growth and po-

tential of the computerworkstation as a composi-tion and production tool.Hands-on demonstrationswill present leading work-station configurations.

Also on August 15through 17, the Profession-al Writing Division will hostthe "Jazz Writing Confer-ence," a three-day series ofpresentations, discussions,and performances that willexplore the diverse writingtechniques found in con-temporary jazz.

For more information onthese educational programs,contact the Summer Profes-sional Programs office atBerklee, 1140 BoylstonStreet, Boston, MA 02215.Or, call the office at (617)266-1400, extension 417. Formore information onAlumni Weekend ’91, callCarrie Semanco at (617) 266-1400, extension 479.

VISITING ARTISTS BRING THE INDUSTRY TO BERKLEEA wealth of music professionals

shared insights and experie~Lces withstudents over the past year throughBerklee’s busy Visiting Artist Series.In the series, artists visit campus forone or several days, offering clinics,master classes, and concerts.

Renowned keyboardist TomCoster rounded out his semester asBerklee’s artist-in-resi-dence with a spectacularevening concert in theBerklee PerformanceCenter. His semester-long residency providedextensive student accessto a highly regarded pro-fessional.

Former faculty mem-ber Pat Metheny visitedthe Berklee campus forseveral days, and packedthe Performance Centerfor his general clinic. Af-ter visiting several class-rooms and leading amaster class, he headlined

an evening concert with Dean ofCurriculum Gary Burton ’62 and astudent ensemble.

The Grammy-winning DanishRadio Big Band also performed oncampus for their anticipated Bostondebut. The visit served as a home-coming for band members MichaelHove ’74 and Nikolaj Bentzon ’86.

Pat Metheny performs with students (Victor Merlo shown),~;apping off his major residency in the Visiting Artist program.

Composer, scholar, and authorGunther Schuller shared his per-spective on composition and musichistory with students in March. Stu-dents were especially interested inSchuller’s views on the fusion of jazzand classical composition tech-niques--a fusion he has named "thirdstream music."

In April, singer/song-writer and A&M record-ing artist David Wilcoxspoke with studentsabout his approach tosongwriting. He alsofound time while visitinga class to jam with facul-ty member singer/song-

~: writer Livingston Taylor.~ Other leading musi-~ clans in this year’s Visit-

ing Artist Series includedsinger/songwriter Janis

~ Ian, Latin percussionist~ Richie Garcia, trumpeter

Tiger Okoshi ’75, andpianist Marienne Uszler.

Summer 1991 Berklee today 5

President Berk (left) accepts the major gift from Uchida Scholarship Feundation Chief FinancialOfficer Junko Shishido, Also present are (from right) Director of the Berklee in Japan CommitteeShizuo Harada, and New England Consul General of Japan Kensaku Hogen.

On January 31, PresidentLee Eliot Berk accepted adonation of one milliondollars from the Japan-basedUchida Scholarship Foun-dation at a ceremony held atthe college.

The largest philanthrop-ic donation yet received byBerklee, the gift recognizedthe contribution of the col-lege to international good-will and understandingthrough music.

Berklee’s relationshipwith Japan and the UchidaFoundation has been a longand fruitful one. Since 1988,Berklee’s popular summerprograms in Japan have been

UCHIDA FOUNDATION PRESENTS MAJOR (;liT TO BERKLEEIn addition to its large

Japanese enrollment, Berk-lee has attracted a diverseinternational student bodyfrom more than 75 coun-tries around the world--comprising more than 27percent of the college’s totalenrollment.

In accepting the gener-ous donation, PresidentBerk reinforced the impor-

t: rant international implica-~ tions of the Uchida Foun-

dation’s support."In the life of any insti-

tution, gifts of this financialmagnitude come infre-quently," he said. "The giftmakes us even more awareof both our ability and ourresponsibility to contributethrough music to promot-

sponsored by the Uchida matelyS00Japanesestudentsing international under-Foundation. In addition, have had the opportunity to standing and goodwill. It isseveral talented Japanese sample the Berklee experi- a great thrill for me to ac-students have continued ence at home in Japan. cept this extraordinarilytheir education at Berklee Among them, 20 promising generous gift on behalf of

under a generous Uchida students were chosen to Berklee College of Music."

scholarship, study here at Berklee." The donation will go a"It is part of Mr. Uchi- Throughout the presen- long way in maintaining and

da’s vision to bring east and ration ceremony, speakers enhancing Berklee’s world-west closer together," ex- stressed the unique power renowned curriculum in

plained Junko Shishido, and potential of music in contemporary music.chief finalacial officer of the promoting international "On behalf of Mr. Uchi-Uchida Scholarship Foun- harmony, da, it is a privilege to presentdation. "In carrying out this "There are manyways to this donation to Berkleevision, Mr. Uchida has been communicate," said New College of Music," said Ms.very fortunate to join hands England Consul General of Shishido.with Mr. Berk and his staff Japan Kensaku Hogen. "It is Mr. Uchida’s wish

at Berklee College of Mu- "You can communicate with that this donation will helpsic. Through the joint efforts words. But with words, you to create the facility and at-

of the two parties over the have to learn the language, mosphere to nurture andpast three years, approxi- Music is something that encourage young talents

needs no words." who will be bringing the

~ world closer."

UCHID- - ~ ~ ~A ~CHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION

~

s_2~f[ied’@/o[ BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC

ONE MILLION DOLLARS ......

~;ItSanwa Bank

-------J $ 1,000,000.00


~Berklee College of Music

BERKLEE CD: PART III

The third annual StudioProduction Projects compactdisc and cassette showcasesa new line-up of trackswritten, performed, engi-neered, and produced byBerklee students. The re-cording represents the ef-forts of more than 140 stu-dents and emphasizes thebreadth and diversity ofmusical style at Berklee.

"There is also a tremen-dous ethnic diversity amongthe project’s participants,"said Music Technology Di-vision Chairman Don Pu-luse, who also serves as co-e, xecutive producer. "Wehave students from 21 dif-ferent countries on therecord, yet the music soundsunmistakably American."

The tracks on the albumwere selected from course-work projects submitted bystudents in the Music Tech-nology Division. All of theselections were recorded andproduced entirely in Berk-lee’s professional-qualitystudios and music synthesislabs. A nine-member facul-ty selection committee re-viewed each submission andChose the final 18 cuts. Ex-

ecutiw3 Producers Don Pu-luse and Carl Beatty pre-pared the master by match-ing the sound quality andlevels and sequencing of thedifferent tracks.

New to this year’s re-cording are tracks producedin Berklee’s synthesis labs.The labs offer full MIDI se-quencing, sampling, direct-to-disk recording, andsound editing capabilities.

While the cassette andCD are not sold to the gen-e.ral public, alumni andBerklee today readers maypurchase Studio ProductionProjects 1991 through theCampus Shop at Berklee.Alumni and friends may or-der with their credit cardsby calling (617) 266-1400,extension 402. Or, sendcheck or money order,specifying desired formatand quantity, made payableto the Campus Shop atBerklee, 146 MassachusettsAvenue, Boston, MA 02115.

Compact discs are $6each. Cassettes cost $4. Mailor phone orders should add$2 postage and handling feesfor the first unit, plus 50¢for each additional unit. AI~low three to four weeks fordelivery.

WOMEN ONIMPROVISATION

In conjunction with thefirst annual Boston Festivalof Women Improvisers,Berklee hosted a six-dayWomen in Improvisationworkshop series this spring.

Topics included "Entre-preneurial Skills for the Per-forming Musician," "NewSounds and Techniques forString Players," and "In-strument Design and theTrine" which promoted theconstruction of one’s owninstrument and relating it tocomputer music, sound de-sign, and composition.

A number of the work-shops centered on the worldjazz genre of music includ-

ing Latin, Afro-Cuban, andHindu styles. Students wereencouraged to bring theiracoustic instruments andparticipate.

At the "Parameters ofImprovisation in WorldJazz" workshop, hosted byworld music recording artistZusaan Kali Fasteau, partic-ipating students joined thesaxophonist in a perfor-mance of progressive Indi-an ragas. Instrumentationincluded violin, acousticbass, guitar, cello, voice, anda variety of percussion in-struments. Fasteau led intoher presentation by includ-ing attendees in her warm-up routine of t’ai chi, an ex-ercise that she recommendsfor enhancing sound pro-duction.

DIRECTORY SET FOR LAUNCH

The highly anticipated Berklee College of MusicAlumni Directory project is nearing completion. Soonshipment of the directories will begin.

This comprehensive new volume is a compilationof the most current data available on more than 15,000Berklee alumni. The information has been compiledand verified through questionnaire mailings, telephoneresearch, and alumni records.

Directories will be released on or about July 30.Please allow two to four weeks for delivery. Alumniwho reserved a copy of the directory during theverification phase of the project and have a questionabout their order, or alumni that wish to place anorder, should contact the publisher directly at thefollowing address: Customer Service Department,Bernard C. Harris Publishing Co., Inc., 3 Bark-erAvenue, White Plains, NY 10601.Or, those /with questions may call (800) 877-6554.

The directorywill be an excellentway to reconnectwith former class-mates and to findother alumni in yourarea. To those whoreturned their ques-tionnaires, thanks foryour cooperation. Tothose who ordered acopy of the directory, / {enjoy!


KORG LAB OPEN FORBUSINESS

Executives from KorgU.S.A. visited the Berkleecampus in May to officiallyopen a newly upgraded pi-ano laboratory, now knownas the Korg Equipment Lab.

The lab features 10 of thecompany’s C-50 digitalconcert pianos for use inkeyboard training classesand for individual studentpractice. The Korg lab, alongwith the Techi~ics KeyboardLabs that were opened lastyear, provide learning andpractice space for more than300 students each semester.

On hand were KorgU.S.A. President Seiki Kato,Vice President Mike Kovins,District Sales ManagerMarcel Lessard, and Prod-uct Manager of HomeProducts Lee Whitmore.

President of Korg U.S.A. Seiki Kato (left) joins President Berkin the new Rorg Equipment Lai~.

After visiting the KorgEquipment Lab, MikeKovins presented Berkleewith advance notice of anadditional gift of Korg T3-EX synthesizers and Wave-station A/Ds for use in theProfessional Writing Divi-son’s MIDI Lab, MusicSynthesis Labs, and Center

for Computer-aided In-struction for Music.

"More than 800 studentsa year will benefit from theseinstruments," said Directorof Development John Col-lins after the event. "Berkleeis most appreciative of Korgas an active partner in musiceducation."

SOUND PRAISE FORSOUND ADVICE

MP&E Professor WayneWadhams was honored at aprogram held at the NewYork Public Library for thePerforming Arts at LincolnCenter in April, after hisbook Sound Advice: TheMusician’s Guide to the Re-cord Industry (SchirmerBooks) was selected as oneof the 25 outstanding refer-ence works of the past year.The annual selections aremade by a New York Pub-lic Library committee andrecognize the most valuablenew additions to the li-brary’s collection.

The Sound Advice seriesalso includes The Musician’sGuide to the RecordingStudio and a two-CD setdemonstrating recordingtechniques and procedures.

8 Berklee today Sumrner 1991

FACULTY PROFILE

Ted Pease ’66:

Back to the Boards

Andrew Taylor

~ he 25-year Berklee career of Ted Pease ’66 has beenbuilt on a series of firsts. He was in the first class to

receive its degree directly from Berklee (previous classeshad earned a co-operative degree through Boston Conser-vatory). He was named the first chairman of the ProfessionalWriting Division in 1984. Under his supervision, his division¯ was the first in the country to offer a degree program insongwriting.

This summer, Ted Pease is preparing for another first ashe steps down from his chairman position to return toteaching. The move will make himBerklee’s first faculty member with thetitle Distinguished Professor.

But behind all of these firsts hasbeen Ted’s constant fire and excite-ment in his love for music. That lovehas provided the vision to lead his di-vision during years of massive growth...And it was the driving force behind hismove away from his desk and his one-class-a-semester schedule and back to-ward the blackboard.

"I had a strong desire to renew asense of contribution to the educationof our students," he says, "and a feeling’~hat I needed to rejuvenate myself mu-sically. Our students tend to be highlymotivated. From their energy comesthe impulse for me to learn more."

many ways, he proved to be a natural at his craft. By thetime he graduated in 1966, he had already been tutoringpart-time for two years. Upon graduation, he accepted afull-time position as an instructor.

In 1968, he was named chairman of Berklee’s ArrangingDepartment, having authored many of the texts for theemerging arranging classes. In 1978, the selection of writingmajors had expanded to include jazz composition and ar-ranging, and Ted was named chairman of that growingdepartment. His leadership role in writing class materials

IPease PastPease received a bachelor’s degree inEnglish from Cornell, but came toBerklee to pursue his love of music. In

"Our students tend to be highly motivated," Pease says. "From their energy comesthe impulse for me to learn more."


and building curricula madehim the obvious choice aschairman in 1984, when Berk-lee brought all of the composi-tion disciplines together underthe Professional Writing Divi-sion.

All along the way, Pease wasperforming on drums with thelikes of Herb Pomeroy,Toshiko Akiyoshi ’57, CharlieMariano ’51, Ray Santisi ’54,and Wild Bill Davison. He wasbusy composing, as well, re-ceiving composition fellow-ships from the National En-dowment for the Arts in 1975and 1986. In another high pointof his career, his composition"Cornerstone" was used as aset opener for the Buddy RichOrchestra.

His strongest memoriesfrom those early years were the majortalents and good friends that passedthrough his classroom and his life.Well-known names such as AbrahamLaboriel ’72, Gary Anderson ’69, andJohn LaBarbera ’67 appear often in hisremembrances, as do many others.

"There is a nice feeling that occursamong musicians, a kind of simpatico,or mutual respect," he says. "There area lot of people over the years that Ihave enjoyed interacting with. I’d liketo let them know that I rememberthem."

Pease PresentThroughout his career, Pease’s role atBerklee has grown with the collegeitself.

"When I started teaching here inthe 1960s, Berklee was a jazz school,"he remembers. "And it was prettymuch the only game in town. Thestudents that came here then had theireyes on Duke Ellington and Gil Evans.Now you have students that are inter-ested in everything from heavy metalto new age to film scores to modernclassical music to writing songs. Thereis a much broader interest envelopethat these students bring with them toschool. That’s part of the challenge wehave."

To address that challenge, the Pro-fessional Writing Division has ex-panded to include majors in film scor-ing, composition, jazz composition,

Ted Pease circa 1973: "There is a nice feeling thatoccurs among musicians, a kind of simpatico."

commercial arranging, and songwrit-ing. As a teacher, Pease has met thechallenge by emphasizing the conti-nuity between musical styles.

"I like to draw from the past toexplain the present and maybe specu-late on what the future might be," hesays. "I think students need to knowabout kinds of music that have beenaround for the past 300 years, in addi-tion to what happened just last weekin Billboard magazine. That’s part ofour job here, to spread out the bubbleof knowledge that surrounds each stu-dent, and to expand their appreciationof all the different styles."

In that expansion of knowledge,Pease believes, lies the secret to a stu-dent’s future success in the music in-dustry.

"The final focus is to get them tomake a living in the music business,"he says. "Even if their real love ismodern chamber music or avant-gardejazz, if we have done our job, theycome out of Berklee with the tools todo something more conventional, aswell. Our main mission at Berklee is toprepare these students to make careersin professional music."

In his workbooks and lesson plans,Ted hopes to stress the importance ofthose tools of composition. But he willalso take care to put them in theirproper place.

"When you teach, you are provid-ing students with techniques and for-

mulae that others have usedsuccessfully as a means to anend," he says. "I try to em-phasize in my teaching thatthose means are never an endin themselves. If you are writ-ing and building on some idea,you might choose to exercise acertain technique. That’s fine.But the technique is not goingto make the music. The initialconception is going to makethe music. The technique is justa way of expressing it."

Rive and TakeUltimately, Ted Pease andBerklee have been together solong because they suit eachother so well. Berklee has ben-efited from Ted’s insights andexperience. He has thrived inthe diverse spectrum of talents

and ideas he sees around him."If we have done our job and the

student has taken advantage of the kindof multi-faceted curricula that we havehere in composition, then there is atremendous potential for student ver-satility. Once that student graduatesfrom here, he or she can go out andfunction in so many different areas.That, to me, is the real value of aneducation at this school. You have thisbroad menu--not to mention all theplaying opportunities and businesscourses and music production trainingand so on. It’s all here. You just haveto choose a path that gets you whereyou want to go."

With his move back into the facultyranks, Ted Pease has chosen his newdirection. His past role as a teacher hasgiven him a wealth of good memories.He looks to that role in the future togive new insights and new life to acraft and a calling he adores; a craftthat, he says, "takes me places I’ve neverbeen before."

"A tot of my students have gone onto distinguish themselves in the indus-try," he says. "A number of the facultyhere are former students of mine. Someof the chairmen are former students ofmine. Some of the deans are formerstudents of mine. I’m proud of that.But I also recognize that it hasn’t beena one-way street. I taught these people;but I also learned a lot from them. Ingiving, I have also received."


NEWS SPECIAL

gerklee Hosts

Music: Synthesis Symposium

Andrew Taylor

B or me, experimenting with early synthesizers wassomething I did after hours and on weekends for my

own amusement," said synthesis founding father Dr. Rob-ert Moog at Berklee’s Music Synthesis Symposium. "WeMd absolutely no idea that we would sell anything or that it"would go anywhere. It was just a way to have fun. It was anerdish form of golf."

From those humble beginnings, music synthesis tech-nology has transformed the way music is written, per-formed, and perceived. But"while the technology has~:ransfigured the musical uni-verse, the fast pace of changehas allowed little time for in-formed reflection and retro-spection.

This informed retrospectionwas the goal as three innova-tors of synthesis technologyand one innovative synthesisperformer met on the BerkleePerformance Center stage onMarch 13 for the Berklee Mu-sic Synthesis Symposium. Panelmembers included a unprece-dented roster of industry leg-ends.

Dr. Robert Moog, presidentof Moog Music, invented thefirst commercially viable musicsynthesizer. Alan R. Pearlman,founder of ARP Instruments,introduced several innovativesynthesizers in the 1970s,

making ARP the industry leader during that decade. Ray-mond Kurzweil, a leader in computer technology andfounder of Kurzweil Music Systems, introduced the firstelectronic instrument to reproduce acoustic instrumentalsounds. Noted keyboardist and Berklee artist-in-residenceTom Coster served as musician representative on the panel.His early work with Carlos Santana helped to bring thenew sounds to a world audience.

Berklee Assistant Dean of Curriculum for AcademicTechnology David Mash ’76moderated the event and coor-dinated the questions from thepacked house of faculty, stu-dents, and friends. The follow-ing are excerpts from their dis-cussions.

Tom Coster (right) performs with student Scott Kinseyand others following the Synthesis Symposium,

How did you all get startedin music synthesis?

Dr. Robert Moog: For aslong as I can remember, I haveenjoyed building electronicgadgets, especially electronicmusical gadgets. As a child, mymother gave me piano lessons.But that wasn’t where my heartwas. I liked to go down intothe basement and just tinker.My father showed me how tohold a soldering iron, and I wasoff from there.

Later on, I met a musicianwho wanted to have someequipment to make electronic


Keyboardist Tom Coster (left) and synthesis innovator Dr. Rober~ Moeg.

music. This was back in the early ’60s,when electronic music meant makingsounds and putting them on tape, andthen splicing little pieces of tape to-gether. That is basically how I first gotgoing.

Alan R. Pearlman: My stoW is notthat different than what Bob just relat-ed. Back when I was in high school, Iused to put shortwave radios together.I finally got my hands on one of thoseold RCA console radios. I figured thatit ought to be in stereo. So I wiredanother speaker up and I found thatby diddling around with external con-trols I could create a pseudo-stereoeffect.

Shortly thereafter, I went over toWorcester Polytechnic Institute andfound myself in the electrical engi-neering program. I picked electronicmusic as a senior project and workedon what you might call an envelopefollower: You take an instrument andrectify the electrical output to createan envelope and use that to controlanother sound. That was the beginning.

Raymond Kurzweil: I was alwaysinterested in computers at a young age.And my father was a musician, a con-ductor of the Bell Symphony andPittsburgh Opera, and an educator.Shortly before he died in 1970, he saidthat someday he felt I would get in-volved in a union between computersand music. He thought computerswould take over the world of music.He wasn’t sure how.

Later on in life, I became particular-ly interested in pattern recognition. I

had a project called the KurzweilReading Machine, which recognizesprinted letters and scans books andmagazines and reads them aloud to theblind. Our first user was Stevie Won-der. He would stop by when he cameto the Boston area. And I saw him on anumber of occasions at his WonderlandStudio in California.

He was quite sophisticated in hisknowledge about computer technolo-gy and its applications for the handi-capped-and also, of course, its use inmusic. Around 1982, we had a con-versation about the two worlds ofmusical creation.

First, there were acoustic instru-ments-pianos, violins, guitars, and soon--that produced the sounds thatmost musicians were interested in. Butthey were very hard to control andthey had many limitations.

Then there was this emerging dec-tronic world where you could havethis fantastic control with sequencers,layering, and sound modification. Butthe sounds you had to work with werenot acoustic sounds. It was a very in-teresting class of sounds, but it didn’tinclude the acoustic sounds of choicefor many musicians. He suggested thatit would be perfect to combine thesetwo worlds of music.

That became a challenge. And hearticulated an instrument that reallywas what became the Kurzweil 250.Then we ran into Alan Pearlman, whobecame a consultant for the early daysof Kurzweil Music Systems. We de-fined an instrument, hired a very tal-

ented team, and a year later, showedup at the June NAMM show with aprototype that created some excite-ment. We met some interesting peoplethere, including Bob Moog, who be-came vice president for product re-search and contributed very substan-tially to later generations of thatmachine.

Tom Coster: The only instrumentI ever studied in my life was the accor-dion. My second accordion was anelectric, and I was the rogue accordionplayer in my class. I played jazz andbebop and rock and roll. They alwaysthought I was a cretin. But I didn’twant to play polkas.

Then someone turned me on to theHammond organ, which was like asynthesizer, in its time. I gained a lotof acclaim playing the Hammond or-gan. That’s what really got me intoCarlos Santana’s band.

One day, Carlos and I were some-where in Minneapolis, and we heardthe Mahavishnu Orchestra. This in-credible cat named Jan Hammer [’69]was playing a little box and bendingthe pitch. Carlos turned to me andsaid, "We’ve got to buy one."

So we went over to Manny’s Musicwhen we got to New York and webought one. It was the Minimoog. Itreally messed with my head. At first, Isounded really bad on it. I have somevideos of us playing for 30,000 or50,000 people and it sounds like thereis a loose fly buzzing around up onstage. But I finally got it down.

I was very fortunate to become anendorser for Bob Moog’s company,along with Jan Hammer. And it reallychanged my life. I loved the fact thatyou could caress a note, and finallygive it the feeling you wanted throughpitch bending and modulation.

Then Larry Dunn from Earth,Wind, and Fire hipped me to Mr.Pearlman’s instrument [the ARP Od-yssey]. And then that thing messed upmy head. I eventually became an en-dorser of that instrument, too.

W~at were some of the challengesor problems you faced with the earlysynthesizers?

Coster: Unlike today’s keyboards,there were a lot of little problems.Among the problems I had with theMinimoog was that it wouldn’t stay in


tune when the lights became verybright on stage. The oscillators woulddrift radically.

And God forbid if someone turnedthe power off and turned it back onagain. That was a nightmare!

We ended up buying a lot of Mini-moogs. When they didn’t work, wejust tossed them [laughs]. But eventu-ally, they began building them so thatthey worked brilliantly. The companiesalways listened to what we performersihad to say.

Moog: Hearing Tom talk about ourdrifting oscillators, I feel I should tell abit about their history. The first musi-cian I worked with, although a classi-cally trained musician, was interestedin composing timbral music that wasjust one different tone color after an.-other. He was not interested in doingtonal music.

So, here we had these voltage con-trolled oscillators which were very,very crude. And we hooked up an old,dirty keyboard. What we got out weredifferent pitches, but they weren’t intune.

So, I asked this musician if weshould do something about this. Andhe said, "No, no, pitch isn’t impor--tant." And that became part of ourcorporate culture.

You get used to a certain approachthat makes a certain type of circuit.And it was very difficult to change it.You design one circuit like that, thenyou design half a dozen, and then youorder a hundred parts, then you order10,000. Once you have 10,000 parts,you have to order another 10,000.Otherwise, you would have to start allover again.

Mr. Pearlman and ARP Instrumentscould watch from the outside as wewent down this wrong path. And beingan engineer, and a founding memberof a company that specialized in. stableelectronic circuits, he was able to cap-italize very quickly and very effectivelyon our weakness.

It took us until halfway throughthe Minimoog generation until we re-ally got our technology under control.At that point, it was a very large engi-neering investment.

So, any time one musician tells youthat something doesn’t matter that doesmatter to another musician, youshouldn’t believe him. You should al-

KURZWEIL ON THE POTENTIAL OF SYNTHESISFor thousands of years up until

one or two decades ago, there wasan inexorable link between musictechnique and the sounds created.If you wanted to create flute sounds,you had to learn flute technique. Ifyou wanted guitar sounds, you hadto learn guitar technique. Therewere great limitations.

We have now broken that link.It is typical now for people to com-mand a vast array of sounds. In ad-dition, acoustic instruments werelimited by the physics of creatingsound. We can now create control-lers that are optimal for controllingsound and allowing musicians to beexpressive.

We also have the opportunitiesfor computers to do some of theless creative work: to automaticallycreate a harmonic progression, awalking bass line, or a rhythmicaccompaniment. We have the op-portunity for students and children

to have a more rewarding musicalexperience in the early stages ofkeyboard skill development. Whenthey are playing with one finger,the computer can accompany them,creating a richer musical experience,inviting more people into music.

In some of our earlier attempts,we were frustrated that we provid-ed a lot of programming capabilityand then 95 or 98 percent of theusers wouldn’t use it. They wouldjust use the preset. Then we realizedthat a key challenge for the elec-tronic musical instrument industryis to make these capabilities musi-cally relevant.

The possibilities of the synthe-sizer are so vast, so extraordinary.It opens up a world of musicalpossibilities. But unless you designit to be controlled by a musicianwho is thinking like a musician andnot an engineer, it is not going to beused. That is a difficult challenge.

Raymond Kurzweil (center) and Alan R. Pearlman (right).

ways design and build an instrumentas good, as stable, as reliable, and aspredictable as possible.

Kurzweil: Manufacturing was notsomething that we ever fully mastered.We had a detailed plan. But nothingwent according to plan.

In the end, we had a very strongR&D group that I am very proud of.We were not able to compete with thevertically integrated manufacturingcapability of our foreign competitors--

who have thousands of manufacturingemployees, make their own chips, andhave mold-injection equipment tomake cabinets.

That was the reason that we soldthe company to Young Chang, a Ko-rean company that has 5000 manufac-turing employees. We were able tocombine our research and developmentteam with that manufacturing capabil-ity to create products with quality at avery low cost.

Surnmer 1991 Berklee today 13

How do you explain that domi-nance of the Far East in consumerelectronics ?

Pearlman: It seems as though anawful lot of our resources are going tomake wonderful machines like smartbombs. But there isn’t much going tothe production of peaceful things.

Kurzweil: I think Alan makes agood point. After World War II, theUnited States was the dominant eco-nomic power in the world. We wereable to transform a lot of militarytechnology into civilian applications.But now, commercial technology andmilitary technology are really quitedifferent. Military technology has aphilosophy to accomplish the missionat any cost. Whereas commercial tech-nology has to be high quality and verycost effective.

The United States has essentiallylost all of its electronic industries tothe Far East. It is nearly impossible foran American company in consumerelectronics to compete effectively, be-cause we have not kept pace withmanufacturing technology.

However, the United States is play-ing a strong role and still has the lead-ing research and development andcreativity, in terms of creating instru-ments. The leading laboratories of theworld are still in this country. Yamahaand Korg have major R&D installa-tions here. My own company hasmerged with a Korean company toprovide that manufacturing capabili-ty. I think you will see joint ventureswhere marketing is done in one place,manufacturing is done somewhere else,and R&D is done somewhere else.

Moog: The making of musical in-struments is an international activitynow. It shouldn’t bother us thatYamaha is making all the instruments,and not some American company. Thefact is, there are good instruments.

But, we have to watch out that ourcountry doesn’t lose too much of itstotal manufacturing competitivenessby making only sophisticated weaponsof destruction and not the productsthat are used by consumers.

Where do you find new ideas ? Andwhat new ideas will shape the futureof synthesis?

Moog: I find new ideas very easy tocome by. The trick is to come up with

a new idea that will result in a com-mercially successful, musical instru-ment.

One can dream of the ideal control-ler. But the question you have to ask ifyou are trying to run a successfulbusiness is, "What percentage of themusicians out there will be willing toput the work in to learn the new tech-nique?"

On the other hand, if you are notconcerned with commercial prolifera-tion, you can start thinking of thingsand never stop. One thing I have beenworking on for a long time, and amstill working on now, is a keyboardwhere each key will measure themovement of your hands in three di-mensions [forward and backward, leftand right, and pressure].

Kurzweil: If you look at the historyof synthesis, you started out withmodules--LFOs and oscillators and soforth. You could create different net-works of these with patch cords. Andeverytime you set it up, you couldcreate a completely different architec-ture of synthesis. The problem was thatit took a long time to set up.

Then we had synthesizers thateliminated patch cords, but the archi-tecture was fixed. Then we entered theage of digital synthesis where you couldhave some interaction, but you still hada fixed architecture. And you also lostsome of the real-time control.

I think, in the next few years, wewill see an increased ability to have avariable architecture. You will again beable to take different modules and havethem modify each other. You couldhave sampled sound be a controlsource. Or you could have sampledsound modified by other operators, andcreate complex experimental architec-tures for synthesis.

I think that we will also see a come-back for multiple controls--some inreal-time performance, some while youare experimenting with the sound. Ithink we will see powerful digital sig-nal processing [DSP] on every chan-nel, instead of just on the mixed sound.

What have heen the most excitingand most frustrating aspects of musicsynthesis?

Kurzweil: I think the positive is theopportunity that is emerging to bringthis technology capability to very

young people. The piano business isgoing electronic. One half of the pianobusiness is now digital. And while dig-ital pianos may not be sophisticatedfrom a synthesis point of view, you dosee advanced features creeping in--of-ten in the form of a very sophisticated"easy play," which goes beyond theabilities of the old organs. You will seeintelligent cybernetic accompanists thatcan make early music education muchmore exciting.

One of the frustrations is that newideas take a long time to be accepted,which is just an issue of human nature.We have seen a very slow acceptanceof the new music controllers--even asmall variation in the keyboard such aspressure sensitivity.

Coster: For me, playing the musi-cal velocity curve is such a thrill. Plus,I love the fact that keyboards are soroadable. That’s amazing to me. Thetechnology has really come a long wayin past years.

The downside of all the technologyfor me as a player is that I don’t see thegreat players coming up anymore. Idon’t see people embracing the instru-ment and dedicating their life to it. It’sgood for people like me and ChickCorea and Herbie Hancock andGeorge Duke and Jan Hammer, be-cause we still rule the roost. That’sfine. But I still miss seeing young catscoming up and burning.

It is much more difficult for youngpeople today than when I was young.There are a lot more pressures. I thinkthat kids live in a very fast environ-ment. Everything that you want today,you can get fast. You can get yourcleaning done in an hour. You can getyour food in 30 seconds. You can getpictures developed in an hour. Ifsomebody takes more than an hour todo anything, everyone loses patience.

These remarkable keyboards andcomputers allow you to do things veryquickly. That is a safe feeling and itembraces the world that you are allinnocently involved in. And to sit thereand practice for four or five hours aday is so different from what you areused to.

I would like to see people spendingyears learning their instrument, andnot thinking that they can just turn iton and have an instant package ofsuccess. ~


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High~ Style

on the Low End

First-call bass player Abraharn Laboriel ’72gets to the bottom of it all.

by Andrew

Taylor

~’!’~ hilosophica1iy, I believe that music visits

| -~" us. It doesn’t stay with us,all of the time,".1, says Abraham Laboriel 72, one of theleading bass players on the Los Angeles scene.He goes on to describe this evasive visitation. "Itis the moment where sound becomes music, whenyou can no longer recognize what is going on. Itdoesn’t matter what song it is, or whose voice itis, or what instrument they are playing. It iswonderfully overwhelming. I have been blessedthat on many of the things that I have done,music has visited for one bar or longer."

For more than 20 years, Abraham Laborielhas been coaxing music to visit. And he has alwaysbeen a gracious host. The Mexican-born bassisthas become a first-call musician for the likes ofQuincy Jones ’51, Michael McDonald, LeeRitenour, George Benson, Dolly Parton, HerbAlpert, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mathis, LarryCarlton, A1Jarreau, film composer Alan Silvestri’70, and many others. His friendly, caring mannerhave made him a welcome visitor to studio ses-sions. And his heartfelt, emotional performanceshave ensured him a continually busy schedule.

Laboriel was born in Mexico City in 1947.His father, a musician, composer, and actor, gavehim his first lessons on the classical guitar. Frus-trated in his efforts by an accident that took the

tip of his left-hand index finger, the young Labo-rid was ready to quit at age 8. But his olderbrother pulled him back in.

"When I was 10," he remembers, "my broth-er joined the first major rock and roll band inMexico. All of the American publishing houseswere sending him songs in English to translateinto Spanish. So suddenly, we were inundatedwith all of this music from the United States."

Laboriel studied that music on his own, lis-tening to records and learning them on his rhythmguitar. By age 17, he was an active studio guitaristin Mexico City. One year later, his parents en-couraged him to pursue a more "stable" career,and he enrolled in the Instituto PolytechnicoNacional to study aeronautical engineering. Buthe soon found his love for music calling himaway from his studies.

At age 20, he convinced his parents to allowhim one year to try a music career. Within thatyear, he was off to Boston, to Berklee, and to thebass. From there, as he says, "I never went back."

Throughout his career, Abraham Laboriel hasaccumulated a long list of valuable qualities. Hisunique five-finger rhythmic approach to bassplaying has made him a valuable addition to anyrhythm section. His collection of unique bass-es--among them an eight-string tuned in octaves

16 Berklee to day PHOTOBYDAVID BASSETT Summer 1991

hen I play for otherpeople,

I am not using their gig ex-

cuse to showcase my ability.

like a mandolin, a five--string, and a hollow-bodyfretless---have given him a vast palette. His easy-going, supportive attitude has endeared him tohis contacts and his ipeers.

But when you meet him, the main impressionyou walk away with is that this is a man whofeels things deeply. Whether he is jumping like amadman during a fiery, funked-up bass solo, orspeaking calmly and openly about his personalexperiences, Laboriel is intimately present in themoment. And he encourages those around himto be there, too.

"Music should be about loving one another,"he says in his warm, slightly accented voice. Andrather than write it off as another L.A. musicalplatitude, you believe it. You feel it in his mannerand his music. And, after a while, you feel it inyourself, as well.

We spoke to Abraham Laboriel in Holly-wood, where he had just received the Distin-guished Alumni Award from Berklee’s SouthernCalifornia Alumni Group.

Apart from talent, what is the most impor-tant attribute of a ,:tudio musician ?

As a musician, arid especially as a bass player,I feel that it is important to have a servant attitude.When I play for o~her people, I am not usingtheir gig as an excuse to showcase my ability. Iam there to say, "What can I do? How can I helpyou feel happy about your song? What can I giveto you with my music?" I am a great advocate ofrelationships and dialogue. Through the years,those have proven to be the most important thingsfor me.

Ironically, I have discovered that the mainreason a lot of people hire me is because of thefreedom with which [[ play. But I never take thatfor granted. I come to recording sessions andpeople say, "Abraham, I wrote a bass line butignore it. Do your thing." And I say, "We1I, letme first try to understand what you dreamed ofas a composer and arranger and then I’i1 departfrom that." Quickly, I learned that that kind ofconstant dialogue and relationship with the people

you work with is really important. That way, ifsomething that is natural for me is uncomfort-able for them, there is always the possibility ofadjusting it or tailoring it to their needs.

In my conversations with the top studio mu-sicians, that has been the one thing that wasconstantly stressed: Don’t play something thatpleases you, but try very hard to play somethingthat pleases the people you are working for. Evenif what pleases you, in your mind, is better thanwhat they want.

In the long run, I have learned that when youlisten to the finished product and you have sac-rificed some of your own favorite things for thesake of doing what they want, it is usually whatworks best. Because they have a relationship withthe song that you don’t. They have been livingwith it for a long time.

What can you do when you feel strongly thata producer or artist is not taking the best ap-proach?

If things are not happening because the songand the music is unsalvageable, then very gentlywe ask the artist or producer how much morematerial they have to choose from. If that’s allthey have, then we make suggestions as to howto approach the song. Or we might try somearranging on the spot. Sometimes it is possible tochange their minds, and to get them to recognizethat there are other alternatives that work.

The example I have of that is with Herb Alp-err. The song "Rise," which has been the biggestsingle of his career, he recorded with three otherrhythm sections after our first session. And heended up using our version. When the recordbecame a hit, he said, "I knew it was a hit fromthe moment we played it. I just didn’t like yourtempo." But eventually, he ended up compro-mising and using our tempo.

You first started studying to be an aeronau-tical engineer. How did you start down thatpath, and how did you return to music?

All my life I was inclined toward studying.My parents felt that because I liked studying somuch, it was just logical for me to get a degree,and to keep music as something that I loved.They felt I should give my first priority tosomething more secure. I believed that I wasgoing to be able to do both.

Then, in my second year of engineering, I hadto quit music completely, because assignmentsbecame very involved. But it really killed me tobe away from music. So I begged my parents toplease allow me one year to experiment withmusic. If it didn’t work, I promised that I wouldreturn to my studies.

I started the aeronautical career when I was 18years old. I was 20 when I asked them for that


year. When I was 21, I came to Berklee. And Inever went back to engineering.

Did your inclination toward studying payoff at Berklee?

Yes. Since Berklee was the only major train-ing to know how to deal with the music world, Itook it seriously. It really shaped me. And I wasblessed to run into so many teachers that had somuch experience. Almost everybody that taughtme had a minimum of 10 to 15 years of profes-sional experience before coming to teach atBerklee. So they could draw on a lot of informa-tion to share with us.

Who were your musical influences duringthose early years?

My influences came from a tremendousamount of listening to records from. the UnitedStates. I was blessed that the records that thepublishing houses were sending to my brotherwere in all the different styles. Name a record inany style, I listened to it and learned it on myguitar. And I tried to understand all the differentways of thinking about music. So my influencesare very varied.

Eventually, I remember falling in love withthe music of Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson. Thenat Berklee, I was introduced to Wilbur Ware,Oscar Pettiford, George Mraz [’70], and DaveHolland.

As a guitarist, were you also influenced byJohn Scofield [’71] andJohn Abercrombie [’67] ?

Scofield, Abercrombie, and I went to schoolat the same time. So their influence on me camefrom a whole different place. I would just gluemy ear to the rooms where they would practice.And I could not believe that anybody could playtheir instrument like that. Which was one of thethings that I loved most about Berklee. It gave usfirst-hand access to these impossible musicians.

One time Mick Goodrick [’67], George Mraz,and Peter Donald [70] were jamming in one ofthe rooms, and I nearly fainted. I was ready toquit school. Mick told me the same story--thathe quit school for five minutes when he heardKeithJarrett [’64] practice. He was just too much.

You were overwhelmed by your classmates?I guess I shouldn’t be ashamed to admit that

my first two years at Berklee were spent in tears.I was very upset to not be able to function at thesame level as all the other students. And I re-member that a teacher very lovingly said to me,"There are many ways of making music. AndBerklee’s way is one of them. But tlhe fact thatyou cannot fit perfectly and do everything thatyou think we expect of you should not discour-age you." And that blessed me. Teachers kept

encouraging me, and believing in me, and root-ing for me.

At the end of the fourth year, fantastic thingshappened. Herb Pomeroy recorded my chartswith the recording band. I started to record withGary Burton [’62]. I was a featured soloist in alot of the performances with both Ted Pease[’66] and Phil Wilson. And we had our owngroup with Charlie Mariano [’51]. Suddenly, alot of the pain of the first two years started toblossom into this confidence-affirming experi-ence.

A year after I graduated, Herb Pomeroy calledto ask me to perform with the Count Basie bandbehind Johnny Mathis. That started my rela-tionship with Mathis. Six months after that, Ma-this called and asked me to join him on the road.Through that I met Henry Mancini and MichelLegrande. And I had already finished an albumwith Gary Burton and had travelled with him.

You started at Berklee as a guitar player.When did you switch over to the bass?

I started school in 1968. In 1971, Alan Silves-tri [70] asked me to join his trio. He was doingsummer engagements in New Jersey. The triowas A1 on guitar, his friend on flute, and anotherfriend on drums. Alan was getting more into theguitar and wanted to free himself up to startimprovising, instead of playing accompaniment.So he asked if I would play bass.

I said, "Well, let’s give it a try." His fatherrented a Fender bass in New York for me toplay. And...man!

What attracted you to the bass?I loved the freedom to change the meaning of

the chords. We were playing a lounge in NewJersey doing top-40 music. And it was great to

The next genera-tion: Laboriel withhis sons, currentBerklee studentAbraham, Jr.(left),and Mateo.


take all this well-known music and give it a wholenew meaning because of what bass line you choseto play. I had found a great new freedom. I knewbeyond the shadow of a doubt I was destined tobe a bass player.

By the grace of God, the Berklee faculty al-lowed me to switch to bass--even though offi-cially I couldn’t, because the electric bass was notrecognized at that time as a primary instrument.Since I was a degree candidate, I still had to do allmy juries on guitar, even though I was allowed toperform on bass.

How many basses do you use during a session ?Most of the time, I bring three. On certain

occassions I bring as many as 12. When I did thelatest album with Michael McDonald, I had 15basses there. And I tried all of them.

Have you ever recorded on upright?When Quincy Jones [’51] hired me to play on

The Color Purple, he said, "Do you play up-right?" I told him that I owned an upright, andthat I didn’t have a good pitch on it. He said,"Great, bring it, because we are trying to domusic from the ’30s and in those days, nobodylistened to the bass. It was more like a feel." Isaid, "Great, if you want a fed, I’ve got it. But ifyou want pitch, please call one of the great uprightplayers."

So I show up with my upright. And all themusicians stood staring. They wanted to see if Iknew how to take it out of the case [laughs].Then the big band started to arrive, and I wantedto die. The song was written in A-flat, whichmeans that there were no open strings. And theseguys were some of the most famous big bandmusicians in the world--half from Duke Elling-ton’s band and half 6:om Count Basie’s.

I said, "Quincy, please let me use my electricbass and I promise to play with such tendernessthat you won’t mind." And he said, "No, no,play your upright. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.All we want is the ’30s sound."

So we started to record, and the engineerpushes the talk-back button and says, "Quincy,are you sure you want me to print the bass? It’sreally out of tune." I wanted to die.

Has modern music technology threatenedthe role of the bass?

The world, in general, likes to jump on thebandwagon. In the "Miami Vice" days, severalbandwagons took place that did an untold amountof damage to the music business.

I heard a great description. A friend said tome, "Abraham, there is no more music businessbecause now they are not singing melodies andthere is nobody playing an instrument. They justshow up with computers and they talk."

For a while that happens, and people jump onit. But those kinds of things don’t last, thankGod, because eventually the audience gets satu-rated. They get tired of the lack of genuine ex-pression.

I should say that Jan Hammer [’69] is different.He was expressing what is genuine about himwith that music. So when you listen to it, you arenot hearing somebody pretending in order to cutdown on costs. He was putting his life into it.

The marriage of analog and digital--havingreal-time players and everything sequenced hasnow become a really fine art. And it is a wonderfulthing. The marriage of both concepts for theright reason is beginning to happen.

Another theory is that this new technology isforcing all of us to grow. It means that there willbe not as much of a need for musicians to dothings that they don’t love to do, because theyhave a machine that can do it much better.

What are your most challenging projects?The high-pressure jobs are when you have to

do a film where there are 80 musicians perform-ing all at once, and the composer has written lotsof unison lines between the sections. Your bassline is not free to go where you want it to go.

In those kinds of sessions, they have to get alot of music done very quickly. So you run itonce for the engineer to get his levels. Then thenext time you run it is the final version. Youdon’t have any hope of punching in because theygo direct to film.

Do you like that kind of playing?Actually, I do. For me it is a very emotional

feeling that all of those human beings at oncehave a power of concentration and determina-tion not to let the composer down. And becauseit is film music, the composers are taking risks.They are saying things that have a lot of substancethat they would not say if they were trying tohave commercial success.

What sessions are the most rewarding?There are certain players that like to be around

one another. Many times we go to a situationthinking it’s going to be an average day, and itturns out to be a great surprise.

In general, I can remember several recordingsessions with a certain group of people where itwas almost automatic that it was going to be agreat session. You see each player arrive at thestudio, and right away they sit at their instru-ments and start trying whatever idea they have intheir hearts. Then you see the other musiciansjoining in and everybody just having a wonder-ful time. You know that all of that creative ener-gy is going to carry over. Those are the mostrewarding sessions for me. ~1

Zl] Berklee today Summer 1991

The Crisis of Silencein Our Schools

The loss of music and arts in public educationcould be a threat to us all

by

President

Lee Eliot

Berk

A s a society, we continue todevalue music and its impor-tance. This is particularly true

in the education of our youth. Somenoted examples of this include the 1983report "A Nation at Risk" publishedby the National Commission on Ex-cellence in Education and the 1985 re-port "Investing in Our Children" bythe Committee for Economic Devel-opment, both of which barely mentionmusic and the arts.

Notably, the six broad educationgoals advanced by President Bush andthe nation’s governors in 1990 makeabsolutely :no mention of music andthe arts. This neglect of the arts at thefederal level is further reflected in thefact that our government spends about30 times more on science educationthan it spends on arts education.

At the state level, more than half ofall school districts in the nation areeither unserved by a teacher with adegree in music education, or servedonly part-time. Fewer and fewer mu-sic teachers are graduating while lessand less music is being required oreven offered to the children in our

Dr. Lee Eliot Berk serves on the boardof directors of the American MusicConference. He has been president ofBerklee College qf Music since 1979.

"The soul of everypeople is found inits songs, its im-ages, its dances,and its stories."

public school education system. Whatis provided is often an increasinglymarginal, fragmented experience thatsubstitutes passive exposure to musicfor active participation.

Music and SocietyThese points are made strikingly clearin a recent report by the National


GROWING UP COMPLETEEducation without music short-

changes our children and their fu-tures. Education with music offersexciting possibilities in two direc-tions.

As we look to the future, educa-tional research on the nature of in-telligence and brain function givepromising indications that couldchange the face of education. And,as we look around us in the present,we see connections between musiceducation and changes in studentsthat offer direct and immediatebenefits, not only to them, but tothe educational enterprise as awhole.

After nearly a decade of experi-ence with the educational reformmovement, policy makers are be-ginning to confront a disappointingtruth: In terms of improving studentachievement, not much has changed.We believe a new possibility isworth exploring. If music and theother arts were brought from theeducational periphery to the coreof learning, they could make a sig-nificant contribution to a more ef-fective solution.

Music is beginning to be under-stood as a form of intelligence, notmerely as a manifestation of it. Theidea that intelligence is a single,monolithic entity or characteristichas been seriously questioned bymany leading researchers and edu-cators. Led by the provocative workof Howard Gardner, researchersand educators are moving toward atheory of "multiple intelligences,"any or all of which can be devel-oped.

Gardner’s ideas are significant forthe relationship of music educationto general education. Since musicis, for some learners, a powerful wayof knowing, it can become, forteachers, a way of teaching. Whenimportant ideas, information, andways of thinking can be approachedthrough the strategies and structuresprovided by music, learning can bereinforced.

Excerpted by permission fromGrowing Up Complete: The Im-perative for Music Education.Copies available through MENCPublication Sales, (800) 828-0229.

Commission on Music Education en-titled Growing Up Complete: The Im-perative for Music Education (seesidebar). Co-sponsored by the Na-tional Academy of Recording Arts andSciences, the Music Educators NationalConference, and the National Associ-ation of Music Merchants, the com-mission seeks to research and promotethe positive aspects of music educationwhile supporting direct action in gov-ernment and education programs.

As the report asserts, the bestteaching has always insisted that musicand the other arts be present at thecurricular center--and for an excellentreason. We know that the long marchto civilization has been nourished bymusic and the arts. The soul of everypeople is found in its songs, its images,its dances, and its stories.

Music and the arts are the source ofthe metaphors that connect thought toexperience. They are basic to educa-tion because they are a universal lan-

guage. To be illiterate here is to beblind, mute, and deaf at the most fun-damental level--that of the spirit. It isfor this reason that Wynton Marsalisrecently observed in a testimony tothe commission that our nation suffersfrom a cultural problem more than ascientific one. Our culture, he stated,is dying from the inside.

Music and EmotionSadly, as we remove music and the artsfrom the central educational experi-ence of our youth, we are removingmany essential tools they need to sur-vive and succeed in a growing society.A loss of music and arts in our corecurricuIum results in a form of dehu-manization in which our youth is de-prived of the sentiments and sensibili-ties they need to live human lives.

In addition, a lack of sufficiency ofmusic serves as a barrier which pre-vents us from assimilating the funda-mental elements of other cultures into

our lives. We are shut off from whatWynton Marsalis has called the "richgumbo" which is the fundamentalfabric of multi-cultural understanding.

As music and arts education be-come less and less available to ouryouth in a broad-based way throughpublic school education, they will cometo be more of a privilege tied to wealthand class. Instead of a rich heritage forus all, music and arts education willbecome an elitist legacy for the enrich-ment of only a privileged few.

Fixing the ProblemThe music industry and educationalcoalition that makes up the NationalCommission on Music Education haschosen a multi-leveled approach toaddressing this problem. A combina-tion of direct lobbying, public forums,information programs, and othermethods will do much to increaseawareness among politicians and thegeneral public.

As part of this commission’s effort,public service announcements tohighlight this serious problem havebeen recorded with such cooperativeartists as Phil Collins, Quincy Jones’51, Mariah Carey, Henry Mancini,Wynton Marsalis, and many others.

Action is most likely, however,through local community-based ad-vocacy.

What Yeu Can DoAs active music professionals andmusic enthusiasts, Berklee’s vast andtalented alumni body has a uniqueopportunity to make a difference. Iurge all of you to become advocatesfor music in your community.

Become directly involved in andshare responsibility for the success andgrowth of local school music programs.Let your elected officials know thateducational goals that omit or slightmusic are an unacceptable prescrip-tion for the stunted growth of ourchildren. And become matchmakers,bringing together the often separatedomains of music in the schools andmusic in the community.

These efforts will pay you backmany times your investment, becauseyour own future professional successand the success of those who succeedyou is linked very closely to the valuewhich our society puts upon music. ~1


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Rhy~~hm"in

Melody W " "rltlng

An approach to songwridng through rhythmcan bring some exciting discoveries

by Jack

Perricone

W hen thinking of great or memorablemelodies, most people focus on onlypitch, the curve or contour of the

melodic line, and possibly the harmony that ismarried to the remembered melody. Very fewwill focus on the mdodic rhythm. By doing so,they may be missing more than half of the picture.

By definition, melody is the succession ofpitches in rhythm. Yet, in many ways, rhythm isthe most important structural element not onlyin songwriting but in all music composition. Theproof of this statement can be best realized whenrhythm is isolated from pitch.

At a micro level, we can examine the rhythmicmotive. At the next level, we can observe phrasesand their relationship to one another--how theybalance or imbalance one another, whetherrhythmic and/or phrasal acceleration or deceler-ation occurs, or how the phrases are ordered. Ata macro level, we can analyze the relationship ofthe rhythms and phrase lengths and the relation-ships between sections within the song.

Pre- and P0st-RockThe predominance of rhythm has become evenmore apparent over the past 50 years through theevolution of contemporary music. In the pre-rock and roll era, composers emphasized thelong lyrical melodic line and sophisticated har-monies derived from European composition.

Today’s music tends to be harmonically lesssophisticated but rhythmically more complex(though use of modes and a blues-derived har-monic vocabulary does make much of it tonallyinteresting). In the most obvious example, rapmusic, melodic pitch is almost always entirelymissing.

When we refer to melodic rhythm, we shouldconsider not only the rhythms of the melody butalso the relationship of the phrases to each other.Many of today’s songs have sections which arepurposefully asymmetrical, and in this way, too,are markedly different from the pre-rock-erapopular songs with their 8+8+8+8 measure songstructure.

24

The finished product: "In many ways, rhythm is the most important structural element in composition."

Berklee to day Summer 1991

I|hythm FirstBecause rhythm is so important incontemporary songwriting, it cartprove interesting and sometimes liber--ating to approach melody writing froma rhythmic perspective.

How do you begin to conceivemelody from rhythm? The simplestmethod is to start thinking like adrummer playing a solo, concentrat-ing on interesting rhythms. Set a beat~tap your foot, or use your metronomeor drum machine.

We can step through the processmore easily through example. Thoughthe following process has been simpli-fied for the sake of space, it should getyou started in the right direction.

~itep by StepWhen I compose from a rhythmicperspective, I begin by creating an in-teresting rhythmic phrase (see ~).

Next, I study the rhythms I havecreated. The outstanding characteristicrhythm of the phrase is ~d’~. This iscalled a rhythmic motive. Storing thisknowledge away, I continue to create.I like the first phrase and decide torepeat it (see ®).

The repetition of the phrase hascaused the music to become symmet-ric. Since symmetry tends to causemonotony, it is time to create a differ-ent phrase. As I do this, I am aware ofthe length of my phrase (two mea-sures, ending on the third beat). I decideto create another two-measure phrase,this time ending in a different place(the second 16th of beat four), as seenin example ®.

The fourth phrase is important be-cause it potentially balances the section.I begin this phrase with the samerhythms as phrases one and two, butdecide to use the rhythmic motive to agreater extent (example ®). I also use developmental technique (:ailed"rhythmic displacement," which in-v.olves the placement of a rhythm in adifferent metric area than the one inwhich it originally appeared.

Once you have decided on a me-lodic rhythm which pleases you, theelement of pitch may be added. In fact,as you create the rhythms of yourmelody, you may also be creating someor all of your pitches.

The "final product" (on page 24)shows the section after pitch has been

added to the melodic rhythm. I haveadded my chosen harmonies to give aglimpse of the final composition. Ofcourse, the process of selecting those isanother subject altogether.

Some Final NotesBe aware that when a rhythmic phraserepeats, some or all of the pitches maybe changed to maintain the interest ofthe listener.

For example, phrase two is a rhyth-mic repetition of phrase one. This rep-etition of a rhythmic phrase causesclosure, removing the sense of forwardmotion. If I want to retain interest, it isbest to end the second phrase on apitch which calls for resolution (in thiscase, "re"). This is one way pitch workswith rhythm to create interest.

Phrase three begins in a differentvocal register and becomes the tonalhigh point of the section. Displacingthe rhythmic motive in phrase fourallows me to cadence on it (on "do")and provides a likely area to hang mytitle line.

At best, this article may lead you tothink more about the rhythms youchoose as you create your melodies.Of course, melodic pitch is also im-portant-so is harmony. However, byconcentrating on melodic rhythm first,you may make some very exciting dis-coveries in your melody writing. ~B

Jack Perricone chairs Berklee’s Song-writing Department. His songs havereached top-20 status on pop, country,and rhythm and blues charts.


Alum n o t e s

Compiled by

Carrie Semanco

"86

Pianist Hal Galper ’57 andhis trio are touring the UnitedStates this summer in sup-port of their new release onConcord dazz.

Ronahl Spagnardi ’63founded Modern DrummerPublications in 1976. Sincethat time, Ronald has beenthe president, editor, andpublisher of ModernDrumme;, magazine.

Gene Perla "65 is a sounddesign consultant/producerat Fox and Perla and amember of the sound de-sign team for the musicalCity of Angels, playing at theVirginia Theater in NewYork. Gene lives in Wood-cliff Lake, NJ.

Pianist Dave Burrell ’65has toured, recorded, andperformed with numerousjazz artists, including Arch-ie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders,Lester Bowie, and RonCarter. His Xatest release,entitled Daybreak, withsaxophonist David Murray,was nominated for Best JazzRecording by the Philadel-phia Music Foundation.Dave was selected to per-form an original work forthe Smithsonian Institu-tion’s American ClassicalMusic Series.

Known around Califor-nia as "pianist to the stars,"I~ict, ard Franke "69 is a fea-tured performer at variousBeverly Hills restaurants,including Bistro and I1 Gi-ardino’s. Richard was re-cently elected to the TrialBoard of the AFM Local #47in Los Angeles, CA.

Severino d. Calice ’70owns and operates R.C.& J.Productions, a video andmusic production companyin San Diego, CA.

Chief Musician Thomas C.Wholley’70 has served in theU.S. Navy band for 19 years.Thomas is stationed inNorfolk, VA.

Andy Widders-Ellis’70 wasappointed associate editor ofGuitar Player magazine. Inhis position, Andy inter-views artists, prepares andcoordinates bench tests, andwrites and edits music col-umns. Andy is also an ac-complished Stick player and

Ronald Spagnardi ’63

performed the Stick solo onAmy Grant’s Grammy-winning track "Angels."

Terence A. Bonnell "71 re-ceived national airplay of hisCD Handwrought on ITIRecords. The recording fea-tures Bobby Shew, KimRichmond, and Bob Sum-mers ’69. Terence hasworked for Universal Stu-dios in Los Angeles, CA,since 1977 as a music copy-ist and proofreader for morethan 100 major motion pic-tures.

Piano teacher WilliamRossi ’71 founded theRhythm Section Workshopin Seattle, WA, in 1986. Thisworkshop for private andensemble instruction hasproven successful in devel-oping good rhythm sectionskills in young musicians.

Trumpet player StevenLowry ’73 lives in Lahaina,HI, where he is a disc jock-ey with KPOA radio andhosts his own weekly jazzcontinued on page 28


NashvilleLast March marked the second an-nual Nashville Alumni SongwritersShowcase in the Music City, featur-ing a week-long series of student andalumni events (see page 34). Theevent provided unique opportunitiesfor both students and alumni. Stu-dents learned more about the Naslh-ville industry, while alumni had thechance to make important connec-tions with their classmates and peers.

New YorkNot to be outdone by the Nashvi]lealumni, the New York alumni clubcommittee hosted the first-everBerklee Alumni Band Showcase inMarch at the Cat Club in New York.

The committee sent requests fortapes to New York alumni in Janu-ary. Alumni-led bands or bandshaving two or more alumni memberswere eligible. The next step in theprocess was the most difficult.

"Choosing the top three tapesfrom the more than 35 entries wasn’teasy," says committee chairman donPress "79. Jon and volunteer com-mittee members Kathy SheppardSteve Ward "87, and Rick Stone "80spent an entire Saturday reviewingtapes and deciding which three bandswould perform.

"The top ten bands were a realtoss-up," Ward says. % was reallyimpressed with the quality of tiletapes we received."

The final bands selected included:Out Back, featuring Willie Pellock’135and Ge0rge Lacks "78; ShipwreckedDaughter, led by Robin Kreinces ’81;and World Dive with Sam Saffatti ’88and Matt Kaslew ’88.

Each band played a blistering 35-minute set to an enthusiastic crowdof 200 guests and invited industryrepresentatives. Alumni attendeeshad a great opportunity to hear theirpeers and connect with importantNew York industry contacts.

"I’m surprised that more NewYork alums didn’t turn out for thisevent," one alumnus commented."Given the great music, the numberof A&R representatives, and no cower

ALUMNI NEWScharge, the networking opportuni-ties here are terrific."

What’s next for Big Apple alum-ni? The alumni club committee isopen to suggestions, and looking toexpand. Anyone wishing to get in-volved can contact the Alumni Rela-tions Office for more information.

Songwriter Janis lan (left) and fac-ulty member Pat Pattison take a breakduring the Alumni Group of Boston’sSpring Networking Day.

New JerseyThe Berklee MIDI Band went "onthe road" to Princeton University inPrinceton, NJ, in April. Lead byMusic Synthesis Department Chair-man Dennis Thurmond, the BerkleeMIDI Band conducted a MusicSynthesis Seminar and performed forPrinceton students and faculty. Lo-cal Berklee alumni were invited tothe events as well.

"It was heartwarming to seeBerklee alumni in the audience," saidThurmond after the concert. "Theygave a real show of support. Thewhole event had a great feeling."

Members of the MIDI Band in-clude Kai Turnbull ’87, Dow Brain ’88,Hiro lida "89, Andrew Sherman, AlexFr0wein ’88, and Adrian Harpham.All members work in Berklee’sMusic Synthesis Department.

BostonApril 17 marked the first annualSpring Networking Day for Boston-

area alumni. Hosted by the AlumniGroup of Boston, the day featuredthree different events.

A clinic/tape critique by well-known songwriter Janice Ian gotthings rolling in the afternoon, fol-lowed by a Networking Party at theSoft Rock Cafd.

More than 40 alumni swappedprofessional information, met visit-ing songwriting professionals, andgot to know each other better overdinner and drinks. Afterwards, ev-eryone headed to the Berklee Per-formance Center for the annualSongwriter’s Night concert, featuringthe winners of the student songwrit-ing competition.

Special thanks for this event goesto Alumni Group of Boston mem-bers Jeannie Deva ’75, Yumiko Mat-suoka ’89, Lenny Cole "87, PengbianSang "86, Mary Morgan ’86, Dave Me-deiros ~82, and Jack Blovits ’88.

FloridaThe Sunshine State is becoming anincreasingly popular home base forBerklee alumni. With their numbersgrowing, Florida alumni decided toestablish some networking oppor-tunities. The Alumni Relations Of-fice hosted two alumni events inFlorida last April.

Eastern Florida alumni met foran informal networking party at theBiscayne Bay Marriott in Miami.Central Florida alumni convened inMaitland (near Orlando) for a specialdinner honoring legendary writer/arranger Jesse Stone.

Mr. Stone was a key to Atlantic’searly success, writing and arrangingmany of the label’s early hits, in-cluding the classic single "ShakeRattle ’n’ Roll."

The Jesse Stone Lifetime Schol-arship, awarded to promising pianoplayers entering Berklee, was estab-lished six years ago by AtlanticRecords founder Ahmet Ertegun.

If you are interested in more in-formation on hosting or attendingalumni activities in your area, pleasecall the Alumni Relations Office at(617) 266-1400, extension 479.


CLASS CONNECTIOI~ISMost faculty and

staff members at thecollege spent the betterpart of May saying"goodbye" and "goodluck" to the graduatingseniors. I would nowlike to say "hello" and"welcome."

The 480 members ofthe class of ’91 (minusthe few who stayedthrough the summer topass that last peskyproficiency exam) iointhe Berklee alumni

Carrie Semanco: It was abusy second year for alumniand Alumni ]Relations.

body of 22,000 whoshare their experience at Berklee as a common bond.It is great to have you with us.

It was a busy second year in the Alumni RelationsOffice. The alumni body continues to grow not onlywith the addition of recent graduate.,;, but with themany "lost" alumni who have reconnected with thecollege to fill us in on their persona1 and professionalactivities and to participate in regional alumni events.Harris Publishing Company reports a record numberof requests for the Alumni Directory (see page 7). Theinformation they gathered for the directory will be atremendous help in updating college records.

This past year, the Alumni Relations Office andregional alumni club committees hosted 15 separateevents for alumni and students, including concerts,career and professional panels, networking parties,and receptions. We are also developi~Lg new ways toassist current students and young alumni throughprograms such as the Berklee Career’ Network andby seeking alumni professionals who will volunteertheir time and services to assist Berklee graduates.With input from faculty and alumr~i, we hope tocontinue to expand and diversify activities in thecoming year.

I would like to extend a special thank you to thehundreds of alumni who took the time to send in-formation, pictures, tapes, CDs, and press kits for the"Alum notes" section of Berklee today as well as forrelease by the News Bureau. Sending informationabout your professional activities not only helpsBerklee keep in touch with its alumni on a personallevel, but the information is vitally important to thecollege for self-evaluation, grant applications, andpublic relations. As Berklee continues to grow anddevelop in an increasingly competitive educationalmarket, the ability to accurately report on the activi-ties of our alumni is more important than ever.

--Carrie Semanco ’86Alumni Relations Coordinator

show. Steven performs fre-quently at Blackie’s Bar inLahaina with Shiro Mori ’74and Sean Lyons "86. Stevenencourages Berklee alumnito submit new and classiciazz recordings for possibleairplay on his show.

D~nnis Carrera ’74 teach-es guitar for the United Ce-rebral Palsy organization inNeptune, NJ. Dennis alsoperforms at local clubs as aguitarist and vocalist.

Pat Harman ’74 works forthe National Museum ofAmerican History in Wash-ington, D.C., as a produc-tion specialist for the De-partment of PublicProgramming.

IVlichael J. Kuvinka "74 ofFreedom, PA, received aComposer’s Guild award inthe jazz category this year.

Yamaha Corporation ofAmerica recently announcedthe appointment of ~veryIBurdette ’75 as product mar-keting specialist. Avery hasan extensive background inretail and performing.

A 15-year veteran ofSESAC, Tom Casey ’75 hasbeen promoted from direc-tor of repertory administra-tion to vice president for af-filiate management. Tomoperates from SESAC’sNashville, TN, office. Last

March, Tom hosted a clinicat SESAC for visiting Berk-lee students.

After graduating, 8ichieContartesi "75, known pro-fessionally as saxophonistRichie Corm, relocated toNew York where he per-formed with Philly Jo Jones,the Thad Jones-Mel Lewisbig band, Clark Terry, andothers. Now residing insouthern Florida, he estab-lished C & R Digital, a mu-sic production, publishing,and distribution company.Richie produced his ownadult contemporary CDentitled Ultimate Visions,receiving airplay throughoutthe southern United States.

Reggie Clem "76, knownprofessionally as J. Schoen-eman, sings with the Balti-more Choral Arts Society inBaltimore, MD.

Don Koldon "76 has ac-cepted a clinical fellowshipat Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts GeneralHospital. A doctoral candi-date, Don is studying thecreative process of contem-porary composers.

Guitarist Jeffrey Wallace’76 plays with the Connecti-cut-based country bandDesert Skies.

Terry Siganos ’76 of Ath-ens, Greece, produced and

Lance Duncan’79(left) and Jim Anderson’74(center) openedSound Techniques in Boston this April (also shown is engi-neer Rick Sweetser). The facility offers three studios and centra~ machine room for audio/video applications.


sang back-up on vocalistSam Redman’s self-titleddebut album released byCBS last fall.

Gary Haggerty’77 receivedan Outstanding ServiceAward from Berklee for hisinnovative work in the col-lege’s library.

Brent Mingle ’77 is chiefengineer at the 24-track re-cording studio East CoastSound Lab in Baltimore,MD. Brent plays bass forthe group Root Boy Slimand ran sound at the NorthSea and Montreaux jazz fes-tivals this year for thevocal group After Hours.

Drummer Michael M.Schimpf "77, known profes-sionally as Gino MichaelSchimpf, leads and performswith his own jazz quartet.iMichael often appears atTamiment, in the GrandHall in East Stroudsburg,PA, and as part of the "Jazz,on Sunday Evening" pro-gram at the Hillside Inn inthe Poconos.

Sam Holmstock ’78 leadsan Afro-Latin drum ensem-ble called Die Kunst DeriDrum in Martha’s Vineyard,IMA. The group sponsorsdrum clinics with artists suchas Ibrahima Camara andJerry Gonzales. Sam alsoperforms with world-beatband the Ululators.

Lees Dunn Yunits ’78 ofBrockton, MA, recorded aCD of original pop/jazzsongs released on the Breck-inridge Company label.

Saxophonist Greg Degler"79 completed a tour withvocal jazz great Mel Torm4.Greg also performed onseveral recent Disney moviesoundtracks and televisionrecordings.

Julia Rogers Fraser ’79lives in Sepulveda, CA,where she is marketing di-rector for Alfred MusicPublishing.

Guitarist Jim Robetls "79is a member of the United

.Aerial Display, a contemporary jazz band based in Torrance, CA, features (left to right):LarrySteen ’84, Darrell Block "80, James Wheeler ’85 (seated), Anthony Shogrin, Gene Bohman ’76,and David Leach. The band performed at the Carson Jazz Festival in May.

States Army Band stationed:in Ft. Myer, VA.

Michael Wenslow ’79 hasestablished Ten Squared inNorth Hollywood, CA. Thecompany’s services includeaudio recording, adminis-tration, of copyrighted ma-terials, instructional mediaproduction and publication,publication of choral ar-rangements, music videoproduction, and computersoftware development.

David Burdick ’80 teachestheory and composition atMillikin University in De-catur, ![L.

Mark Garner Klagstad ’80freelances in Boulder, CO,playing clubs, casuals, andproducing concerts.

Daniel Levitin ’80 has beenappointed consulting editorfor REP: The Pro AudioApplications Magazine. Asconsulting editor, Danielwill be responsible for themusic review section as wellas inte,~views. Daniel’s writ-ing has been featured in Mixmagazine.

Drummer/songwriter[lean Lopes "80 toured withthe Tubes during their 1989and 19’90 tours through theUnited States and Canada.

Dean has also toured andperformed with the groupsArea Code, Robert TepperBand, F-Sharp, Push Comesto Shove, and the Pull.

As drummer and back-up vocalist for the Los An-geles rock/funk groupBLOC, Christopher Man-cinelli "80 looks forward tothe group’s first release onA&M Records entitled Inthe Free Zone.

Thomas W. Santagata "80recently formed the RhodeIsland quintet Jealous Fury.Thomas also plays trumpetand flugelhorn with severalother bands in Rhode Island.

Robert d. Searls "80, own-er and director of ArizonaProductions in Sydney,Australia, writes and pro-duces music for television,documentaries, films, andadvertisements.

Mark Edward Boling "81wrote The Jazz TheoryWorkbook, published byAdvance Music of WestGermany and availablethrough Jamie AbersoldPublications. Mark is an as-sistant professor of music atthe University of Tennessee.

Kevin Daley’81 authored anew guitar method book for

Kjos Music Company. Thework is one of a series ofcomprehensive methodbooks for individual orgroup study published byKjos for guitar, keyboards,bass, and drums.

Hans Fagt ’81, drummerwith Kim Larsen and Bella-mi, has two albums to hiscredit, Yummi-Yummi andKielgasten. Both albumswent double platinum inDenmark, gold in Norway,and silver in Sweden.

Peter B. Olson "81 works asjazz coordinator for theMacPhail Center for theArts, part of University ofMinnesota Extensions inMinneapolis, MN.

Loren Michael Parkins ’81earned his master’s degreein communications fromEmerson College in 1985.As a producer, Loren hasworked with James Wil-liams, Rob Mounsey, BuckyPizzarelli, and many others.

Berklee staff memberWinston MacCow "82 re-ceived an award for out-standing service from thecollege for his work in theEnsemble Department.

An assistant registrar atFranklin Pierce College in


DEVELOPMENT,~;At Berklee, our ad-vanced contemporarycurriculum is supportedby the latest in acousticand electronic instru-ments and sound rein-forcement equipment.

Yet maintaining thiscutting edge statuswhile replacing existinginstruments is not aneasy task. We have morethan 300 acoustic anddigital pianos alone! Insupport of our mission,Berklee has been fortu-nate to find support

John Collins: Instrumentdonations to Berklee offera win-win opportunity.

from the music industry in the form of donated in-struments, equipment, and support services.

In a recent article in the Boston Business Journal,Toni Mansfield writes that in-kind giving to non-profit institutions is a "win-win" situation for thedonor and the recipient. The corporation is able tomove surplus inventory, or perhaps stocks of productin the wrong size or color which are taking up spacein the warehouse. Leaving the goods in inventoryinflates the profits which must be reported for taxes.

According to Ms. Mansfield, "Donating the prod-ucts will reduce the excess inventory and gain thecorporation a charitable gift deduction up to twicethe cost of the inventory. The amount of the deduc-tion is the cost of the goods plus half the gain thatwould have been realized had the goods been sold."

Aside from the tax benefits, a company also hasthe satisfaction of knowing that their product is beingused at Berklee by almost 2800 students from morethan 70 countries, who upon graduation will join theranks of approximately 22,000 alumni professionals.Obviously, the experience of these talented individualson the company’s instruments will l~Lelp the status ofthe manufacturer worldwide for years to come.

And finally, the business has the satisfaction ofgiving back to the profession through music educa-tion. Berklee has been fortunate to receive recentdonations from Kawai, Korg, Technics, and AppleComputer. Such donations help the college keep ex-penses down, resulting in more affordable tuitionfees. We hope others will join this distinguishedbusiness and professional leadership group who rec-ognize the long-term benefits of supporting musiceducation at Berklee College of Music.

If you would like more information about in-kinddonations or giving opportunities, please don’t hesi-tate to call me at (617) 266-1400, extension 438.

--John CollinsDirector of Development

New Hampshire, Elizabeth8ichardson Martin ’82 grad-uated with a master’s incounseling from Keene StateCollege this year. Elizabethperforms regularly with lo-cal theater groups and con-cert productions.

Kevin McCluskey ’82 hasbeen named director of salesand marketing for the Bos-ton Potato Chip Company.Past musical career achieve-ments include a tour of theSoviet Union performingwith Livingston Taylor andother national artists.

Bob Ross "82, profession-ally known as R. HooverRoss, played bass on theCarboy’s debut album forMCA Records.

Benjamin IF. Smeall ’82earned his master’s degreein music education fromSouth Carolina Universityand is pursuing a doctoratein Green Bay, WI. As a vio-linist, Benjamin specializesin jazz, folk, and ethnic mu-sical styles.

Pianist Makoto Takenaka’82 teaches part-time at theMassachusetts Institute of

Technology in addition tohis duties as an assistantprofessor in the piano de-partment at Berklee. Mako-to appears regularly on tele-vision and radio programsin the Boston area, includ-ing frequent spots onWMJX radio’s "SundayMorning Jazz" program.

Jean-Pierre Van Eerd-ewegh ’82 is an artistic agentand producer in Brussels,Belgium.

Berklee Office ServicesCoordinator Rena Wade "82received an OutstandingService Award from thecollege for her continuinglevel of excellence in theBusiness Office.

As marketing managerfor Mendez & Company,Luis Alvarez’83 assisted withthis year’s production of theI-Ieineken JazzFest in Puer-to Rico. The festival featuredperformances by severalBerklee alumni, includingAbraham Laboriel ’72, JustoAlmario ’71, and Ricardo Sil-veira ’77.

Guidance counselor forGrove School of Music in

The reggae/funk group Burning Brass featuring (left to right)Nilda I~ichards ’82, Pam Fleming, and Jenny Hill ’83.


NOT JUST ANOTHER L.A. STORYFor composer Peter Mel~lick "85,

landing the film scoring job for SteveMartin’s film L.A. Story was all amatter of "atmosphere."

"I prepared a demo of a musicaltexture for the scenes where SteveMartin is talking to the sign," he says."The director, Mick Jackson, likedwhat I did. And so I got the job."

Those who saw L.A. Story willremember Martin’s conversationswith a highway-side sign as high-lights of the film. But for Melnick,the highlight was the chance to workwith director Mick Jackson.

"He is really a composer’s direc-tor," he explains. "He had clear ideas,but he also knew when to give me adirection and then stand back and letme create. That is a rare combina-tion."

But that rare combination did notease the pressure to complete thescore at the last minute.

"We spotted the film the day be-fore Thanksgiving," he says. "Wewent into the studio on December16. So I basically had two weeks towrite the score."

Before L.A. Story, Melnick didmost of his creating for the smallscreen, scoring the movie of the weekGet Smart, Again/, as well as severalepisodes of public television’s"Nova," afterschool specials, and

series such as "Nightingales" and "AFine Romance." He also has beeninvolved in stage work, providingmusic for the Circle RepertoryTheater in New York and the L.A.Shakespeare Festival, as well as anoriginal dance theater work for theWilliamstown Theater Festival.

Since he left Berklee in 1985,Melnick has seen music technologyalter the face of his business.

"Synthesis has really changed theway in for new composers," he ex-plains. "You used to work through

apprenticeships. Now, first scores arevery often synth scores. It is hard toimagine breaking in without accessto a synthesis set-up."

Melnick’s success with L.A. Storyhas led to other major projects, in-cluding the up-coming film Convictsstarring Robert Duvall, James EarlJones, and Lukas Haas.

"A lot of people ask me how youget breaks in this business," he says."The answer is that you createbreaks. You find out where you canget a purchase and you go after it."

Steve Martin and Victoria Tennant in a scene from the film L.A. Story.

Van Nuys, CA, Gerald E.(derry) Gates ’83 also teachesprivately and writes and or-chestrates jingles. Recentclients include Scope andl:;ank of America

Jeff Harrington ’83 playedlead tenor with the GeneKrupa Band for Royal Car-ibbean’s Great EntertainerCruise last October. Jeffserves as chairman of the jazzdepartment at the SouthShore Conservatory inHingham, MA.

Tenor saxophonist dennyI~till ’83 co-leads the reggae/funk group Burning Brass(].eft) with Nilda Richards’82.Fiurning Brass won the

Summer 1991

Brooklyn Lager World BeatCompetition this year. Jen-ny has toured and recordedextensively as a formermember of the Jamaicanreggae group Burning Spearand as a freelance performerin New York City.

As staff engineer forA&M Recording Studios inHollywood, Robert J. Jacz-ko, Jr. ’83, has worked onrecent projects for BruceSpringsteen, Joe Cocker,Hall & Oates, CrowdedHouse, the Pretenders, and][)on Henley.

Rick Kuethe ’83 co-ownsand operates Air Studios inBoston, MA, with partner

Bob Reardon ’85. Rick haswritten commercials for ra-dio and television, networkthemes for television, andhas scored three documen-taries. He has released tworecordings of his keyboardperformances, NebraskaSuite and The Child Within.

NEBRASKA SUITE ]

Berklee staff memberReggie Lofton ’83 received anOutstanding Service Awardfrom the college for his workas concert technical coordi-nator in the ProfessionalPerformance Division.

Former Berklee facultymember Anthony MichaelPeters0n ’83 is a guitarist inthe blues/funk band PBRStreet Gang.

Richard Schumacher ’83co-leads the fusion band ArtBeyond, which performsthroughout Germany.

Singer/songwriter gindySinclair ’83 lives in SantaMonica, CA. Her songshave received airplay on ra-

Berklee today 31

BAR REPORTThis past year the

Berklee Alumni Rep-resentative (BAR)program expandedits network ofBerklee alumni toinclude interna-tional representa-tives in such far cor-ners of the world asArgentina, Japan, andEngland. Like their U.S.counterparts, BARmembers in these areasmeet with student mu-

The BAR program now en-compasses new culturesand continents worldwide.

sicians to describe Berklee’s unique and diverse mu-sic career-oriented curriculum.

Marcelo Braga ’83 of Buenos Aires assisted Direc-tor of Admissions Steven Lipman ’69 at the Berklee inArgentina program last December. Steve and Marcelohosted a reception for prospective students living inBuenos Aires to answer their questions about Berkleeand assist them with the application process. Sincethen, Marcelo has served as a liaison with Argentini-an musicians applying to the college.

Tim Cauller’81, former Boston-area BAR member,moved to Yokohama, Japan, last year and has assistedthe Admissions Office by visiting with students atthe Mate School of Music in Tokyo. Tim aiso hasinterviewed applicants living in Japan, helping us learnmore about their musical background.

Lawrence Jones "80 of Philadelphia, PA, has beenan active jazz musician in the United States and En-gland since graduating. This past year, Lawrencehosted a reception with the Jazz in the South programin England for interested prospective Bet!dee students.Lawrence has also served as a liaison between Berkleeand student musicians abroad.

These accomplishments signal the expansion ofBAR to encompass new cultures and continents.However, we still need alumni assistance worldwidein learning about ways to reach students internation-ally. Information on the music programs taught inthe school systems, the private music schools, musicfestivals, music conferences, and music education or-ganizations around the world will help us structureBAR involvement more effectively.

If you are interested in becoming involved withBAR and live outside the United States, we wouldlike to here from you. Of course, if you are interestedand still live on American soil, we want to hear fromyou, too. Just check the BAR box on the form onpage 37, or call me directly at (617) 266-1400, exten-sion 366. I look forward to hearing :from you.

--Rich Adams "82Alumni Admissions Coordinator

32 Berklee today

dio stations in Boston andHolland.

Lynn Michelle Williams-Patterson "83 is president ofOld Line Productions inBaltimore, MD.

Keyboardist J0n R. AI-be~ts ’84 performs with thegroup Sabella Consort, runsa music recording and pub-lishing business called Acein the Hole Productions, andteaches piano and theory atKennelly Keys music storesin Seattle, WA.

Robert W. Dull ’84 playsdrums with the Minneapo-lis band Citizens Patrol,whose first release is enti-tled Range of Emotion.Robert is also a salesman atthe Guitar Center in Rose-ville, MN.

Ken E. Fix II ’84 playedguitar on Kim Kalman’s newrelease All Hearts Go Homefor Christmas. Ken alsofounded his own musicpublishing company, Wa-terman Lake Music.

Jungle Afternoon, anoriginal orchestra composi-tion by Christopher Florio’84,was premiered by :theGreater Trenton Sympho-ny. Last year, Florio madehis first major symphonicpresentation with his com-position Family, also pre-miered by the TrentonSymphony. A guitarist,Christopher performsaround Boston with severaldifferent performing groups.He also teaches in the Bos-ton public schools.

Berklee staff memberRaelene Hourany ’84 washonored with an Outstand-ing Service Award from thecollege for her work as as-sistant to the dean of curric-Hlum.

Young Chang Americaannounced the appointmentof Steve dohannessen ’84(right) as director of cus-tomer support and artist re-lations for the KurzweilElectronics Division. Steve

will oversee the productionof in-house audio and videoprojects and will producedemonstration sequences forcurrent and future Kurzweilproducts.

Dan Mockensturm ’84works for Full Sail Centerfor the Recording Arts inWinter Park, FL, as an in-structor, engineer, and Syn-clavier programmer. Danworks with AI DiMeola as aprogrammer/technician.

Formerly musical direc-tor for the Scandinavian SkyCruise Ship, drummer Dav-id Nuding ’84 now lives inNashville, TN, where he isproducing local artist SteveBouch&. David also worksas the house drummer atNashville East RecordingStudios and plays five nightsa week at Willies of Gatlin-burg, a Smoky Mountainresort town.

laren S. Oosterman "84works at Natick HighSchool in Natick, MA, as aK-12 music specialist.

Guitarist Cameron ScottSchmitz ’84 teaches bass andguitar north of Boston, MA,and performs with the groupSavvy. He has recentlyteamed up with noted bass-ist Michael Bean ’76 to forma funk/rock group per-forming at Alexander’s Placein Peabody, MA.

John Stein ’84 is the assis-tant director of Berklee’sOffice of Learning Assis-tance. He was honored by

Steve Johannessen "84

Summer 1991

FOR WEEK ENDING APRIL 27, 1991the college with an Out-standing Service Award forthe continuing quality of hisleadership and his innova-tive educational softwaredesign.

Darryl Brenzel "85, saxo-phonist with the UnitedStates Army Jazz Ambassa-dors stationed in Ft. Meade,MD, performed at theNewport Jazz Festival lastAugust. Darryl also freel-ances, composes, and ar-ranges for the big bandJazzmania, based in Wash-ington, D.C.

Guitarist John T. Drysdale’85 freelances in rock, blues,and progressive idioms inWilmington, DE, Philadel-phia, PA, and southern New.Jersey.

Gerald M. (Jerry) Smith ’85

sounds Productions inWollaston, MA. Jerry haswritten jingles for Gerberand Store 24 and producesdemos for local artists.

Jennifer Smith ’85 wasihonored for her exceptionalwork in Berklee’s Office ofInformation Systems withan Outstanding ServiceAward from the college.

Linda Wing Medini "85performs with the groups~mso and Marl as percus-sionist and gives privatevoice lessons.

Julio C. Zelaya ’85 headsthe art department for theUniversity of Honduras.]ulio also writes jingles,produces music for radioand television, and is guitar-ist for a jazz quartet basedin Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Guitarist Mordy Ferber’s’~6 first solo CD entitled Allthe Way to Sendal was re-leased by Enja. The record-ing features fellow Berkleealumni Tiger 0koshi "75,"lFeese Gohl ’80, Miroslav Vi-tous’67, Gildas Boc1~’85, andMarry Richards "85.

Trombonist RussellJewell "86 performs with the

Summer 1991

ON THE CHARTSBerklee alumni have always

ranked high on Billboard’s charts.But a glance at this April’s listingsshowed just how high. At least fiveof the top 15 jazz albums involvedalumni in leading roles. Three ofthem were headliners.

Roy Hargrove "89 entered thecharts high with his new Novusrelease Public Eye. Also featured onthe recording is recent graduate,saxophonist Antonio Hart "91, whois hard at work on his own solodebut.

Charting just below Hargroveis jazz mainstay Keith Jarrett ’64with his new ECM release Tribute,featuring Gary Peacock andBerklee honorary doctorate re-cipient Jack DeJohnnette.

Top Jazz Albums~Compliedfi’cm a naffonai ~mpie of retail store

and o~-stop sales/eports.

ARTIST

** NO. 1 **SHIRLEY HORN VERV~ 847 482/POLYGRAM

NOVUS 3109/RCA

COLUMBIA 47063"

GRP 9627"

ANTrLLES 848 213/(SLAND

TITLE

BLUENOTE 90264./CAHTOL

COLUMBIA 47346

NOVUS 3110./RCA

COLUMBIA 46146

BOBBY WATSON BLUE NOTE 95148./CAPiTO~

MUSE 5433

ROY HAROROVE NOVUS 3113"/RCA

VERVE 843 751"/~OLYGRAM

£CM 847 135"/~OLYGRAM

BLUE NOTE 95479*/CAPITOL

,John Scofield’71 held steady on the chartwith his Blue Note release, Meant To Be, also featuring saxophonist Joe Lovano’72. Inhis recent visit to Berklee, former faculty member Pat Metheny hinted at a possiblefuture duo project with Scofield, which would be almost guaranteed a high chartposition, as well.

Other alumni appear on the charts, although not by name, in important back-ground roles. Delfeay0 Marsalis "89 produced Marcus Roberts’ Novus recording,Alone with Three Giants. And the new release by Dianne Reeves features a wealth ofalumni performances, including Terri Lyne Carringt0n ’83, Greg 0sby ’83, and KevinEubanks "79. ["Top Jazz Albums" chart © 1991 BPI Communications, Inc. Used withpermission from Billboard.]

award-winning Boston jazzgroup Either/Orchestra.

Angela Piva ’86 receivedan Ampex Golden ReelAward for her work on theBig Tyme album by HeavyD and the Boyz. A musicproduction and engineeringgraduate, Angela is a princi-pal of INFX Productions in]New York.

Formerly the conductorand musical director for the]an Le, wan Show and theWayne Newton Orchestrain Las Vegas, NV, StephenKaminski’87 founded CrownStone Music Productions inPerth Amboy, NJ, andwrites music for advertising.

Tamas G.K. Marius’87 is anaudio instructor and engi-neer for Valencia Commu-nity College in Orlando, FL.

Dennis Mitcheltree ’87appeared with the Brook-lyn Jazz Trio at Visiones inNew York this past year.His own trio performs reg-ularly at various New Yorkjazz venues. Dennis is a de-centralization grant recipi-ent and a panelist for Re-grant, an organization whichappropriates grant moneyfor arts projects.

Chika Okamoto "87 re-ceived an award for out-standing service from Berk-lee for her strong supportingrole in the Office of Devel-opment.

Guitarist and WarnerBros. recording artist MarkWhRfield ’87 performed onthe Donald Harrison andTerence Blanchard albumBlack Pearl. He can also be

heard on the Crusaders’ re-union album, thanks to aninvitation from Joe Sample.

0wen Yost "87 plays bassfor the New York bandTyner-Benson Project withthe sons of jazz greatsGeorge Benson and McCoyTyner.

Berklee AdministrativeAssistant Jack BI0vils’85 washonored with an Outstand-ing Service Award from thecollege for his work in theCounseling Center.

Drummer Bobby Borg ’88plays with the rock groupBeggars & Thieves, signedto Atlantic Records. Theband’s video has been fea-tured on MTV.

Benjamin Davis "88formed Frontline Musiccontinued on page 35

Berklee today 33

NASHVILLE MUSIC INDUSTRY BRINGS ALUMNI AND STUDENTS TOGETHER

Traditionally, students spend theirspring break in Fort Lauderdale andother warm relaxing hot spots. Butthis year, more than 50 Berklee stu-dents traveled to Nashville to spendtheir spring sojourn learning aboutthe music business.

Pat Pattison, a faculty member inBerklee’s Songwriting Department,and Carrie Semanco ’86, coordinatorof alumni relations, organized thefive-day event that mixed businesswith pleasure.

A who’s who of the Nashvillemusic industry supported the event.Sponsored by Jim Ed Norman,president of Warner Bros., and ar-ranged by Pete Fisher of Warner/Elektra/Asylum (WEA), the stu-dents were provided bus transporta-tion to the Music City. Other com-panies contributed time, talent, andfunds, as well.

Songs and StoriesAt ASCAP, Director of Member-ship Relations Tom Long hosted aninformative session on performingrights. He then presented songwrit-er Pat Algier, who shared his insightsand played his songs.

At SESAC, alumnus Tom Casey’75and Dianne Petty provided more in-put on the songwriting business andpresented writer Kendall Franches-ca--a talented, transplanted NewYorker who explained how he madethe transition. Tom Casey later pre-sented SESAC’s scholarship dona-tion to Berklee at the Alumni Sing-er/Songwriter Showcase. The giftrepresents the fifth annual investmentmade by SESAC in the future ofsongwriting.

The young songwriters visitedmore than 20 other studios, pub-lishing houses, and clubs, learningwhat it takes to make it in Nashville.They attended seminars at Warner/Chappell Publishing, BMI, AFTRA/SAG, Fireside Studio (with alumnusGary Culley ’89), and WEA Studios.

At Warner Bros., acclaimedsongwriter Janis Ian spoke with thegroup, played a few of her songs,and summed up what many of the

Alumna Debbie Salvucci ’89 performs for alumni, students, and friends atNashville’s Douglas Corner Caf&

professionals related to the students:"You just have to learn to trustyourself."

NSAI and the Alumni ShowcaseThe students aiso attended theNashville Songwriters AssociationInternational (NSAI) conference.NSAI director Pat Huber arrangeda special discount for the students toattend the conference panels. In ad-dition, Pete Fisher hosted an exclu-sive songwriters panel at NSAI forBerklee participants. Later, thealumni relations office hosted a pan-el of its own, featuring Nashvillealumni Betsy Jackson ’84, Lee Satter-field ’83, Debbie Salvucci ’89, MarieMattei ’84, Nancy Morris’80, and MikeMorris ’82.

The Berklee Alumni Singer/Songwriter Showcase was the highpoint of the weekend, as the alumnipanelists, along with Camille $chmidt’84 and John Mock ’88, took the stageto share their music at the popularDouglas Corner Caf6.

Also during the event, Nashvillealumni honored saxophonist JayPatten ’69 for his achievements in themusic industry. Patten (known tohis Berklee colleagues as JosephPellacchia) is a leading session player

in Nashville, working with such art-ists as Johnny Cash, Leon Russell,T.G.Sheppard, Michael Johnson,and Crystal Gayle. His first solo al-bum, Black Hat & Saxophone wasreleased last year on CBS (see Berk-lee today, Fall 1990).

Award TimeBut "Blue Jay" Patten was not theonly award winner of the day. Upona close review of the Nashville event,the Council for the Advancementand Support of Education (CASE)awarded Berklee a silver medal as anoutstanding example of an individualalumni program. Many thanks go tothe Nashville alumni and music in-dustry, as well as to our own song-writing faculty, staff, and students,for making the event such a success.

The trip was the second collabo-ration between the Nashville musicindustry and Berklee’s innovativeSongwriting Department. Facultyand students were pleased to see theindustry recognizing Berklee’s pro-grams and investing in their future.Everyone at the college looks for-ward to a continued partnership withthe Music City...and, of course, tonext year’s spring break.

--John Collins


iDesign in Farmington Hills,MI, with alumna Jen Bru-netti "85. They have record-ed several industrial scoresand national and local radioads in addition to workingon an album project withthe band Sister Psycho.

Joe Delmerico ’88, an ac-tive guitarist and instructorliving in Charlestown, MA,is composing original musicfor an album to be producedin collaboration with gui-tarist Mike Rathke "84.

A resident of San Fran-cisco, CA, James Eason ’88plays saxophone with thelocal group Scatman Joe.The group is planning aCalifornia tour.

David D. Eisnor "88 beganas an audio engineer at At-lantic Television System/Atlantic Satellite Network inHalifax, Nova Scotia, lastspring. David does audio for

netwo:rk news, commercials,cross-Canada feeds, and va-:dety entertainment shows.

David Friedlander "88"works as assistant engineerfor Prince’s Paisley ParkStudios in Minneapolis,MN.

David Korchin "88 lives inSao Paulo, Brazil, where heis a drummer and program-mer for Nosso Studio Sound& Image. His extensive jin-gle work includes produc-tions for McDonald’s andCoca Cola. David is mar-tied to vocalist kuciano Sou-za ’88 and plays drums in herband with Eduardo Souza ’87on keyboards.

A graduate of the Song-writing Department, LaaeeC. McCollum "88 owns andoperates Business Notes, aregional music advertisingagency based in West Boyl-ston,/VIA.

REVOLUTIONARY REUNION "91Be sure to watch your mailbox for the opportunity to join the

revolution with Alumni Weekend ’91 on August 17 and 18 (seepage 5). Visit with old friends and network with other activemusic professionals as you return to the Berklee campus to seewhat’s new.

This year’s event celebrates the revolution in contemporarymusic education Berklee started more than 46 years ago andmarks the evolution our alumni have helped the college achieve.Special class reunions will be held for the classes of ’86, ’81,’76, ’71, ’66, ’61, ’56, and ’51. But, of course, all alumni arewelcome.

Please call the Alumni Relations Office at (617) 266-1400,extension 479, with any questions, and watch your mail formore information.

Chris J. Parks ’88 joinedVirgin Records artist LalahHathaway "90 as her musicaldirector and bass player.Other alumni backing Lalahon her self-titled debut in-clude Andre Ward ’88, StacyCampbell "90, David Delhom-

me "89, Jeff Ramsey ’90, andDavid Cowan "90. Berkleestudent vocalists KenyaHathaway and Mike Eisen-stein are also on the album.Chris has performed withMica Paris, Walter Beasley,and the R&B group 9.9.

BerkleeAlumni Student Referral

Help give an interested, dese:rving young musi-cian more information on Berklee by filling outthis form and sending it to the address below.

Name

Address

City

State__ ZIP

Instrument

Send the completed form to:

Berklee College of Music:Office of Admissions1140 Boylston StreetBoston, MA 02215

ETOD 0691

Summer 1991 Berklee to day 35

FATHERS AND SONS

Father and son alumni (left to right): John Doherty’91, Shaun Doherty’91, President LeeEliot Berk, Joe Mardin ’85, and Arif Mardin ’58.

Parents of graduating seniors are al-ways a welcome sight at Berklee’s Com-mencement ceremonies. Their guidanceand support often has had a decidingrole in the success of their graduatingsons and daughters. But at the 1991Commencement ceremonies, both par-ent and child were wearing the robes andshaking the hands as a father and sonreceived their degrees together.

Alumnus John Doherty received[ hisdiploma from Berklee in 1969. But as his

son Shaun neared completion of hisstudies, John decided to return to Berk-lee to finish requirements for a full-fledged bachelor’s degree.

Also on hand at the ceremony wasanother famous father-son team. Atlan-tic Vice President Arif Mardin ’58 and hisson producer/arranger Joe Mardin’85 hada similarly double honor in 1985 whenJoe graduated and Arif was awarded anhonorary doctor of music degree byPresident Lee Eliot Berk.

Scott Stillman "88 works inthe set-up department at theRecord Plant in Hollywood,CA.

Recording engineer andproducer Aki0 Ueda ’88 livesin Honolulu, HI, where hefreelances for various re-cording studios and post-production houses includingA.D.D., Fortunate Sun, andAudio Factory.

Volker Xandry ’88, profes-sor of saxophone, flute, andclarinet at Leingarten MusicSchool in Germany, per-forms with various groupsthroughout Germany and ispresident of the Metropoli-tan Jazz Club in Heilbronn.

Volker also trades and re-pairs woodwind instru-ments.

Freelance drummer/per-cussionist/programmer RimHissar’~19 lives in Van Nuys,CA, and is a member of theworld-beat band Sahara.

Christopher James Fass-bender ’89 plays drums forSteve Smith and the Nakeds,teaches privately in NewEngland, and worked ascopyist for the movie DickTracy and the group NewKids on the Block.

Saxophonist Susan Fero"89 mar~.ages and plays so-prano sax for the Boston-based Atlantic Saxophone

Quartet. The group is plan-ning a New England tourfor next fall.

Kristen Guldseth "89 is vicepresident of Nancy SiesPresents, an establishedperforming arts booking andconsulting agency based inAlexandria, VA.

Hardy WiRiams Hemphill’89, of Thousand Oaks, CA,is director and music coor-dinator for The JeremiahPeople, a musical touring theUnited States. Hardy com-posed the theme song forthe television pilot "AtlasTomorrow" and freelancesas a songwriter, workingextensively for the Conti-

nental Singers and ChristianArtists Music.

Colin D. Mandel ’89 leadshis own band and was fea-tured in the September 1989issue of Guitar Player mag-azine. Colin teaches jazz andmusic theory at LearningTree University in Los An-geles, CA.

Yumiko Matsuoka "89 re-ceived an Outstanding Ser-vice Award from Berldee forher innovative work in thecollege’s Career ResourceCenter.

Scott Sheriff "89 is an ex-perienced house engineer forMcSpadden Music Group inNashville, TN.

Gene Ichita Shimosato ’89leads his own Boston jazzgroup GSQ with D0w Brain’88 on keyboards, Rich Kal-sar ’90 on drums, and cur-rent Berklee student MattGarrison on bass. Gene isalso guitarist for the popu-lar alumni-led Boston rockband Bob Meloon and theBig Argument, with BobMel00n "87. As a student,Gene won Down Beatmagazine’s OutstandingPerformance award in theclassical soloist category andlast year received an honor-able mention in GuitarPlayer magazine’s Reader’sSoundpage competition.

As staff engineer for theSierra Recordings studiocomplex in Athens, Greece,Antonios Spetseris "89 hasworked on several albumprojects for CBS, Poly-Gram, as well as EMI-Greece and Minos.

John Baldwin "90 teachesguitar at Mr. C’s in Marlbo-ro, MA.

Roderick Camelia "90teaches guitar and piano. Hehas started a performinggroup in Boston that fusesthe rhythms of his nativeCuracao with rock and jazz.

Ruth Campbell ’90 recent-ly relocated to Nashville,TN, where she freelances as


a digital editor and CDmastering engineer.

Jon H. Denney "90 will betOuring the United States askeyboardist with the groupLe Vert. Jon resides in May-field Heights, Ontario.

Eric Fontana ’90 performswith the hard-core thrashband Sirhan Sirhan, appear-ing throughout Massachu-setts, New York, and RhodeIsland.

Richard J. Forziati ’90 joinsseveral fellow alumni at thePower Station in New Yorkas a production assistant.

A production assistant atSuperdupe Creations inNew York, Jeffrey R. Frey-mann ’90 composed and re-corded the music for theAmerican Cancer Society’snew public service an-nouncement featuring YulBrynner’s son.

Cinzia~ Maria Gizzi ’90

Pianist Cinzia Maria Gizzi’90 returned to Rome, Italy,after attending Berklee. Sheperforms with her trio at lo-cal jazz clubs, festivals, andfor radio. This past year,Maria performed with theSanta Cecilia SymphononyOrchestra and with clari-netist Tony Scott.

Rob Holt "90 joined thestaff of Arista Records inNew York. As East Coastmanager of artist and reper-toire (A&R) administration,Rob oversees Arista’s busi-ness dealings with record-ing studio owners, engi-neers, and producers. Robalso produced and engi-

neered the recent debut re-lease by the band Phaedrus,entitled Eyes.

Shunsuke Kikuta ’90moved to Chicago aftergraduating from Berklee.Shunsuke is guitarist withthe popular fusion/pop bandChaz, the Lurrie Bell BluesBand, and the Louis MyersBand.

Guitarist Gary Schutt "90operates Shut Up!! Produc-tions in Dorchester, MA.His recordings Lost in Par-adise and Sentirnetal areavailable at Tower Recordsin Boston.

Adam Wirdzek "90 com-pleted Tentmakers Rela-tional Ministry Training andwill be involved in the Min-neapolis music ministry.Adam plays for youthgroups in Minneapolis, MN,and surrounding states.

ALUM NOTES INFORMATION FORM

Full Name

Address

City State ZIP Home Phone #

~ This is a new address.

Last year you attended Berklee

Professional Identity

Did you receive a ~i Degree ~ Diploma?

Professional Address

City

Your title/role

State ZIP Work Phone #

Please list any professional activities, performances, recordings, notable music projects, awards, recognitions, orother events you would like us to know about (please print or type):

~i Send me more information on the Berklee Alumni Representative program (see "BAR Report," page 32).~ Send me more information on. becoming a Berklee Career Network advisor.

Please send this form, along with any publicity, clippings, photos, or items of interest to:Berklee today, Berklee College of Music, 1140 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215. We look forward to hearing from you.


Shop t a l k

Notes frommusic industryconferences,conventions,and confabs

National ,~ssociationof Music MerchantsJanuary 2’8-21, 1991Anaheim, CA

This year’s NAMMshow was labeled the largestshow to date with more than640 exhibitors. In spite of adownturn in the economy,and the fact that the PersianGulf war broke out on theeve of the show, the spirit ofboth exhibitors and attend-ees was upbeat.

The show gave furtherevidence to the evolution oftwo trends in the technolo-gy side of the music indus-try. The first trend marks areturn to simpler instru-ments with fewer capabili-ties. These instruments areoften packaged with whatthe industry is calling the"classic" sounds. The secondtrend is a natural maturingof the music software in-dustry into providing per-sonal productivity software.The idea of the personalcomputer for music is final-ly approaching the realm ofthe musical instrument, withgreater emphasis on tailoringthe response of the machineto individual work habitsand tastes.

A Return to Simpler TimesThe movement to morelimited instruments appearsto be a response to laggingmusic instrument sales andincreasing customer com-plaints about overly corn-

piex operating systems, ar-cane terminology, and theseparation of physical actionfrom sound production.

The last issue is a falloutof MIDI itself, as it is a sys-tem based on converting ac-tions into codes which, inturn, control the generationof sound. While the MIDIstandard has revolutionizedthe industry, the technologyinherently separates thephysical expression (per-formed on the controller)from the resultant sound

(produced by the synthe-sizer module). This oftencauses inconsistencies in ex-pressive response to theplayer’s actions and can in-terfere with the musicalperformance.

In many ways, Roland isleading the way toward in-struments with limited ca-pabilities, "classic" sounds,and simple user interfaces.This is particularly true forthe Rhodes line of products,which produce soundsthrough digital synthesisthat recall the old Rhodeselectric piano and Ham-mond organ (complete withdrawbars).

Hammond-Suzuki hasalso released a digital syn-thesizer named the Ham-mond x-B3. This instrumentsounds like the old favorite

B3, yet weighs less than 20pounds, since it producessounds with chips ratherthan tone generators.

Even those instrumentswhich are geared towardsound synthesis are beingaffected by this "retro"movement. Roland releaseda new synthesizer, the JD-800, which goes back 10years in user-interface design(thankfully) to provide fully active live panel inter-face. There are sliders forevery function in the audiopath, giving much betterreal-time control over thevarious parameters of sound.

Oberheim, also, showeda new rack-mount analogsynthesizer with knobs forevery function, a clearly laidout and labeled front panel,and with the digital accura-cy of sound which we havecome to expect from con-temporary synthesizers.

Personal ProductivityAs the industry recognizesthe decline of sound designas a major portion of thesynthesis market, the focushas shifted to the personalproductivity stage, withdesktop music productionbeing the fastest growth area.

Sequencers have maturedto the point where just aboutany type of productiontechnique is possible, fromMIDI data to audio record-ing and processing. Opcodeis leading the way in soft-ware-based productivity


packages which integrateMIDI sequencing, audio re-cording, and sound editingand storage into a singleuser-configurable environ-ment. Its programs allowmusicians to customize theway the software works tomeet their personal prefer-ences and diverse equipmentset-ups.

New tools are paving theway for musicians to devel-op their own productivityapplications through pro-grams like HyperMIDI(HyperCard plus MIDIfunctions) and a new pro-gram from Opcode calledMAX. These applicationsprovide simple object-ori-ented programming toolsfor processing and storingMIDI information.

Intelligent AccompanimentNew advances in intelligentarranging software allowmusicians to enter chordsymbols, tempo, and styleinformation and have acomputer generate a com-plete rhythm section ac-companiment.

Two companies showedhardware-based productswhich incorporate this typeof technology: Kawai’s GB2session trainer and Yama-ha’s QY10 (which mightalso be classified as a per-sonal productivity device).Both products incorporatethe ability to generate aconvincing rhythm sectionpart from minimal user in-put, and have built-in sam-pled sounds, as well.

Other developments in-cluded the rack-mount KorgWavestation A/D, whichfeatures stereo audio inputsand integrated analog-to-digital converters. Also,Opcode announced theirStudio V MIDI/SMPTE in-terface, featuring an on-board processing chip toreduce computer work-load.

--David S. Mash

Summer 1991

International Associationof Jazz EducatorsJanuary 10-13, 1991Washington, D. C.

This year’s IAJE conference was acelebration of the life and music of DukeEllington. Many presentations, perfor-mances, and clinics focused on aspects ofEllington’s work. The sessions covered awide range of other topics, as well.

As in past years, Berklee was wellrepresented in the program. ProfessionalEducation Division

performance of Berklee’s Vocal Jazz En-semble. The group’s enthusiasm andpositive energy made it a hit of the con-ference,

Other clinics of particular interest in-cluded a personal reflection of Elling-ton’s music by Wynton Marsalis, a paneldiscussion on the preservation and pub-lication of the music of jazz masterworks,and the keynote address by composerand scholar Gunther Schuller.

In his address, Schuller outlined manyof the significant contributions of Duke

Ellingto~..:.:te~:~ontempo,-Chairman Larry Mc- ~’ ..... ~.~ ~,~’~,~ .......... ~iiington sClellan presented a clinic ,~ ositional goals tookon reachin, g jazz impro .......~.,, .~,~,~.:~J"~:~.~ ~"" ~zz past the li@tation ofvisation. His approach to .~ dance music. Centraldevelo in basic im ro~:~~:~ ....... ’ ....... his sound the- p g p ..:~;~.:~ ’~:~.~"~ to waswsational skills invol~; ...... ~~ unique harmony anddirected listening to e~[ ~ timbre that resulted fromtablished performers, transcriptions, andperformance. He felt it was importantfor the student to internalize the musicbefore fully analyzing it. McClellan alsoshowed educators how they could ex-tract and use certain exercises from thetranscribed solos.

Faculty member Rick Peckham pre-sented a clinic on developing jazz comp-ing skills. As part of his discussion, hecompared the comping styles of DukeEllington, Thelonious Monk, Jim Hall,and John Abercrombie.

Later that day, Peckham led theBerklee Thelonious Monk Ensemble,comprising several Berklee students, in atribute to the legendary jazz pianist andcomposer.

Faculty member April Arabian con-tinued her past successes at IAJE with a

writing for his particular players’ soundsand styles.

Performances were another highlightof the IAJE events, and many Berkleealumni shined brightly on stage. Eveningperformances each night showcasedKennyWerner’73 and his trio. Werner alsopresented a clinic entitled "Channelingthe Music," in which he encouraged per-formers and teachers to allow time forpure, instinctual creative improvisation,enjoying the "sound of the moment."

The Boston-based Either/Orchestrawas also featured in a major performance.The band is led by Russ Gersh0n "85 andfeatures other alumni, including JohnDirac ’86, Russell Jewell ’86, Mike Rivard"85, and John Carlson "86.

--Kenneth Pullig,Ted Pease, John Hagon

I~lational Black Music CaucusFebruary 28-March 3, 1991Charlotte, NC

The NBMC is an organi-zation of African-Americanmusic educators who arededicated to finding betterways to teach music and in-fuse the music curriculumwith art awareness of Afri-can-American contributionsto the arts. Founded in 1972,its first national conferencein 1988 was so successfulthat the NBMC now plans

to hold conferences everytwo years.

Dr. Carlesta Hendersonof Keene State College pre-sented a discussion on "Af-rican-American Music andthe Related Arts." She pro-posed the use of materialsother than recordings(paintings, sculpture, slides,etc.) to enhance and supportmusic education. Her threemain points were that musicand the related arts are mir-rors of our lives, that theydepict history, society, reli-

gion, and politics, and thatthe arts speak to universalneeds while providing alifeline from past to present.

A "Music Supervisor’sRoundtable" raised impor-tant issues regarding thepower of believing in thestudent, the lack of schoolmaterials that accurately re-flect African-Americancontributions to the arts, andthe need for increasedteacher awareness of thosecontributions.

--Carl Beatty

Berklee today 39

Ahrnet Ertegun:

A .Life in Music

~’l~or the graduating class, this is a most important junc-tion in your life. Some of you may continue your

education in post-graduate studies. Others will seek gainfulemployment in the music industry.

Whatever direction you choose to embark on, remem-ber that you have had an opportunity that most people willnever have: the benefit of a higher education in this marvel-ous institution. I hope you have made good use of it, andwill continue to make good use of it throughout your life.

I went tO a small liberal arts college, Saint John’s inAnnapolis, where I studied philosophy, literature, and sci-ence. I graduated when I was 20 and spent the next threeyears attending Georgetown University, where I studiedmedieval philosophy and St. Thomas Aquinas.

In between, I spent hours in a rhythm and blues recordshop in the black ghetto in Washington. Almost everynight, I went to the Howard Theater and to various jazzand blues clubs. My love for jazz had been kindled by myolder brother Nesuhi who, when I was only eight or nineyears old, took me to see the orchestras of Duke Ellingtonand Cab Calloway at the Palladium in London in 1932.

I had the great fortune of having Nesuhi as my olderbrother. He was my mentor, not only in music, but in thefine arts and literature, guiding me toward a sound educa-tion in the classics of the Western world.

When my father died in 1944, I was 21, a college gradu-ate, philosophy student, jazz lover, a hanger about at jazznightclubs, and, as Jerry Wexler once pointed out, I wastotally unemployable.

What I really loved wasmusic, jazz, blues, andhanging out. Since I was nota musician, I decided to be-come a record maker--whatwe call today a record pro-ducer. To do this, I had tostart my own company.

Atlantic Records founderand co-chairman AhmetErtegun was principalspeaker at the 1991 Com-mencement. These are ex-cerpts from his remarks.

41} Berklee today

I managed to convince my dentist to invest $10,000 inwhat appeared to most of my friends to be a harebrainedadventure. I also got an old friend Herb Abramson, a jazzfan and collector, to be my partner. He had worked parttime as an A&R man for National Records, and knew theins and outs of the business. The music was one thing, butthe business was totally new to me.

Since I started Atlantic 44 years ago, music has gonethrough a series of incredible changes. Styles have comeand gone, merged and evolved, become transfigured andtransformed. Today we can talk of an endless variety ofmusical forms: from rap to alternative, from house to metal,from fusion to new age, from pure pop to jazz purism.

But the true bottom line is and will always be talent andexcellence, regardless of category. Whatever you decide todo, the important thing is to do it well. You can’t alwaysfind the job you may most desire. But whatever job you doget, do it well. And it will lead to other opportunities.

In your careers, some of you will reach success. Some ofyou will face failure. For those who fail, I would stronglyadvise you not to accept it. Keep going. Most of the greatpeople in our business have gone through many trials andtribulations before making the grade.

For those of you who succeed, whether sooner or later,please remember that the greatest attribute of a winner ishumility. You all must have great pride in whatever it is youmay achieve. But you also must never lose sight of whereyou came from. You must retain a humble outlook toward

the world as you face thechallenges that await you.

Learn this lesson fromyour heroes--like EricClapton, Arif Mardin, BenE. King, and my friend andfellow honoree today, PhilCollins. They are true kingsof the music universe.

~: I would like to thank you~ all once again for this great~ honor. And I wish every~ member of the graduating

class the thing withoutwhich I wouldn’t be here:good luck. ~1

Summer 1991

’~’here~ I~,o Place Like HomeWe coil it Studio D. You call it home. It’sactually an idea whose time has come~a personal digilal recording and musicproduction studio that seamlessly integratesdigital audio and MIDI. And it’s going tocompletely change the way you makemusic. Sound like a tall order? Listenand believe.

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DECK gives Studio D four tracks of digital recording,MIDI file playback, and automated mixing.

Enjoy total creative control of your music inthe digital domain at a level of sonic clarilynever before available in personal record-ing. Experience life without tangled cables,crowded patchbays or tope hiss. In shor~,make music in an environment that inspiresyou to make music. Because that’s whatStudio D is all about.

Studio D Starts wilh:¯ A Macintosh II computer and hard disk

Audiomedia provides Studio D’s direct to hard diskrecording and lwo track digital mastering power.

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@1990 Digidesign Inc. Features and specifications subject to change withoutnotice. All trademarks are property of their respective companies.

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summer 1991 a forum for contemporary music and musicians 16

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