BcrklccFall 1990

t o ,a! yA Forum for Contemporary Music and Musicians

12 Arif Mardin "61 on the Past and Presentof Popular Mu.~;ic

18 The Rootsof Roggae

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FALL ¯ 1990

VOLUME ¯ IINUMBER ¯ 2

Conte~ts

ON THE COVER: Celebratedproducer Arif Mardin ’61takes time out to talk, start-ing on page 12. Photo byNARAS/Ken Sax.

LEAD SHEET by President Lee Eliot Berk ............... 2

BERKLEE BEATBerklee Honors Three with Honorary Degrees, New Classes and Leaders in MusicTechnology, Upcoming Alumni Directory, Return of the Fulbrights ..... 3

ALUMNI PROFILE: "BLUE JAY" PATTEN by Alma BerkSaxophonist Jay Patten ’69 has had a busy year with ~tozens of Nashville studio gigs,concerts with Crystal Gayle, and the release of his CBS Records debut ..... 6

ALUMNI SPECIAL: COMMERCIAL MUSIC--’I’HE CI-IIICAGO CONNECTIONChicago has become a creative haven for those with a gift for the 30-second spot. Fouralumni share their insights on the business and their secrets for success. .8

A FEW MINUTES WITH ARIF MARDIN by Andrew TaylorA legacy of hit records as a producer, arranger, and record executive can leave you alittle pressed for time. But Arif Mardin ’61 wouldn’t want it any other way. .12

THE ROOTS OF REGGAE by Lawrence McClellan, Jr.The evolution of Jamaica’s most popular indige~nous n~usic is as rich and diverse as thecountry itself ........................ 18

THE BASICS OF AMBICHORDS by Robert FreedmanCommercial Arranging Department Chairman Robert Freedman describes his ap-proach to a versatile and unique chord form ............. 22

ALUM NOTESNews, quotes, and recordings of note ............... 24

SHOP TALKAES, Summer NAMM, New Music Seminar 11, NSAI .......... 29

"MUSIC MAKES THE DIFFERENCE" DECLARATION ,AND PETITION. .31

Bcrklee t o dA Publication of the Office of Development

DirectorJohn Collins

Managing EditorAndrew TaylorFeature Editors

Alma BerkChief Public Affairs Officer

College News and Alumni Features

Lawrence McClellan, Jr.Chairman, Professional Education Division

Music Education and General Education FeaturesLarry Monroe "70

Chairman, Professional Performance DivisionPerformance Features

Ted Pease ’66Chairman, Professional Writing Division

Composition Features

Donald PuluseChairman, Music Technology Division

Music Technology FeaturesProduction Consultant

Judith Lucas, Director of PublicationsCopy Editor

Stephen Melisi

Coordinator of Alumni RelationsCarrie Semanco ’86

Assistant to the Office of DevelopmentChika Okamoto ’87

As the alumni-oriented music magazine of BerkleeColleg~ of Music, Be~klee 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, we hopeBerklee today will become both a valuable forum for ourfamily throughout the world and an important source ofcommentary m contemporary music.

Berklee today (!SSN 1052-3839) is published three timesa year by the Berklee College of Music Office of Develop-ment. All contents © 1990 by Berklee College of Musicunless otherwise noted. Address changes, press releases,letters to the editor, alumni news, advertising inquiries,and reader comments should be addressed to Berkleetoday, 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

The DifferencePresident Lee Elio’t Berk

~!usic Makes the Difference" is the theme of an impor-tant national campaign initiated by the National

Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), one of thecountry’s leading music industry organizations.

The program is a national petition campaign supportedby the Music Educators National Conference (MENC),the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), theNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences(NARAS), the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG), and other organizations. The goal is to demonstrate broad,active national support for the value of music as a nationaleducation priority in the schools.

Sponsors of tlhe petition campaign are concerned thatwhile numerous gatherings and reports have stressed theneed for America to improve the education of our youth,little has been said specifically about the advancement ofmusic and the other arts as being essential to a sound, well-rounded education.

The supporting points of this campaign are worthserious consideration--especially during these difficulttimes for public education across the country. Music edu-cation fosters creativity, teaches effective communication,provides basic tools for a critical assessment of the worldaround us, and encourages the abiding values of self-discipline and commitment. Music is, furthermore, animportant means to self-discovery and self-expression.Therefore, instruction in music and the other arts must beviewed as central to a complete education--not only byvirtue of their intrinsic worth, but also because they arefundamental to what it means to be an educated person.

In addition to the petition campaign, the Music Makesthe Difference program will include three forums to beconducted this fall in major cities throughout the country.These forums will serve as public sounding boards regard-ing the importance of music education at an early age. Theresult of these meetings will be the focal point of a Na-tional Symposium that will be held in Washington, D.C.,in early March of 1991. A group of nationally recognizedleaders will present the report and the petition to thenation in an appropriate setting.

Support for this campaign is aworthwhile matter for allof us who value the contribution which music makes toour lives and to our society. For those interested, this issueof Berklee today includes a reprint of the declaration andpetition on pages 3i and 32. These provide the necessaryinformation materials for you to become a supporter.

2 Berklee today Fall 1990

Berklee beat

News of notefrom abouttown andaround theworld

Honorary doctor of musicdegree recipient and jazzleader Jack DeJohnette sitsin with student performersduring the 1990 entering stu-dent convocation concert.

Fall 1990

CONVOCATION "90Berklee’s recent enter-

ing student convocationoffered the opportunity towelcome the Class of 1994and to honor three majorfigures in music broadcast-ing, education, and per-formance. President LeeEliot Berk presented hon-orary doctor of musicdegrees to Voice of Amer-ica personality WillisConover, music educatorWilliam Stanley, and re-nowned drummer, key-boardist, and composerJack DeJohnette. Pro-ducer/arrangerJoe Mardin’85 appeared as alumnispeaker for the event.

Since 1955, WillisConover has broadcast"Jazz Hour/Music U.S.A."on Voice of America radio.In countries suffering frompolitical repression or eco-

nomic deprivation, arld inareas where even the small-est acts of personal or crea-tive expression are denied,Mr. Conover has providedan invaluable bridge to theopportunity, individuality,and freedom of jazz.

While the absence ofVoice of America broad-casts in the United Stateshas kept Conover a hkidengem in his home country,his international broadcastshave made him a worldwidecelebrity. A writer for JazzForum once wrote of ]him:"If any one person can becredited with making jazz aglobal phenomenon, tlhereisn’t even a close runner-upto Willis Conover."

Music educator WilliamStanley was honored for hissupport and promotion ofexcellence in high schoolmusic education. Throughhis years of dedicated serv-ice as coordinator of musicat Hall High School in WestHartford, Connecticut, hehas nurtured and influencedthe lives of countless stu-dents on their road to musi-cal discovery.

Stanley’s continuingdedication and quest forexcellence built what was asmall department at HallHigh into a major force innational competitions andinternational tours. His jazzshow band of players, sing-ers, and dancers has per-formed to audiences ofmore than 15,000 each year.

Student groups under hisdirection have toured Eu-rope 10 times and have re-corded more than 20 award-winning and critically ac-claimed recordings.

Jack DeJohnette hasproven himself to be a giftedmusician in the most com-plete sense. From soloist tosideman to group leader, histalent spans styles from thetraditional to the avantgarde. This talent extendsfrom drums to keyboardsto composition.

A graduate of the Ameri-can Conservatory of Musicin Chicago, DeJohnette isnoted for his work as a side-man with such diverse art-ists as Betty Carter, Thelo-nious Monk, Bill Evans,Chick Corea, Miles Davis,and Keith Jarrett. He alsohas received internationalrecognition for his work asa leader with New Direc-tions and Special Edition.

During the convocationevent, producer/arrangerJoe Mardin ’85 served asalumni speaker. Mardin hasarranged or produced ef-forts for such artists as Are-tha Franklin, Tommy Page,Ofra Haza, and ChakaKhan. Mardin is also notedfor his co-production workwith his father Arif Mardin’61 (see page 12).

The convocation eventclosed with a spirited con-cert by current students,featuring animpromptujamwith Jack DeJohnette.

Berklee today 3

NEW NEWS ANDVIEWS IN MUSICTECHNOLOGY

During the past decade,the role of computer andmicrochip technology haschanged the way the worldworks, learns, and thinks.This has been especially truein the world of contempo-rary music, where an under-standing of modern tech-nology is becoming increas-ingly important.

To answer this growingrole of modern technologyfor the contemporary mu-sic professional, Berklee hasformed a new position andlaunched several new classesin music technology.

A new addition to thecollege administration, theassistant dean of curricu-

David IViash ’76, assistantdean of curriculum for aca-demic technology.

lum for academic technol-ogy, will study and suggestnew and innovative ap-proaches to teaching andlearning with advancedequipment. Former MusicSynthesis DepartmentChairman David Mash ’76was recently appointed to

the new position. Mashbrings to the task: his exten-sive knowledge of musicsynthesis and computertechnology. Former Assis-tant Chairman of MusicSynthesis Dennis Thur-mond has taken on Mash’sformer position, pledgingthe same aggressive role inadvancing the department’seducational opportunities.

Another major develop-ment in the area of technol-ogy is a new category ofcourses on Music Technol-ogy. These courses, cover-ing many basics of musictechnology, are designedfor students in musictech-nology majo’rs such asMusic Synthesis and MusicProduction and Engineer-ing. The courses bring to-gether aspects of technol-ogy essential to modern

producers, engineers, andelectronic music perform-ers.

"Music technology is nolonger isolated in specialareas," says Music Technol-ogy Division ChairmanDon Puluse. "We wantedto address some of the com-mon areas in a more com-prehensive way."

Initially, four courses inthe new category will beoffered--technology prob-lem-solving, digital andanalog audio, MIDI, andsynchronization.

In addition to techno-logical advancements inother areas and depart-ments, the new position andthe new courses are de-signed to keep Berklee onthe cutting edge of contem-porary music and musiceducation technology.

RETURN OF THEFULBRIGHTS

Three Berklee professorsreturned from their termsas Fulbright lecturers andresearchers overseas with anew perspective on worldmusic and world events.Associate Professor ofMusic Synthesis RichardBoulanger returned fromsix months in Krakow,Poland, as a senior lecturerat that city’s Academy ofMusic. Associate Professorof English Joe Coronitireturned from his seniorlectureship in Cameroon.And Jon Nelson, an assis-tant professor in Composi-tion, returned from an elec-tronic music facility inStockholm, Sweden, wherehe was composing on aFulbright research grant.

In addition to his lectureschedule, Boulanger tookhis opportunity overseas togive concerts of his elec-tronic music throughout4 Berklee today

Poland as well as in Swe-den, Czechoslovakia, andFrance.

"There is not much tele-vision in Poland," Bou-langer says, "about twohours a night, with twostations to choose from. So,the concert events were verywell attended. Musically,they are incredibly ad-vanced."

In terms o{ technology,Boulanger admits that Po-

land has a long way to go."They all ge*: Keyboard

magazine and know aboutthe latest equipment," heexplains. "They didn’t havethe technology, but theyknew they wanted it."

"My students had somedifficulty with in-class dis-cussions," adds Joe Cor-oniti, who taught AmeN-can Literature at the Uni-versity of Yaounde inCameroon. "They were

Fused to the European

~ ching, with

e~ensive~y througho~ ~d

the professor at the head ofthe class lecturing and thestudefits just taking notes."

Despite this unfamiliar-ity with the American sys-tem, Coroniti managed toget his messages across intwo graduate-level coursesand one third-year course.

Jon Nelson spent 10months at the EMS studioin Stockholm, Sweden,composing a work for celloand prerecorded tape. Thepiece, entitled "Six EtudesBreves," is scheduled forperformances in Worcesterand Boston this February.

"It was a very produc-tive year," says Nelson, whoalso completed his doctoraldissertation while abroad."It was exciting and stimu-lating to be in another cul-ture. I wouldn’t trade theexperience for anything."

All three Fulbright win-ners will be sharing theirexperiences and insights ontheir journeys with fellowfaculty members and stu-dents this semester.

Fall 1990

Composer/keyboardist Joe Zawinul "59 leads a keyboardclinic during Berklee’s program in Perugia, Italy.

THE BERKLEEROAD SHOW

The B erklee on the Roadprogram was in high gearthis summer as faculty andstaff brought a piece of theBerklee experience to mu-sic students in Los Angeles,Italy, and Japan.

The program featured anumber of firsts this year.Berklee in Los Angeles wasthe first such program onthe West Coast, drawingmore than 130 talented stu-dents from the L.A. area.

The Berklee in Italyprogram in Perugia was thefirst program there to fea-ture lectures by a Berkleealumnus of internationalstature. Keyboardist andcomposer Joe Zawinul ’59enthralled students in thePerugia program with in-sights and perspectives fromhis years as a leading figurein jazz.

Another first in Italy wasthe off-campus award ofBerklee’s honorary doctorof music degree.

Jazz supporter CarloPagnotta received the hon-orary degree from Dean ofStudents Lawrence Bethune’71 and Professional Per-formance Division Chair-man Larry Monroe ’70

during a ceremony in Pe-rugia, Italy.

Pagnotta was a drivingforce behind the formationof Italy’s PerugiaJazz Clubin 1955, giving the city itsfirst taste of such jazz leg-ends as Louis Armstrong,Chet Baker, and others, liecontinued his leadershiprole in the club throughoutthe 1960s, building to a highpoint in 1973, when hehelped launch the UmbriaJazz Festival. Through hiscontinued support, thatevent has become one ofEurope’s leading festivals.

Pagnotta was also hon-ored for his continuing roleas a supporter of jazz edu-cation. His vision of theimportance of jazz hasbrought extensive educa-tion, inspiration, and schol-arship opportunities toEurope’s music students.

Berklee in Japan broughtextensive study of musictheory, performance, andtechnology to almost 200students. As in past years,the demand for the programwas overwhelming, initiat-ing a flood of more than1200 applications fromyoung Japanese musicians.The Japan program in-cluded classes in music the-ory, performance, and tech-nology.

TODAY, BOSTOIM;TOMORROW...

Plans are in the worksfor a two-day seminar onthe Berklee campus focus-ing on the strong Bostonmusic production industry.

On November 19 and 20,Berklee’s Music Technol-ogy Division will host sev-eral panels and events tobring the local productionprofessionals together andto reinforce the status ofBoston’s thriving musicindustry in the internationalmusic marketplace.

Day one will offer stu-dent activities. Day two willprovide events for Boston’smusic professionals.

"We would like to en-hance the national andworldwide awareness of thehealth of Boston’s musicscene," says Music ~[~ech-

nology Division ChairmanDon Puluse, "and to guidestudents and professionalstowards a greater awarenessof hearing protection."

The seminar will includea panel of artists and clini-cians on hearing awarenessas well as a panel of leadinglocal record executives andproducers. A highlight ofthe event will be a digitalrecording session--includ-ing pre-production meet-ing and session work--totake place on the BerkleePerformance Center stage.

"Berklee holds a uniqueposition in the local musicindustry," says Puluse."We’re a part of the Bostonscene, but we can also pro-vide a neutral ground. Weare mainly interested in theissues."

More information isavailable through the Mu-sic Technology Division.

IT’S IN THE MAILAll alumni with. current addresses will soon be

receiving an important Alumni Directory question-naire in the mail. This is being sent to give everyalumnus and alumna the.. opportunity to be accu~rarely listed in the upcoming new Berklee College ofMusic Alumni Directory.

The directory will provide an invaluable resourcefor finding old friends, classmates, and fellow alumni.But you can only be fo~und if you are listed. So,please, be su.re to complete ~ind return your directoryquestionnaire as soon aspossible.

Once received, yourinformation will be ed- ~ ,~EN~ited and processed by the ~ ~3A~R[Harris Publishing C.o., Inc. ~,.,.The impressive new direc- //"-~-~-tory is e~xpected to include ~ ..........more than 15,500 Berklee ~ .....alumni.

If you don’t return yourquestionnaire, there is a ~~l .....possibility you may be ~...~ ’inadvertently omitted. So ~don’t take a chance; watch for your ques-tionnaire and remember to return itpromptly.

Fall 1990 Berklee today 5

ALUMNI PROFILE

Jay Patten ’69:Flight of the "Blue Jay"

by Alma Berk

~I~ fter more than a decade of working as a top Nash-ville studio musician and conductor/saxophonist

for Crystal Gayle, Jay Patten ’69 has released his first soloalbum for the CBS label. Black Hat & Saxophone notonly spotlights Patten’sdistinctive alto and sopranowork, but also showcaseshis vocal and guitar styl-ings as well as his formi-dable compositional ability.The album is currentlybeing aired on 235 radiostations, following its aus-picious entry onto the Bill-board Jazz and Adult Con-temporary charts.

After graduating fromBerklee with a ProfessionalMusic Diploma in Instru-mental Performance, Pat-ten (known to his Berkleecolleagues as Joseph Pellec-chia) spent three years onthe road as lead vocalistwith the Glenn Miller or-chestra, then under the di-rection of Buddy De-Franco. After his stint inthe Miller band, Pattenmoved to Los Angeles, and

Alma Berk is chief publicaffairs officer and directorof public information.

Jay Patten ’69 released his solo debut, Black Hat &Saxophone, on CI~S Records,

worked with numerous rock, fusion, and jazz bands."L.A. is where I really got my chops together," reflects

Patten, "in rehe~.rsal bands which met every day to playthe music of various composers. I ended up playing with

heavyweight musicians I’dheard about all of my life."At the urging of friends,Patten and fellow musicianKeiran Kane (of the coun-try duo the O’Kanes)loaded up a station wagonand headed for Nashville.

On Patten’s first day inthe "Music City," famedproducer Don Gant con-tacted him to work on analbum by Bobby Braddockfor the Elektra label.

"It was a good time tocome to Nashville," statesPatten. "There weren’tmany sax players with mystyle."

Since that time, "BlueJay," as he is known inNashville circles, has be-come one of the top saxo-phonists in town, workingwith Johnny Cash, LeonRussell, Michael Johnson,Dobie Gray, and T.G.Sheppard. His most endur-ing gig has been with notedcountry vocalist Crystal

6 Berklee to da y Fall 1990

Gayle, for whom Patten plays saxo-phone and acoustic rhythm guitar andconducts orchestral concerts.

When not working with Gayle, heleads the Jay Patten Band, which hasbeen a solid unit for 10 years. Thatband is featured on the new record-ing and is touring to support the re-lease.

Comprised of three vocal and 10instrumental tracks, the album fea-tures 12 Patten originals and an in-strumental cover of Todd Rundgren’s"Can We Still Be Friends." The mu-sic spans a wide range of styles fromthe steady swing of the title track and the funk of "Bitter-sweet" to the atmospheric modal soundscapes of "Lane’sJourney." The latter track is a tribute to the late LaneLangston ’69, a classmate of Patten’s at Berklee.

"Lane was a special friend," he says. "Charlie Mariano[’51] had a great impact on both Lane and me in our stu-dent days. For this cut, I played some Charlie Mariano-style soprano sax on top of layers of acoustic guitar, man-dolin, and keyboards."

In the course of his travels with the Crystal Gayleband, Patten has run into many of his Berklee friends andclassmates. While in Boston last summer, he visited Berklee

professors John LaPorta and Joe Viola’53, two of his most influential in-structors.

"Eve, ryday I think of how fortu-nate I was to study with these teach-ers," states Patten. "Their words keepplaying back in my mind.

While backing Gayle on a recentappearance on NBC’s "TonightShow," Jay had the opportunity toreminisce with Ernie Watts ’66, amember of the NB C "Tonight Show"Orchestra. Patten met Watts on hisfirst day at Berklee.

"I remember sitting in the lobbyof the dorms on Newbury Street, putting my tenor to-gether so I could practice," recalls Patten. "From an adja-cent room I heard these screaming alto lines. I just tookmy tenor apart, put it back in the case, and went up to myroom. Later, I learned it was Ernie I’d heard warming up.For a while I was really worried. I thought everyone at theschool played like that."

Today, Patten is a seasoned and respected music indus-try veteran. With his album doing well on the charts andan itinerary booked solid with sessions and concerts withsome of Nashville’s top stars, this year promises to be oneof Patten’s best.

BerkleeAlumni Student Referral

Help give an interested, deserv-ing young musician more infor-mation on Berklee College byfilling out this form and sendingit to the address below.Name

Address

City

State ZIP.

Instrument

Send the completed form to:

Berklee College of MusicOffice of Admissions1140 Boylston StreetBoston, MA 02215

E TOD 1090

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Fall 1990 Berklee t o d a y 7

ALUMNI SPECIAL

Commercial MusicThe Chicago Connection

Andrew Taylor

B t just feels right.So goes the tag line on a familiar series of Mazda

commercials. Like most slogans, Mazda’s catch phrase isintended to capture many things: the unique aspect of theproduct, the current focus of the company, the intangible"something" that may touch the listener’s intellect oremotions. A lot is expected of those four short words. Buttheir power to move people is undeniable.

Just as much is expected of commercial music--theunderscoring or featured song of a radio or television spot.As with an effective film score, commercial music can adda depth beyond the spoken words and visual images.When the music works, the listener doesn’t hear theendless meetings, discussions, politics, rewrites, over-dubs, and production techniques that went into the proj-ect. When all the pieces come together, it just feels right.

"The most challenging aspect of the job for us is comingup with the right tune for the right client," says MarkWeinstein’77, co-founder of Klaff/Weinstein Music whichcomposed Mazda’s trademark song. "It can be difficult. Itcan be easy. It’s always rewarding. When somebody says,’You guys have captured the essence of what we are, whowe are, and the way we perceive ourselves,’ we feel wehave hit a home run."

With nine Clio awards and a long list of advertising"hits" including Budweiser’s "Bring Out Your Best,"Coca-Cola’s "Can’t Beat the Feeling," Michelob Light’s"For the Winners," and McDonald’s "McDonald’s andYou," Klaff and Weinstein have hit the ball out of the parkwith impressive consistency.

The Chicago SceneWeinstein is one of a group of Berklee alumni succeedingin the busy Chicago commercial music scene. Unknown

to some as a national advertising center, Chicago is thehome of the second largest collection of advertising agen-cies in the United States. This concentration has provideda flourishing business for talented composers, producers,arrangers, and performers.

"Chicago is a nice market to be in because you can makeNew York wages and live on a Chicago cost of living,"

Gary Klaff (left) and Mark Weinstein "77 have written productanthems for Budweiser, McDonald’s, and Pizza Hut.

8 8erklee today Fall 1990

MUSiCiAN Magazine is great.It’s the number one magazinethat we read. We’ve readthings in it that you can’t readanywhere else--like the JimiHendrix exposb by Noel Red-ding or the Brian Wilson come-hack article.

We’ve really learned a lotfrom MUSICIAN.

--Heretix

MIJSICIAN Magazine’s A&R Project is amaz-ingl It was the first real concrete evidence weh~ of wl~ to contact and that many of thep~ople int(~-rested in our hand had the power tosig~. It filled in reliable details where mostother sources just clouded things up.

--Materialissue

MUSICIAN Magazine is not afraid to dosomething unusual, it exposes artists whowouldn’t get covered elsewhere. It’s notjust pictures of heavy metal guitarists andtablature. For me, MUSICIAN is the mostdiverse and interesting of all the musicmagazines.

--Robben Ford

After reading hundredsof Keith Richards inter-views, MUSICIAN Maga-zine got Keith to open upas a musician. What re-ally hit home was howthe Stones have beenable to sublimate theirpersonal problems andstruggles for the good ofthe hand. We could reallyrelate to that.

--The Subdudes

MUSICIAN Magazine is essential reading for players and anyonewho cares passionately about contemporary music. Every ~tory pub-lished in MUSICIAN has one central focus: music. From major labelhitmakers tO gutsy, controversial independents. From creativity totechnology, in the studio and on the stage. From getting signed to get-ting airplay, MUSICIAN goes directly to the source and probes everyfacet of what artists do to get their music heard. If you’re serious aboutmusic, subscribe to the players’ choice. Order MUSICIAN Magazinetoday.

Where the Players Do the Talking

I find MUSICIAN Magazine aninvaluable source of informa-tion for me. It goes beyond allthe tech magazines and coversthe whole music scene.

--Danny Gatton

One of my favorite things in lifeis kicking back with the latestissue of MUSICIAN Magazineand devouring every page. Ol~ceI pick it up, I can’t put it downuntil I’m finished.

--Jim KeltnerThe Traveling Wilburys

Subscribe now to MUSICIAN and save $18 offthe newsstand price!Plus,with your paid order you’ll get Understand-ingMIDI, a simple, practical introduction to theMIDI process and the applicatior~ of today’sMIDI product~. (A retail value of $3.95.)[~$15 for 12 issues (one year)Name

Address

City State Zip

I Look for the first issue in 6~ weeks. The basic subscription priceis $17 for one year.Send to: MUSICIAN, Box 1923, Marion, OH 43305 DKOIg6- []

SOUNDS OF CHICAGO FROM THE CCMPAThe Chicago commercial music scene has become a major player in

the national advertising community. Through an annual creative show-case called "Sounds of Chicago," the Chicago Commercial Music Pro-ducers Association (CCMPA) works to sustain and celebrate that fact.

"The CCMPA was founded two years ago for two primary reasons,"says association president Jesse Browne. "First, we wanted to promotethe music of the Chicago commercial music producers in a friendly, non-competitive atmosphere. And second, we wanted to give something backto our roots, specifically by supporting the next generation."

Co-sponsored by Advertising Age’s Crea-tivity magazine, this year’s Sounds of Chicagoevent began doing just that by launching asizeable scholarship fund for Berklee studentswith an aptitude for commercial music.

"Berklee was an obvious choice for our firstscholarship," Browne explains, "since that’swhere so many of the creative people in Chi-cago got their start." :

The CCMPA/Creativity Scholarship is sched-uled to be awarded next year.

says Bruce Upchurch ’79, founder ofMusic Oasis, Inc., another busycommercial music house. "Not that itis cheap to live here. But comparingChicago to New York is like ’expen-sive’ versus ’ridiculously expensive.’"

Upchurch opened shop in Chi-cago in 1985, moving from Dallas.Because of his background in directtelevision and radio music, his com-pany has a wider client base than otherChicago firms--incorporating proj-ects for Betty Crocker, Sears, Cheer,Kraft, Luvs, and Keebler, as well asdirect musi.c spots for television andradio stations.

"I find that we’re more diversifiedin the type of work we do, especiallyfor Chicago," he says. "Ninety-ninepercent of the companies here donothing but commercial music for adagencies. It’s what 99 percent of themusic business is in Chicago."

The BusinessA commercial music house workswith an advertising agency to providemusic for a television or radio ad--usually taking the score from initialconcept to final synchronized tape.The music can take the form of anorchestral or synthesized underscore,a rearrangement of apreexisting piece,or an all-out product anthem. As aresult of this wide range, the small10 Berklee t o d a y

staff of most houses must master eventaspect of the music-making process..

Larry Pecorella ’79 and BobbyFrancavillo ’79, co-owners of Intui-tion Music, Inc., deal with that chal-lenge by dividing the tasks betweenthem. Francavillo is responsible formost of the writing and arranging.Pecorella has become adept at pro-duction and management. The com-bination has proven to be a powerf~,lone. After only five years in Chicago,the company is one of the busiesthouses around, scoring accounts for7-Up, Kelloggs, Oldsmobile, May-belline, Pillsbury, McDonald’s, Se.-cret, Allstate, and Three Musketeers.Francavillo is especially proud of theseries of complex full orchestral spotshe created for 7-Up’s cartoonish "Onthe Spot" campaign.

"Since we moved to Chicago, wehave never complained about nothaving any work," says Francavillo."We are very devoted to our clienteleand they are very loyal to us. Whichmakes it a really happy atmosphereand cuts down on the aggravation."

"Sometimes we have too muchwork," Pecorella says with a smile.~’And that is a nice problem to have."

The PigeonholePecorella and Francavillo attributemuch of their success to their musical

and stylistic versatility. The otheralumni agree that mastery of all musi-cal styles and arrangement techniquesis essential to a commercial musichouse that hopes to survive.

"Sometimes you are writingBeethoven in the morning and Art ofNoise in the afternoon," says BruceUpchurch. "Then the next day, youmight be doing country and DepecheMode. Simply put, the more versatileyou are, the more you work."

"A lot of people develop a particu-lar niche," says Bobby Francavillo."But it is very difficult in a businesslike this to make any bold statements.Our approach has been just to dogreat work, hitting it up the middle,and honestly being able to do any-thing. I think the companies that havetaker~ that approach have been able tosurvive the longest. And the ones thathave chosen to be pigeonholed eitherare not as pigeonholed as they oncewere or they are out of business."

"When we are given a project,"says Weinstein, "we can pick any oneof a thousand approaches. That keepsyou thinking. And it keeps thingsinteresting. If you write in only onestyle, you will get pigeonholed. Thatis the worst thing that ca~ happen toany writer or jingle house."

"Besides, I enjoy the variety,"Upchurch adds. "I enjoy the fact thatI have had enough education andexperience to go from Brandenburgconcertos to Thin Lizzy and feelequally comfortable with both."

The IntangiblesAccording to all four alumni, peopleskills and an intuitive mind are just asimportant as a mastery of the techni-cal and stylistic aspects of music. Incommercial music, understanding andfulfilling the client’s needs is morethan half the battle.

"There are a lot of intangibles tothink about before you sit down andwrite a song," says Weinstein. "Welook at the client’s history, where theyare in the market, who they address,what they want to say, and the waythey perceive themselves. You maywrite a terrific tune. But if it isn’t theright song for the right product,nobody is going to buy it."

Upchurch goes through a similarlaundry list with his clients.

Fall 1990

"You have to be able to pick theclient out from a palette of differentpersonalities," he explains. "Does thisguy really mean what he says ? Is hesaying what he thinks he wants? Is heconfused ? Do I know better what willwork for this project?"

According to Weinstein, the com-munication gap can be vast. But it isalso an understandable problem.

"Music is one of the most difficultthings to communicate," he says. "Itis hard enough between two musi-cians. Imagine how difficult it is forsomebody who may not understandmusic as well as you do."

"Of course, they are also thinkingabout other things," adds Pecorella."They are thinking about the meetingthey just came out of with the brandmanager, and about what the directorthought, and about what the creativedirector thinks. You have to under-stand where they are coming from.And sometimes, you have to be morecreative when you are working withinthose guidelines."

With this variety of forces at work,commercial music house personneloften can become as much politiciansas musicians.

"This is a very human business,"says Upchurch. "You have to be ableto talk to somebody and pull out theirideas even though they can’t explainthem well, musically. You also haveto put out fires when someone getstheir feathers ruffled. If you can’tcommunicate, you are nowhere."

"A lot of times, the client will comeup with what sound like ridiculouscomments," says Francavillo. "ButI’ve found that if I listen, it makes mea better musician. Their commentsare of the common man. So they helpme connect with more people. WhenI look back, those ’ridiculous’ com-ments almost always improved wherewhere I was going."

Mark Weinstein also likes to re-main open to changes in his work.

"It is a living, breathing business,"he says. "Nothing is written in stone.All of the lead sheets are written inpencil."

Making it WorkStaying on top and remaining flexibleas a commercial music writer, pro-ducer, or arranger requires a mixed

bag of talents. These alumni stressversatility, communication skills, astrong intuition, and talent.

"Talent is a given," says LarryPecorella. "You have to do good,consistent work, day in and day out.And then you can’t be a jerk. Theclients have to like you."

"It starts with talent, but that is justthe beginning," says Weinstein. "Whatdistinguishes the successful people isthat they are bright. They can make aconnection between what is rightmusically and what is right conceptu-ally. The two are not always the same."

"You also have to get used to rejec-tion," Upchurch adds. "As much as50 to 75 percent of what we do getsthrown away in the form of demosthat never hit the air. It can be politi-cal. The product could get panned.The ad agency approach might notfly. Rejection can come for a numberof reasons. There is no room in thisbusiness for getting your feelingshurt."

Even with all of these talents intow, a young musician may find itdifficult to break into the fast-paced,competitive business of commercialmusic production.

"It’s a little like getting credit,"Upchurch explains. "On your firstcredit application, they look at youand say, ’We can’t give you credit be-cause you don’t have credit.’ It’s a

vicious circle. It is the same in thisbusiness. You can advertise. You canhave your sales representative knockdown every door in Chicago. But youwill get more mileage out of some-body at the agency saying, ’I like that.Who did that?’"

Upchurch’s outlook has a brightside, as well.

"If you believe in yourself and youtruly are good," he says, "there’salways a place for you, no matter howmuch competition there is."

I~loui.g the Craftl-)espite the odds, all four alumni havebuilt fi~rst-rat~ businesses in the sec-ond most active advertising center inthe country. Their music reaches morelisteners than most leading artistscould hope to attract. In fact, some oftheir themes may be running throughyour head right now.

Larry Pecorella sees the success ofIntuition Music and of his alumnipeers as a continuing process of refin-ing and extending their craft.

"Yo~r craft is no longer just sittingdown and learning your instrument,"he says.. "Your craft is your business.It’s the music. It’s your relations. It’syour sales rep. It’s your reel. It’s thewhole thing. And you have to lo0kconsta~tly for ways to perfect eacharea and grow and keep moving. Youcan’t stop." ~

Larry Pecorella "79 (left) and Bobby Francavillo "79 imoved their commercial musicproduction house, Intuition Music, to Chicago in 1985.

Fall 1990 Berklee today 11

A Few Minut~3swith Arif Mardin

A short break in the busy life of a Grammy-winningproducer, arranger, and record executive

by Andrew Taylor

A rif Mardin ’61 looks at his watch, andthen back at the control room windowon the opposite wall of the studio

soundstage. It has been only 15 minutes since hewas in there last--mixing the tracks for BetteMidler’s new album--but it has been a jam-packed 15 minutes. In that quarter hour, he haseaten half an order of take-out fish and chips(the worst he has ever had, by the way), in-structed the studio staff on the afternoon sched-ule, and discussed a lifetime of experiences andinsights with a slightly dazed Berklee employee.

While his schedule is tight, Mardin neverseems harried--at every step he is quiet, thought-ful, and charming. But after 15 minutes of talk-ing about himself, he is ~anxious to get back towhat he loves to do, and to what he does best:putting inspired musical moments on record.Like a schoolboy aching for recess, Arif Mardinis ready to get back to work.

For more than 25 years, Mardin has broughtthat same enthusiasm and dedication to thebusiness he adores. Even when he first enteredBerklee in 1958, fresh from his native Istanbul,he had an undeniable hunger for new ideas andan unquenchable love for music.

"I remember my arrival in Boston and thesubsequent entrance to Mr. [Lawrence] Berk’s

office on a cold January morning," he told anaudience of Berklee seniors in 1983. "It wasstraight out of an old Italian movie. I was wear-ing a wide-rimmed Borsalino hat, a clumsy longcoat. I was carrying two battered suitcases whichcontained a mixture o~ mam~scripts and cloth-ing. I must have looked like a refugee who hadjust been released from Ellis Island."

Like a refugee, Mardin had left a lot behindhim to come to America. After completing stud-ies at the Economics and Commerce Faculty ofIstanbul University, he was prepared for a steadycareer in business. His father was Chairman ofthe Board of Turkpetrol, where he was prom-ised a respectable position.

"All went accordint,~ to the master plan untilDizzy Gillespie came to Istanbul with his bigband," Mardin says. "Dizzy and Quincy Jones[’51] encouraged me and helped me. The firethat had been smoldering in nay heart, my desirefor a career in music was rekindled."

Quincy Jones took some of Mardin’s ar-rangements back to New York where he re-corded them for Voice of America radio withsuch major players as Phil Woods, Art Farmer,and Hank Jones. These tapes made their way toBerklee and won Mardin the first Quincy JonesScholarship.

Fall 1990 ~.ovo~wo~s~w~ Berklee to day 13

t heart, I am a modernist. Imay grow very old, and stillwill be looking for the nextnew thing.

After studying and then teaching at Berklee,Mardin made the journey to New York wherehe found some success offering arrangements toclub and touring jazz bands. In I963, he wasoffered a job as a studio assistant by AtlanticRecords Vice President Nesuhi Ertegun, andhis auspicious career in pop music began.

Almost 30 years later, Arif Mardin is vicepresident of the Atlantic Recording Corpora-tion with an impressive list of production andarranging credits that includes recordings withAretha Franklin, the Bee Gees, Chaka Khan,Bette Midler, Carly Simon, Hall and Oates,Average White Band, Judy Collins, and DonnyHathaway. He has received four Grammynominations in addition to his four Grammyawards. His most recent Grammy was 1989’sRecord of the Year for Bette Midler’s recordingof "Wind Beneath My Wings." He received anhonorary doctor of music degree from Berkleein 1985. He was also pleased that his son, JoeMardin ’85, graduated from Berklee that sameyear. (Joe is now a frequent co-producer andarranger with his father.)

This year, Mardin was honored as Turkish-American Man of the Year by the Board of the.Assembly of Turkish-American Associations.As an added honor, his speech from that awardsevent was entered into the Congressional Rec-ord as a testament to the vitality of the Americandream.

A quarter of a century has done nothing todiminish Arif Mardin’s love and enthusiasm formusic or the music business. Even within thespgn of a quarter of an hour, you sense that thiscollection of talent, dedication, charm, and in-sight was always destined to reach the peak ofhis profession. It was just a matter of time.

Record producers such as yourselfhaveplayeda major role in the music industry. Why do youthink so little has been written about you or yourprofession?

At one point, what we did was consideredroutine. People didn’t think that we were that

important. I think the first producerthat brought in a certain style and apersonal stamp was Phil Spector--with h!is "wall of sound" and his verypersonal touch and technical irnprintthat pe.ople started to recognize.

Lately, I think, Michael Jacksonand Quincy Jones, with their mega-hit Thriller, made it possible for pro-ducers~, to come to the forefront, espe-cially !in the Grammy awards. WhenI won my producer’s award in 1974,we we.re pre-telecast--unimportant,not glamorous. It was like that for along time until Quincy and Michael

Jackson made it happen. When Quincy got theProducer of the Year award, it was front-linetelevision. Now, we are on the regular program.There is also a greater awareness of producersby the record-buying public.

Do you think’, you have a personal stamp ?I’m in between. I do have a personal style. At

the sam~ time, I try to bring out the best of theartist.

I can’t do the: same production for differentartists. First of a J1, singers have different ranges.Bette Midler has a wonderful mezzo range.Chaka Khan ha.,; a high range. So, whdn you tryto provide the settings for these jewels, they allwill be different. The arrangements will havedifferent charac~:eristics. However, in the use ofreverbs and effects and certain technical aspects,I do tend to use things that I like. There, I thinkthere is a certai~t personal style. But then I maychange it immediately for another group.

What was yo ur first production project ?My first pop co-production with Tom Dowd

was the Young Rascals in 1965 ("Good Lovin’").We were house producers then, supervisors--they didn’t even call us producers.

Did you haw; as much control over the soundand production back then?

We had corttrol of the sound, but not amonopoly. I hate to be a tyrant. It’s not like theSvengali saying, "Liebchen, this is how it’s goingto be. Sing and get out." There are some peoplelike that. I prefer a more democratic process. Ilove to pick brains. I love to get input frommany different people. And if I hear somethinggood discussed in the other corner of the room,I listen to it and I may apply it.

Has that feeling helped you stay in tune withcontemporary styles?

I keep up. I listen to English records, U.S.records; I have a lot of records taped for me ona periodic basis--avant garde records, R&B

1~, Berklee t o d a y Fall 1990

records. My musical growth coincided with thebebop era of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespiewhen they were exploding. I was a youngsterlistening to their records. At the same time, Ilove modern twentieth-century music fromStravinsky, Bartok, and Shoenberg to the ex-pressionists into all the modern stuff.

At heart I’m a modernist. I may grow veryold, and I still will be looking for the next newthing. I guess that keeps me alive and young.

How much do you produce for an audienceand how much for yourself or for the artist?

That is very important.I think, first of all, you haveto be true to yourself andtrue to the artist. If I dosomething for B ette Midlerand she is not here, I al-ways try to second-guessthe situation, saying,"Would she like this? Isthis Bette?"

But then there is a dan- Iget of going too much intoart and ignoring your otherprime responsibility: tryingto make a commercial rec-ord. So, the balancing act ismaking a commercial rec-ord that also will stand thetest of time.

It should be somethingthat you’re proud of--youshouldn’t wince when youlisten to it the followingyear. I always like to sneak things in that arereally good and will be discovered by otherpeople.

The producer must make a competitive rec-ord. He has to make a living. But if you betrayyour profession by being sloppy and unmusi-cal, that is a sin.

listener would get up and turn the album over.Now it’s a continuous 40-minute to one-hourprogram. Sequencing is w3ry important. Youcan’t let the listener get bored.

Of course the technical aspects are great. Weused to cheat when we mastered on vinyl. Onloud passages, the mastering engineer used totake the levels down for two bars and then goback up, or reduce the bottom end of the recordfor two bars because the record skips. It’s noproblem with CD or cassette. That kind ofmastering technique is obsolete. You just makethe best sound with all the great dynamics.

Arif Mardin presents a clinic on advanced produlction techniques to a class ofBerklee students.

Can it feel limiting to target a specificdemographic?

At my age, I don’t have to slave too muchabout it. I can pick and choose. Prestigiousartists like Bette Midler or Roberta Flack don’thave to compromise their reputations trying totarget their audience. Because it usually back-fires. If the artist or myself don’t feel what weare doing and we are cynically trying to cornera certain market, it won’t be commercial. Peoplewill see through that very easily.

How has the compact disc changed the wayyou produce a recording?

The simplest things are different. We used tohave an intermission between sides, where the

Has the CD affected anything else, like thelength of a single?

The length of a single de.pends on what theradio stations would spare, computing the lengthof music versus the length of time they sell. Inthe ’60s it was two-and-a-lhalf minutes; threeminutes was unheard of. Now it’s much longer.So, who knows.

It’s interesting, there is a three-minute 78rpm record form--ahnost like the rondo form,the sonata form, and so on. For a lot of jazzmasterpieces from the ’30s or ’40s, that was thetime they had to work with. The frame was thattwo minutes and 45 seconds or three minutesand five seconds, whatever it was. And a lot ofincredible Louis Armstrong or Duke Ellingtonmasterpieces were made in the three-minuteform. It was amazing how solos were allotted,how variations on a theme were done, and thenhow it was cut.

With LPs, that conciseness disappeared. Weended up with wallpaper music. It sounds likethe same solo is playing for 10 minutes on a jazzrecord whereas the substance of that solo would

Fall 1990 Berklee today 15

16

be eight bars. But the "old-timers~" in a three-minute form, had no superfluous notes. Every-thing was what was needed. If the man playedeight bars, he put all he had in those eight bars.

So, you can run into problems when you loselimitations.

Right. Definitely. I’m not saying that beingconcise is better than the long form. But defi-nitely, mediocre musicians or people who liketo ramble a lot, are now captured. And that kindof playing is on record.

Your first love was jazz. How did you be-.come such a major pop producer?

I came to Berklee on the first Quincy JonesScholarship. Then, I taught there. Then my wifeand I said, "Let’s move to the big city." Nooffense to Boston, but we moved to New York.For the first year, I gave piano lessons and wrotea few tunes. My wife was working at the UnitedNations; so that’s how we got along.

Then, Nesuhi Ertegun, a partner at Atlanticwho passed away last year, called me up andsaid, "I need an assistant at the studio." I knewit was pop music, but I said, "I’11 take it. Any-thing to do with music, I’ll take." When I wentin there with my expertise from Berklee, theystarted to give me little projects--arranging andso on. And then, it grew.

I was a studio manager, too, so I had to learnproduction, test pressings, and this and that--keeping a log, tapes, libraries. At the same time,I moonlighted and wrote arrangements forAtlantic’s groups--some jazz, some pop. Igraduated to being a producer when the YoungRascals were signed by Atlantic. And Atlantictold the group, "Look, there’s a young manfrom Berklee who can help you with your ar-rangements, and this veteran engineer, TomDo.wd, who will be in charge of all the sounds.’7So, we became a team. Tom and I produced a lotof records together.

Then, Jerry Wexler, who was my boss, tookTom and me as his team, and the three of usproduced a lot of records, including ArethaFranklin and Dusty Springfield.

I have no problem with pop because music ismusic. I love any kind of exciting energeticmusic or music that is meaningful. So now Ihave jazz and pop and everything in my heart.

Do you have strong memories from comingto Berklee from Istanbul?

Oh, yes. It was amazing. It was fantasticworking with people like Herb Pomeroy, whoreally opened up a lot of doors for me. Not onlywas he a friend, but he was a great teacher. He isstill a great teacher. Ray Santisi was anothergreat friend.

Berklee today

The school was small--one townhouse, witha few hundred students. It was like a smallfamily atmosphere. Larry Berk’s office wasdownstairs; the late Bob Share was across thehall; Joe Viola was down the hall, teachingsaxophone. It was a really wonderful familyunit. Now, they have expanded it into some-thing much bigger. But the warmth is still there.

Are you still on the lookout for new artists?Always. That keeps my career and my pro-

duction techniques alive. For example, yearsago, I.had the privilege of being associated withScritti Politti. It’s great to work with creative,hip, and modern people because it rubs off onyou. They may learn something from me, and Ilearn something lfrom them.

My latest young artist, younger than my son,is Tommy Page. ][oe and I produced a few sideson his first album. We made one song that wasthe most requested record in America. It was ahuge success in E~r, ope. And here we went up to32 in the charts--which was great for a brandnew artist.

When you are putting a project together,what do you listen for in a song?

It sounds very corny to say, but it has totouch a certain l~onest emotion and say it in adifferent way. Almost everything has beenwritten about. But it’s the way you permutateand combine a~d recombine those elementsthat makes it sound original. In a song, I alwayslook for how this person said the usual stuff ina very different way.

A simple example is that you can say, "I feelso lonely," which is normal. But that song Yesrecorded a few years ago, "Owner of a LonelyHeart," is a way of turning around somethingeverybody knows and saying it a different way.

So, the title of a song or a hook line has tohave something original in it, or extremely heart-felt--so simple but so wonderful. It’s very dif-ficult to find songs like that.

In what ways do you see pop music evolvingor changing?

It’s still the song. However it’s set, the songis very important. Technique may change. Atone point, we had an unbelievable amount ofmachinery playing the music. Now the reactionagainst that has brought us to today where,again, humans are playing. I like to use synthe-sizers and sequencers mixed with real players.

At times, I may do a live session. But I’m nota retro person saying, "The good old days weregreat." The good old days were fantastic. Butyou have to keel? moving forward and do whatis best for a song. Don’t record out of habit. Butdo what’s best for a song.

Fall 1990

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The Rootsof Reggae

Jamaica’s most popular indigenous musicthe child of many styles

S ince the late 1960s, the Carib-bean, United States, Africa,England, and Canada have wit-

nessed a steady growth in the popu-larity and development of Jamaica’smost popular musical form--reggae.In America, three reggae albumsreached Billboard’s Top 100 in early1979. In addition, the popularity ofreggae in America has influencedmajor artists such as Stevie Wonder, Rhyflzms l~iayed

b y Roberta Flack, Bob James, Johnny on lhe BurruNash, and Kenny Garrett to write drums {the bas~/. a w r e n c e and/or record reggae-style music, drunk, fundeh, an~J

M c C I e I I a n, The chief proponents of reggae, repeater) wered r. however, are Rastafarians from Ja- key influence 011

maica. These religious men serve as reg~ae music.the key spokesmen for the music andits powerful message--which focusesprimarily on the struggles of Jamaica’spoor majority. Some of the mostpopular reggae artists and spokesmento date are Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh,Toots and the Maytals, Third World,and the Mighty Diamonds. Duringthe ’70s, the most important figure inreggae was the late Bob Marley. Hewas considered by his followers as the

Lawrence McClellan, Jr., chairsBerklee’s Professional EducationDivision. Funding for his research onthis topic was provided by the Consor-tium on Research Training (CORT).

international spokesman for the musicand the concept of Rastafari.

Rasta MusicReggae evolved from many Jamaicanmusical sources. The music’s mostpervading ideas weregenerated by theRastafarian movement, which origi-nated during the early 1930s.

The cult’s two most important fig-ures were Marcus Garvey and theformer emperor of Ethiopia, HaileSelassie. Garvey was referred to as the"Prophet" and Selassie as the "LivingGod." Rastafarians believe in the di-vinity of Haile Selassie which can betraced through the Bible.

18 Berklee t o d a y ILLUSTRATION BY KARLATOLBERT Fall 1990

Prior to Selassie’s coronation asemperor of Ethiopia in 1930, he wascommonly referred to as "Ras" whilehis real name was actually "Tafari."Subsequently, the term "Rastafari"was adopted as the name of those whoconsidered themselves true followersof Selassie. He is now referred to as"Jah" by all Rastamen. Rasta cultureand consciousness is primarily reli-gious and centered around peace andharmony among black people, espe-cially the poor and oppressed. Themovement also advocates the even-tual return of all black people to Af-rica-the motherland.

Music is an integral part of theRastafarian’s religious and social life.He believes in praising the Lord withmusical instruments--"with harpsand cymbals"--which is in keepingwith teachings from the Old Testa-ment. Although Rasta music differsfrom reggae, it is the basic creativesource from which reggae is devel-oped. Rasta music is basically drummusic with vocal chanting reminis-cent of some West African music. Infact, Rasta music developed fromBurru music (a form of African mu-sic) and was very popular on Jamai-can plantations during the time ofslavery.

Burru MusicBurru music was one of the few Afri-can musical forms permitted by slavemasters in Jamaica because it lifted thespirits of the slaves. The music alsoserved as a woi’k metronome to helpspeed up production. Needless to say,Burru bands were popular amongboth slaves and slave masters.

Burru drummers only playedmusic in the fields and were not re-quired to engage in manual labor.Consequently, Burru men could notmake a living after slavery becausethey were not experienced in fieldwork. Therefore, Burru men took tothe streets and were regarded as thebums and criminals in their society.However, the Burru have now lostthat stigma and are being sought outto help preserve the music.

Burru drummers played three dif-ferent drums which are now beingused by Rasta musicians. They are thebass drum, fundeh, and repeater.These and similar instruments can beFall 1990

MENTOKeyboard, guitar, or banjo

I/’~," ~ */ J)J _1 "~ .~lJ J II

II

SKAKeyboard

Bass e ~m -

ROCK STEADYA Keyboard

.... ~ / ///

Bass

~ ~ X’ XI XI X’ X’ XI XI XI,’u F FMento, ska, and rock steady were three major influences on the

development of reggae. Some of that influence is evident in the aboveexamples.

The banjo or guitar pattern in the mento example is similar to key-board rhythmic patterns found in reggae accompaniments. It is alsointeresting to note that the mento bass pattern is similar to someAmerican rhythm and blues bass patterns.

Ska developed primarily as instrumental music with fast tempos.Basic rhythmic figures in a typical ska accompaniment differ from thosein mento.

In rock steady, we can see the tran~sition from ska to reggae takingplace. The keyboard pattern in the "B" section is ska, while the patternof the "A" section is totally different.

traced back to Africa in certain placeslike Ghana, Nigeria, and parts ofEthiopia. Burru-type drumming wasused in religious ceremonies in Africaand is one of the oldest Jamaicanmusical forms. The three drums areknown collectively as Akete (shownon page 18).

The bass drum is the largest of thethree drums with a head made of goatskin. The head is usually about 12inches in diameter and held with ametal rim by hooks laced with a rope.The drum is tuned by tension with arope and played with a cloth paddedstick. The fundeh is smaller than thebass drum with a goat skin head that

is played with the hands. The smallestdrum, the repeater, is made from thehollowed trunk of a coconut tree andconstrutcted similar to the fundeh.

Burru music made its way into theRastafarians’ religious ceremonies inthe late ’40s and became the founda-tion of Rasta music. In addition toB.urru drums, present-day Rasta bandsare often augmented with instrumentssuch as harmonicas, graters, guitars,wind instruments, and other miscel-laneous percussion instruments liketile paper drum.

During the early ’70s, the influ-ence of Rasta music became apparentin reggae. For example, electric bass

Berklee t o d a y 19

Melody

Keyboards

Bass~’" k!,i k

Fmin

’,

REGGAE

Drums ~J. x

G min C7

players in reggae bands began to imi-tate the Rasta bass drum while therhythm guit~tr or organ took over thepattern of the fundeh ( v. ~ ). Lateron, the lead guitar began to imitaterepeater drum rhythms. More re-cently, however, reggae bass playershave begun to develop rhythmic pat-terns different from those of the Rastabass drummer.

In addition to Rastafarian music,other musical styles preceded andhelped shape the current style of reg-gae. The most notable styles weremento, ska, and rock steady.

MentoLike Burru music, mento had strongAfrican roots and contained elementsfrom Jamaican plantation work songs.Mento flourished during the ’30s, ’40s,and ’50s and is considered to be in-digenous Jamaican dance music. It is asong and dance style usually per-formed in common time or 4/4 meterwith accents on the fourth beat ofeach measure.

Popular mento tunes are used re-peatedly with different sets of lyricsto suit many different occasions. Thesongs are often used to mock or laughat people within a particular socialgroup. Often, the subtle messages inthe lyrics are only understood by thepeople within that group.

Presently, mento bands performfor dancing and festive occasions inthe rural areas of Jamaica using tradi-tional homemade musicalinstrumentssuch as maracas and drums.

SkaDuring the late ’50s, ska evolved froma combination of mento and Ameri-can rhythm and blues. Ska also devel-oped along with the sound reproduc-tion system which brought the musiccloser to the people. In addition, thestyle of ska was shaped by manyJamaican jazz musicians during thebig band era.

One of the most influential jazzmusicians and Rastafarians in Jamaicaduring the ska period was legendarytrombonist and composer DonDrummond. He successfully fusedska with jazz. His compositions, suchas "Addis Ababa" and -"Marcus Gar-vey," made a strong impact on skaand Jamaican popular music.

Ska was primarily instrumental.music performed in 4/4 meter withvery fast tempos. The small amountof ska performed today is usuallyplayed at slower tempos.

Rock SteadySka gave way to rock steady in themid-’60s with slower tempos. As avocal form, rock steady once agairtemphasized the importance of lyricsin Jamaican popular music. Theselyrics echoed black people’s messagesof freedom and equality all over theworld during the turbulent ’60s.

Rock steady was performed inquadruple meter with some rhythmicpatterns in the accompaniment simi--lar to those found in ska (see page 19).

Rock steady was a short-livedmusical form, mainly serving as a link

between ska and reggae. Moreover,rock steady served as the vehicle ofvocal expression that formed thefoundation for reggae’s development.

ReggaeIn the late ’60s, reggae emerged as asynthesis of mento, ska, and rocksteady. The obvious impact reggaemade on Jamaican cultural life wasimmense. In an issue of the JamaicaJournal, Barbara Glouden wrote ofthe movement: "From the reggae sub-culture arose new heroes and newinspiration to youngsters who hith-erto have never found any example toinspire them."

Glouden further felt that the Ras-tafarian cult exerted the most influ-ence in shaping the direction of popu-lar music, drama, painting, and sculp-ture in Jamaican culture.

Many Jamaican musicians gener-ally agree that the two most impor-tant aspects of reggae are the messagein the lyrics of the tune and "the beat."Basic rhythmic patterns from mento,ska, and rock steady are readily ap-parent in reggae. For example, earlyreggae contained some of the basicrhythmic paeterns taken from guitaror organ accompaniments in mento.These instruments usually played "offbeat" rhythms in mento like thoseillustrated on page 19. However,during the early ’70s, other variationsof the basic mento pattern emerged inmany reggae instrumental accompa-niments.

The rhythm section (guitar, key-boards, bass, and drums) in reggaebdnds is most important; it empha-sizes "the beat" or the strong rhyth-mic element in the music. Moreover,the bass line appears to be the mostdominant voice in the ensemble.

Garth White, director of the Afro-American Division of the Institute ofJamaica, believes that the "bass line orApocalyptic Bass is used to highlightprotest music in Jamaican reggae."The bass line is a dominant voice,although it is an integral part of thereggae ensemble.

The musical example in the boxabove shows the dominance of thereggae bass line. Note that the bassline is a rather independent voice inthe ensemble. The bass voice is also anostinato which acts as a unifying device

20 Berklee t o d a y Fall 1990

for the entire accompaniment.It is interesting to note the differ-

ence between the cymbal pattern andthe bass line’s quarter-note triplets.The two patterns played togetherproduce sounds often referred to as"the beat." In addition, the guitar orkeyboard part consists of splashes ofharmony on the second and fourthbeats in each measure. The basic pul-sation is carried by the drums withoccasional improvised fills andpolyrhythmic patterns to support thebass line and accentuate the lyrics.

Harmony, Melody, and FormHarmonic content in reggae is oftenquite basic. Most harmonic structuresare triadic with occasional dominantseventh chords. However, other har-monies may consist of simple struc-tures with an added sixth, ninth, oreleventh. These harmonic structures"sound good" to many of the musi-cians who do not necessarily under-stand harmony and harmonic pro-gressions in a traditional sense.

Many reggae songs and melodies

consist of tones in major and minortonalities, major tonalities with alowered third scale degree (as in bluesand jazz), or in the dorian mode.Sometimes an entire reggae melody isperformed over one or two triads.Most reggae is repetitious because themessage in the lyrics is the most im-portant part of the music. Many reg-gae melodies are simple and folk-likewith a range that rarely exceeds anoctave. Some melodies consist of oneor two motifs with many repeatedvariations.

Although melodies obviouslyprovide the foundation for reggaesongs, the lyrics are highly originaland among the most powerful foundin any other style of commercialmusic. Reggae lyrics collectively makeup a historical document of Jamaicanlife. The messages express sorrow,political happenings, joy, and lovewith strong nationalistic tendenciesconcerning the experiences of the poorin Jamaica’s ghettos.

The formal structure of reggaevaries from strophic form to forms

utilizing call-and-response patternswhich can be traced to African music.Some songs are also structured asbinary and ternary forms. However,many reggae tunes are performed instrophic: form where one single mel-ody might be repeated several timeswith different verses.

Pust anti FutureReggae ihas a rich and diverse lineage,evolving from Burru music, mento,sl~a, and rock steady, with influencesfrom the Rastafarian movement andAfro-American rhythm and blues.These numerous and differing influ-erLces on reggae clearly indicate thatthe mus!ic has a highly eclectic charac-ter which may be the reason the formhas such international appeal.

Reggae has enjoyed much successa~Ld popularity for more than a dec-ade. With increasing interest in "worldmusic," it appears that reggae has abright future, as well. In fact, thiswriter believes that reggae will berecorded in many future history booksas the "classical music" of Jamaica. ~

Fall 1990 Berklee today

The Bas~lcsof Ambichords

A shortprimer on the structure, nature,use of an innovative chord form

by Robert

Freedman

A mbichords is a name I haveapplied to a set of harmonicstructures which can provide

contrast to the sound and texture ofmore commonly used voicings.

These structures may be used invirtually any style of music. I em-ployed this technique exclusivelywhen arranging the first eight meas-ures of Wynton Marsalis’ recordingof"Stardust" on his Columbia album,Hot House Flowers. Ambichords havealso found their way into the musicfor television news shows, jazz bigbands, and symphony orchestras.

Definition and ConstructionAn ambichord is a four-part harmonicstructure which contains two perfectfourths and a major second, brack-eted by an octave. Any inversion of anambichofd results in another ambi-chord.

There are three basic forms of am-bichord, which are designated by ro-man numerals (see ®). Form I in-cludes a perfect fourth over a majorsecond over a perfect fourth. Form IIis built from a perfect fourth over an-

Robert Freedman chairs Berklee’sCommercial Arranging Departmentand is a Grammy-winning arrangerand composer.

Ambichords canprovide contrastto the sound andtexture of morecommonly usedvoicings.

other perfect fourth over a majorsecond. Form III includes a majorsecond over a perfect fourth overanother perfect fourth. Form III-A isa "drop two" variation of form III.This may be used when the proximityof the two upper voices of a form IIIis unsuitable.

An ambichord is identified bynaming its top note along with itsform (see ®). Because of their uniquestructure, the names of ambichordsbear no logical relationship to anyunderlying or simultaneous standard

22 Berklee today Fall 1990

harmonic statements (i.e., "normal"chords) or progressions.

UsageAny ambichord may be used over anumber of different conventionalharmonic statements provided thatits component notes are made upentirely of chord tones and/or ac-ceptable tensions (see ®). Conversely,a number of different ambichords maybe used appropriately over a singleconventional chord (see ®).

When determining which form touse (I, II, III, or III-A), consider theranges of the instruments involved.All of the instruments used in thevoicing should be in comparable,compatible registers. Beyond that,taste and experience should be yourguides.

To avoid muddiness of sound whenusing ambichords over conventionalharmonic statements, the bottom noteof the chord should be no lower thanG below middle C.

A Small Problem and Some SolutionsWhen the lead note of an ambichordis the seventh of a dominant seventhchord, forms I and II are problematicbecause each contains the natural 11,which is not acceptable in traditionalcircumstances (see ®). Form III (orIII-A) may be used providing that thearrangement’s style allows for a flat13 and raised nine in the voicing.

A second solution to this problemis to use a triad which contains a per-fect fourth (see ®). In context with series of ambichords, these triads willbe quite acceptable to the ear.

The third possibility involves re-harmonization. The main advantageto this choice is that it allows reten-tion of the ambichord form (see ®).

Other IdeasAmbichordprinciples may be appliedto three-part voicings by eliminatingthe lower note of the octave bracket(see ®).

Try not to use consecutive ambi-chords of the same form. For instance,don’t follow an FI with an AI, or aBill with a Dill. This will avoid thesound of parallelism. (A form IIIambichord may precede or follow aform III-A because the two are builtfrom different intervals.)

If there is a reason why consecu-tive forms must occur, use contrarymotion below them (see ®).

Final WordsThe structures which fall into thecategory of ambichords have existed

for many years. But their construc-tion and usage were not organized inthis way until the early 1980s.

As with any other technique, theeffectiveness of the use of ambichordsdepends on the talent, imagination,and intelligence of the user. ~

E II E III El E III-A

DI

0 J J J J j j

Bb maj7 C-6 D-7 Eb maj7 F7 6-7 etc.

C II D I D II D III El Eli

Cmaj7

etc.

FI FII Fill

Z o67 (note flat 11 in first i~vo forms, last is OK)

67 67 sus4 Db 9

C I C II C III C III-A

I

I

Fall 1990 Berklee t o d a y 23

Alum n o t e s

Compiled byCarrie Semanco~86

Members of the Class of ’75recall the days before MIDIat Alumni Weekend ’90 lastJune. From left to right areLarry Smith ’75, Mark Carney"75, and David Tobin ’75

Thomas F. Lee’62 recentlyretired from a 24-year ca-reer with the United StatesMarine Corps Band to takeon duties as secretary/treas-urer of the D.C. Federationof Musicians Local Union.Thomas lives in MasonNeck, VA.

Masahiko Sato ’66 livesin Tokyo, Japan, where heperforms with a well-known jazz trio. The JapanTimes referred to Masahikoas "one of the most signifi-cant musicians in Japan."

Richard Cully "68 lives inBoca Raton, FL, where heis leader and drummer forthe Dick Cully Big Band.The band was named one ofthe best in the nation bydown beat magazine and

was invited to perform atthe MusicFest U.S.A. festi-val last year in Philadelphia.

Alexa.nder Meastro Powe"70 lives in Taylors, SC, andworks as awriter, producer,music publisher, and per-former. Alexander releasedfour recordings; this year,all on the Centura label.

dohn Novel~o "73, a com-poser/keyboardist, au-thored the critically ac-claimed manual The Con-temporary Keyboardist.John also contributes manyfreelance editorials and col-umns to down beat, Jazz &Keyboard "Workshop,Musician, Keyboard, andSheet Music magazines. Hisperformance credits includeappearances with Chick

John Novello "73

Corea, Ramsey Lewis, Ric-hie Cole ’67, the ManhattanTransfer, Larry Coryell,Donna Summer, and EdgarWinter.

James"Mack" Dougherty"74, a Los Angeles-basedguitarist, performed thescat-guitar theme solos forthe television shows "Heatof the Night," "Matlock,"and "Paradise." Mack hasalso appeared with MitziGaynor, Andy Williams,Vicki Cart, and Roger Wil-liams.

David Schwartz’74 writesfor the CBS television se-ries "Northern Exposure,"which premiered last sum-mer. David lives in LosAngeles, CA.

Dennis E. Wilson ’74 livesin West Babylon, NY, andis music production man-ager for the Count BasleOrchestra.

Bill E. Murrell ’77 per-forms with Columbia re-cording artist Kirk Wha-lum. Bill lives in Burbank,CA.

24 Berklee today Fall 1990

Frederick"Binney" Stone

Music School at Rivers inWeston, MA. Binney per-formed all of the guitartracks on Rick Wes’ DanceEverybody and on NewGeneration’s Heartache toHeartache. He has beenperforming with the Mas-sachusetts-based band Step-pin’ Up for the past fouryears.

Martin D. Hayes’78 worksfor Pianodisc in Sacra-mento, CA--a companythat refits acoustic pianosto create MIDI player pi-anos. Many of Martin’s ar-rangements appear on thecompany’s demonstrationdisks. Martin also performswith his group Tranzition

Daniel Slider ’78 won aBMI television award forcomposing the theme to theABC television hit series"America’s Funniest HomeVideos." He lives in StudioCity, CA.

Donald J. Tomlinson ’78lives in Pittsburgh, PA, andplays drums with the oldiesshow "Magic Moments."

Eric Marienthal "79 re-leased his second solo rec-ord on GRP. EntitledCrossroads, the release alsofeatures alumni Terri LyneCarrington’83 and Vinnie Co-laiuta "75.

Michael C. Berkowitz "80teaches bass and guitar atCharlie Daniels Music inFresno, CA. Michael per-forms in and around Fresnowith the band ContentsUnder Pressure.Fall 1990

David Gary Hughes ’80plays in the Baltimore-based fusion band ColdFusion with fellow alumniJon Schmidt’81 on saxes andPaul Hildner ’77 on drums.David is also a registeredcraftsman member of thePiano Technicians Guildand operates an extensivepiano rebuilding shop inReisterstown, MD.

William D.Spoke’80p]aysdrums with the pop/rockband Richie Owens and BigSky and freelances in andaround Hollywood, CA.

Laura Dreyer "81, a saxo-phonist and composer, per-forms with her own jazz-fusion band in New York.Laura is involved with theBMI Jazz ComposersWorkshop and receivedrecognition in the 1989 Bill-board songwriting contest.

Hans Fagt ’81 has per-formed as a drummer withKim Larsen and Bellami.Both of Hans’ most recentalbums, Yummi- Yummiand Kielgasten, achieveddouble-platinum salesstatus in Denmark, as wellas reaching gold and silverstatus in Norway and Swe-den.

Kevin Andrew Pituch "81lives in Toledo, OH, wherehe plays bass trombonewith the Toledo Jazz Or-chestra. Kevin’s other per-formance credits include athree-year stint with theTommy Dorsey Orchestra.

Ted Silverstein "81 writesand produces for artists inhis own professional studioin Brooklyn, NY. He is alsoa member of the rock groupSeventh Sense.

Nicolas Villamizar "81owns Sounds Good Pro-ductions in Chelsea, MA.He is also a featured pianistat the Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Boston.

Gerald Gold ’82, a formerfaculty member, is now aBoston-based independent

CLASS CONNECTIONSAs the days get

cooler and Berklee stu-dents flock to the prac-tice rooms, takingbreaks for hot coffeeinstead of outdoorgames of hacky-sack,it’s hard to believe thatanother summer hasflown by and the fallsession is underway.Activity among alumnipicks up as well in thefall with regional eventsand programmingacross the country forthe year being planned.

Upcoming dates for alumni events include Fri-day, November 9, in Philadelphia. Berklee will hosta student/alumni networking party in conjunctionwith the Percussiw~ Arts Society convention in theAdams Mark Hotel from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Berklee’sDean of Curriculum Gary Burton ’62 and a studentgroup will perform for the convention on Saturdayevening at 8:00 p.m.

Berklee will also host an educational seminar andalumni brunch in Los Angeles on Sunday, January20th, in conjunction witl~ the NAMM show. Also,we are working closely with alumni in New York topresent an Alumni Band Showcase and educationalseminar on March 10.

In addition to these special events, Harris Pub-lishing will begin research for the first Alumni Di-rectory by mailing a questionnaire to all alumni inOctober. Please do your part to make the AlumniDirectory an effective networking tool by respond-ing to Harris quickly witl~ complete information.

Watch your mailbox for further information onthese and other events in your area. Be sure we haveyour current address so you don’t miss out on localalumni happenings.

If you have any questions about upcoming eventsin your area, or would like to be on a club committeeto help organize an event, don’t hesitate to drop mea note or call me at (617) 266-1400, extension 479.Your involvement makes it work.

--Carrie Semanco "86Alumni Relations Coordinator

Carrie Semanco: The newseason brings new eventsfor our alumni.

Upcoming Alumni Events(watch your mailbox for more specific information)

November 9January 20March 10

Philadelphia Networking PartyLos Angeles Brunch/Seminar

iNew York Alumni BandShowcase/Seminar

Berklee today 25

producer. Gerald has pro-duced traditional Chineseartists, including LilyYuan,and coproduced the Musicof Bali-Semar PegulinganCD on Lyrichord Discs.

Steven J. Piermarini ’82received his master’s degreein conducting performancefrom the University ofLowell this past June. Ste-ven is band director at theWayland High School inMassachusetts and recordedwith the New Kids on theBlock.

John Taylor Kent’83 ownsand operates a MIDI studioin Anchorage, AK, andrecently received a degreein psychology from theUniversity of Alaska.

Franck Riivaleau ’83 livesin Alexandria, VA, and isan associate producer forthe Smithsonian Collectionof Recordings in Washing-ton, D.C. Previous worksfrom the label includeGrammy-nominated col-lections such as ClassicJazzand Jazz Piano.

Jesse Stone-Evelyn McGeeGroup, and writes for TheSoundstar, a central Floridamusic periodical..

Eric Beall ’8~i has hadsongs recorded by Alisha,Samantha Fox, and Regina.He has also written andproduced for Brenda K.Starr and new Chrysalisartist Ray Contreras. Ericlives in New York.

Steven Corn "84 of VanNuys, CA, has scored twodocumentaries for U.S.News and World Report.

Gustavo Farias’84 lives inReseda, CA, and is pro-ducer/president of PhillipsMusical Effects. Gustavohas produced, composed,and arranged jingles forTaco Bell, Jell-O Jigglers,Knorr’s, Kentucky FriedChicken, and Kool-Aid.

Betsy Jill Jackson ’84writes songs for Any LuckMusic in Nashville, TN.This year, her songs havebeen recorded by GlenYarbrough and RandyTravis. Betsy also helped

DEVELOPMENTSSupporting your college after gradu-

ation is an American tradition only re-cently copied by other countries’ institu-tions. And it seems Americans value theireducation even more as the years add upafter they leave their alma mater. Berkleeis privileged to have alumni who are proudof their B erklee education and are willingto help pass that experience on to others.

I would like to offer my personalthanks to all our alumni who gave to theAlumni Scholarship Fund and the An-nual Fund last year. Your continued in-vestment in the college will help us main-tain our status as a world leader in musiceducation. The Annual Fund is a vitalresource which helps Berklee attract top teachers,provide the most up-to-date equipment in the class-rooms from performance halls to recording studios--

John Collins: Alumni sup-port makes the difference.

and provide scholarships to talented anddeserving young musicians.

Alumni,.business, parent, and foun-da.tion support of the Annual Fund isvital to the college. When you receiveyour letter asking for support this year,please remember that every little bit helps.As the Alumni Scholarship Fund is builtfrom many small gifts, your participa-tion is invaluable.

We have listed last year’s alumni do-nors in this issue. Parents and corporategifts are acknowledged in Berklee’sannual Convocation Repo.rt. We are veryproud of our first distinguished rosterand hope that many more of you will

join those listed, here next year.--John Collins

Director of Development

Encore CircleJoe Williams (Honorary

Doctor4te 1988)

Leader’s ClubEddie Horst ’85Stifling M. Pitcairn ’85

Player’s ClubJoe Viola ’53Richard Franke ’69Tom Snow ’69Michael McLane ’72James Martocchio ’75Ray E. Rettig ’76Mark Eliasof ’78Sidney J. Steven ’79Joe Mardin ’85Bruce G. Lundvall

Other ContributorsHutson K. Howell ’48Ruth B. Miller ’50Everett (Dean) Earl ’54Herbert M. Wyman, M.D.

’57Roger Schueler "60Barry L. Rockoff ’61Thomas Lee "62John R. Hardin ’69Harry Marvin, Jr. ’69Gary Edighoffer ’70Rita Burke ’70John R. Thelin "71Gary Lutzker ’75Kevin G. Boyd ’76Larry Hatchett ’76Randolph Austill 77Kerryann A. Mitchell "77

Michael Saul 77Stephen Curtis ’78Karen Mulhall ’78Marc D. Finkelstein ’79Mary McDonald ’80Douglas Mildram "80Ken Townsend ’80Joseph P. Kurey ’81Gary Miller ’85!Doug Roerden ’84John Donahoe, Jr. "85Peter R. Melnick ’85Robin D. Spinale ’85Patrick E. Zdun "85ELan Zinori ’85Stephen J. Dale "86Emily Norman ’86Renee B. Simon for

Matthew L. Simon ’87

Michael E. Giblin ’88David Erhardt "89Steven A. Lagarto "89Nancy Scharlau ’89John CollinsLeonard Feather (Honor-

ary Doctorate 1984)

New Scholarship FundsAlumni Endowed Schol-

arship FundChicago Commercial Mu-

sic Producers Associa-tion~Creativity Fund

Stephen D. HollandMemorial Fund

Roland FundW.S. Kenney FundEmanuel Zambelli Fund

26 Berklee t o d a y Fall 1990

organize and performed forthe Alumni SongwritersShowcase held in Nashvillelast March.

Steve Johannessen ’84 isdirector of customer sup-port and artist relations forKurzweil Music Systemsand Young Chang Pianos.Steve’s MIDI duo, Back toBack, has released twoalbums: This is Real andMan-Machine Interface.

Jay Paul Lawrence "84performs in the Nashvillearea as guitarist for WarmDark Pocket and Ivey’sVine. Jay received hisbachelor’s degree fromMiddle Tennessee StateUniversity School of Re-cording Industry Manage-ment in 1988.

Stan Pace "84, a bassist,vocalist, and engineer, per-forms throughout NewEngland with Diver Down,a Van Halen tribute show.

Eric B. Schweitzer ’84performs and records withBill Kutacheck and theSalesmen in San Francisco.

Eric lives in Oakland, CA.Milan Svoboda "84 lives

in Prague, Czechoslovakia,where he records with hisown quartet and big band.Recent recordings includeDedication by the MilanSvoboda Quartet and KeepIt Up by Milan Svobodaand Contraband. AlumnusMichael Gera ’89 is also amember of the quartet.

Donn R. Wyatt ’84, a key-boardist, songwriter, andproducer, lives in Los An-geles, CA, and is currentlytouring with Anita Baker.Donn performed in GeorgeDuke’s Japan tour last year.

Rafael Jimenez "85 livesin Mexico and works forRider Producciones S.A., alive performance produc-tion company.

Mark P. Murphy "85,known professionally asMark Patrick, is busy teach-ing guitar, bass, and theoryat the Mark Patrick Studioin Nashville, TN; servingas guitar and band coachfor the Yamaha Rock

The Nova Records debut of Juan Carlos Quintero ’84 featuresTommy Tedesco as well as fellow alumni Alec Milstein ’83,Bob Harsen ’82, and Vinny Demaio "84.

BAR REPORTNow that the

Berklee Alumni Rep-resentative (BAR) pro-gram is launching intoits eighth year, I wouldlike to thank all of thealumni who respondedto our mailings or calledme to discuss the pro-gram. It is always apleasure to feel your en-thusiasm for Berldeeand to learn how yourmusic careers are pro-gressing. I am pleasedto say that BAR is pro-gressing, as well.

Rich Adams: We are tar-geting our effortsto expandthe BAR network.

BAR members are again meeting with youngmusicians at local high school music and guidancedepartments in their areas. In addition, BAR mem-bers assist the Berklee Admissions Office by repre-senting the college at professional music confer-ences and college fairs across the country. This year,we again invited a select group of alumni to becomepart of the program. However, we aren’t going tostop there.

We are targeting select metropolitan areas wherestudent inquiries about Berklee are especially abun-dant. By expanding the BAR program in these cities,we hope to give additional opportunities for inter-ested music students to learn more about Berkleefrom an active music professional who has experi-enced Berklee first-hand.

There are 15 specific metropolitan areas wherewe hope to enhance the BAR program this year:

San Diego, CADallas, TXWashington, D.C.Chicago, ILCleveland, OHPhiladelphia, PANew London, CTProvidence, RI

San Francisco, CA]Miami, FLAtlanta, GA]Baltimore, MDCincinnati, OHPittsburgh, PA]Hartford, CT

If you live in any of these areas and are interestedin BAR, please call me at (617) 266-1400, extension366. An orientation for new members is scheduledfor January 1991. Please contact me by December 1to be considered for this orientation.

Of course, no matter where you live, we would behappy to send you more information and an appli-cation for the BAR program. Just fill out the form onpage 28 and check the BAR information box.

--Rich Adams "82Alumni Admissions Coordinator

Fall 1990 Berklee today 27

Lalah Hathaway ’90 climbed the charts with her self-tit~eddebut on Virgin Records.

School at the Music-Manmusic store; and workingas a transcriber for the song-book division of CherryLane Music. Mark alsoperforms with the Regula-tors in Nashville.

Thomas Beckner "86freelances as a jazz pianistin New York, where he alsoperforms as keyboardist forcomedian Bob Nelson.

Michael G. Brannon’88, aguitarist in San Antonio,

tro-percusslve lmprowsa-tional quartet True Diver-sity. Michael authored thebook Contemporary Im-provisation for Guitar.

Eileen Orr ’87 lives inDetroit and plays pianowith the all-female jazzgroup Straight Ahead,named Best Sn’lall JazzCombo in Detroit’s annualmusic awards competitionlast November.

Bruce Sales’88 has joinedHEA Productions, one ofthe largest jingle houses inNew York City, as an assis-tant engineer and writer.

Gary Terrence Becks ’89,a guitarist and songwriter,released I Live to Rock ’nRoll on his own label, RealTime Records. The record--ing features his b and, VoicesUnknown.

Yuval Ron’89, a composerfor First Take, Inc., in Bos-ton, MA, composed thesoundtrack for the motionpicture Strong City, di-rected by Daniel Matmor,

which premiered at theVenice Film Festival in Sep-tember. The soundtrackwas produced by fellowalumnus Daniel Cantor "86.Yuval also composed a bal-let score commissioned forthe Bat-Sheva dance com-pany in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Kirke J. Blankenship "90plays drums for the Bos-ton-based band Pieces.

Kelley D. Bolduc’90 leadsand manages one ofBoston’s leading Carib-bean-American dancebands, Hot Like Fire!Kelley also plays trumpetand sings with the group.

Nick Ketter "90 works asan engineer and sound de-signer for Crosstown Au-dio in Atlanta, GA.

Mary Ellen Thompson ’90has performed as lead vo-calist on jingles for severalNew England companies,including New EnglandTelephone, Filene’s Base-ment, and Lechmere. MaryEllen also sifigs lead for theband Nightshirt.

ALUIVI NOTES IIMFORMATION FORMFull NameAddress

City State ZIP Home Phone #

[] This is a new addressLast year you attended BerkleeProfessiondl Identity

__ Did you receive a [] Degree [] Diploma?

Professional AddressCity State ZIP. Work Phone #

Your title/rolePlease list any professional activities, performances, recordings, notable music projects, awards, recognitions,or other events you’d like us to know about (please print or type):

[] I am interested in learning more about the Berklee Alumni Representative program (see "BAR Report,"page 27).

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!

28 Berkiee t o d a y Fall 1990

Shop t a l k

Notes frommusic industryconferences,conventions,and confabs

Fall 1990

Audio Engineering SocietyMay 3-6, 1990Washington, D. C.

The eighth Audio Engi-neering Society Interna-tional Conference was titled"The Sound of Audio" andfocused specifically on theperceptual nature of theelectro-acoustic process.The conference featuredinvited paper presentationsin four areas: perception ofsound, measurement ofperception of sound, per-ception of the recording/reproduction process, andfuture developments.

While papers given wereprimarily tutorial, manypresented research and agreat deal of new informa-tion. A limited number ofdisplays were presented, in-cluding current and futurecar stereo systems, binauralsound, and surround-soundsystems.

One particularly inter-esting paper, given by FredWightman, focused on thepinna shape within alistener’s inner ear and itseffect on the ability to lo-calize sound. Research hasshown a direct correllationbetween pinna shape andlocalization ability. Thesefindings could effect thefuture designs of binauralheadphone systems.

David Griesinger, in hispresentation on binauralsound, discussed at consid-erable length the nature of

perception through ihead-phones. Binaural recordinguses a dummy head withdummy ears. Recent devel-opments include the notionof eliminating the pinnasfrom the dummy head, andprogramming electronicalgorithms to serve as thefunctional electronicequivalents of pinnas. This

AUDIO

has the virtue of permi~ttingthe development of individ-ual algorithms for eachindividual listener.

For many listeners, lo-calization through head-phones seems "inside thehead," confusing, and un-related to sonic reality. Theresult of this new approachcould be an extremely real-istic representation ofsound via headphones forall listeners.

The papers on recordingreproduction largely dealtwith the issue of timbralfidelity and related prob-lems. My paper, giw~n atthe conference, suggestedthat such fidelity is of lim-ited utility, and that what alistener actually seeks is the"most musical" represen-

tationrather than the"mostaccurate." I discussed par-ticularly how this was seenin the multi-track record-ing process.

One of the more inter-esting displays on the exhi-bition floor was a spin-offfrom military aircraft com-munications system re-search. Gehring Researchhas developed an auditoryinterface for the Macintoshcomputer. With the system,a computer user wearingbinaural headphones per-ceives an audible cursormoving in three dimensionsin a virtual auditory field.Auditory files, icons, andcues can be placed anywherewithin this field.

To demonstrate thepower of the system,Gehring played noise, mu-sic, and voice cues simulta-neously through the head-phones. In an acousticspace, this would be diffi-cult to sort out. On normalheadphones, it would be im-possible. But in the binau-ral sound field, it all wasquite comprehensible.

The system can be set tobe stationary or to movewith the head, or both.While development isneeded, the system couldprove to be a significantadvancement in studio andsynthesis communicationsand control.

--David Moulton,Chairman, Music Produc-tion & Engineering Dept.Berklee today 29

New Music SeminarJuly 15-18, 1990New York, NY

The New Music Seminar 11 had at-tendance numbers similar to New MusicSeminar 10. One noteable change thisyear was an increased Sovietenrollment. Through panels,evening talent showcases, asmall exhibit area, and WorldBar and Face the Nationmorning meetings, the semi-nar offered a wealth ofknowledge, contacts, and ex-posure to current trends inthe music industry.

This year’s seminar alsohosted many Berklee alumni visitors in-cluding Cathy Carlesimo ’87, MichaelCastaldo ’86, Haiti Conner ’88, DanteGioia ’90, Andrew Grassi ’89, YumiIwama ’88, Minoru Kaneko ’88, Saun-

dra Palmer ’88, Angela Piva ’86, PaulRuest ’89, Keith Barnhart ’85, and Mi-chael Sweet ’84.

Berklee Professor Wayne Wadhamsparticipated in a panel discussion en-titled "Music Business Education."Other panelists included Janet Nepke

SEMINAR

of MEIEA and Ron Berganof NARAS.

"Mock Negotiations"provided a spirited, panelpitting business affairs offi-cers from PolyGram, Island,and Warner Bros. againstthree music busine.ss law-yers. This informative panelwas based on the point-by-point arguments between

the record companies and the musiclawyers on the terms of a prewrittenmock contract.

---Don Puluse, Chairma.n,Music Technology Division

National Association ofMusic MerchantsJune 16-18, 1990Chicago, IL

Every summer NAMMshow since 1987 has seen adecline in both the numberof attendees and exhibitors.This year’s event was cer-tainly no exception, com-ing in at approximately half

the size of last year’s show.This year was also the lasttime for the forseeable fu-ture for summer NAMMto be held in Chicago. Nextsummer’s event will be heldin New York’s Javi~s Con-vention Center in July, witha vastly altered format, in-cluding a consumer day.

One possible reason forthis decline is the increasedcompetition among allmanufacturers to race for-ward with new products ata time when the sales are30 Berklee today

slumping and the economyis in decline. Another is thegeneral feeling that a singlenational show is all that isrequired, allowing manu-facturers to spend theirmoney and efforts on re-gional, local, and special-ized events. A third reasonis the increasing importanceof the Frankfurt MusicMesse. As the WesternEuropean market is matur-ing and new Eastern Euro-pean markets are opening,many companies are focus-ing their efforts overseas.

However, while theshow was slower than pastyears--or, perhaps becauseit was slower--it offeredoutstanding opportunitiesfor industry contacts.

There were a few newdevelopments presented atthe show including two newYamaha synthesizers. TheTG77 is a rack-mount ver-sion of the SY77 withoutdisk drive or sequencer. TheSY22, announced but notshown at the winterNAMM show, employsvector synthesis, a tech-

nique first pioneered bySequential Circuits in theProphet VS.

Vector synthesis in-volves the creation of newwaveforms (timbres) mixing and fading betweenexisting complex soundsources. The mixing andfading process can be ma-nipulated in real time andrecorded into a vector se-quence which, can then beprocessed further throughsubtractive techniques oreffect devices.

Other interesting prod-ucts displayed at the showincluded the Video Harp, alight-beam-based MIDIcontroller. Two companiesdisplayed rhythm-sectiongenerators for ":music mi-nus one" applications. TheKawai GB-1 is a hardware-based system for rhythmsection accompaniment.P.G. Music’s "Band in aBox" provides a software-based product for similarapplications.

--David Masi’~, AssistantDean of Curriculum for

Academic Technology

Nashville SongwritersAssociation InternationalJuly 20-21, 1990Nashville, Tennessee

The Nashville Songwrit-ers’ Association Interna-tional provides a forum fordiscussing political and eco-nomic issues facing theprofessional songwriter, aswell as a meeting place andtraining ground for aspir-ing songwriters. Becausethis summer’s seminar fo-cused on the latter aim, thegreater part of the weekendwas made up of educationalsessions.

T.he conference openedwith a concert featuring anumber of well-knownNSAI-member writers in-cluding Don Schlitz (whowrote "The Gambler"),Roger Murrah ("We’re inthis Love Together"), andNorro Wilson ("The MostBeautiful G’irl in theWorld").

Master class sessionstook up the entire morningand first part. of the after-noon of the second day. At-tendees had a choice of twosessions: a class on lyricstaught by Pamela PhillipsOland, or a class on melodytaught by Archie Jordan.

Master classes were fol-lowed by a critique sessionin which each attendee wasinvited to submit one songfor’criticism by the masterclass instructor.

The conference closedwith an open mike sessionfor attendees.

While the focus and dis-cussions of the NSAI ses-sions were quite general, theseminar provided goodopportunities for network-ing, in terms of possiblesongwriting collaboratorsas well as publishing andrecording contacts.

--Robert Weingart,Assistant Professor,Songwriting Dept.

Fall 1990

MusIu MAKES THEA DECLARATION OF CONCERN ABOUT MUSIC EDUCATION

During the 1980s, educational reform made it onto the front pages of American newspapers for the first

time in decades. Politicians, policy makers, and business figures have been quick to trace much of the nation’s"competitiveness gap" to the schoolhouse door. They have voiced ringing alarms over the slippage in mathand science scores. But when the discussion has turned to making sure our children learn to understand andparticipate in music and the other arts, there has been silence. We believe such near-sighted concern short-changes our children because it leaves them only half-educated. Since the beginnings of civilization, musichas been universally recognized as crucial to quality education, for two reasons.

F~ rs ~ every civilization recognizes that both formal and informal music education prepares children for whatlife ultimately requires. Music education fosters creativity, teaches effective communication, provides basic tools fora critical assessment of the world around us, and encourages the abiding values of self-discipline and commitment.

Sec 0,1 d, music and the other arts have been recognized as unique to human capabilities and creativity, as

a means to self-discovery and self-expression, and as a fundamental part of civilization itself.

We, whose lives are marked indelibly by a love for music, and, who understand the essential role music educatcan play in developing the whole human being, call on the parents of our school children, on teachers an~officials, on local and state boards of education, and on the American people to join us in establishinplace of music in the schools.

OUR CREDO IS SIMPLE

Just as there can be no music without learning, no education is complete

without music. Music makes the difference.

TO THAT ENDWe call on all who care about education to destroy, once and for all, the myth that

education in music and the other arts is mere "curricular icing";

We call on all who cherish the arts to insist that instruction in music and the other arts

be reestablished as basic to education, not only by virtue of their intrinsic worth, but also

because they are fundamental to what it means to be an educated person;

We call on parents, educators, and citizens who know and understand the." value of music in

our common life to bring the message about the value of music education to decision makers at all levels and toencourage them to establish music as a priority, so our children can continue to learn and make music and;

We call on those whose livelihoods depend on music-as manufacturers, technicians, retailers, educators

and performers, composers and others-to lend their support to the cause of music education in our schools.

In witness to our commitment to these goals, we have signed our names to the accompanying petition.

The National Commission on Music Education, 1902 Association Drive, Reston, Virginia 22091-1597 1990-1991

|

P E T I T I 0 N S H E E T

MusIu MAKVrS THV~THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON MUSIC EDUCATION

Just as there can be no music without learning, no education is complete

without music. Music makes the difference.

Y~S,/I want to make music education a driving force in America’s schools. If our children are to succeed in the workforce and

world of the future, they must be provided with a well-rounded educational curriculum incorporating music and the other arts.

NAME ADDRESS

IMPORTANT: We can accept signatures from adults of legal voting age only. Please be sure to sign your name to verify the

authenticity of the signatures.

This petition sheet voucher authenticity verified by NAME:

ADDRESS:

CITY: STATE: ZIP: DATE:

Please return to: The National Commission on Music Education1902 Association DriveReston, Virginia 22091-1597

You are encouraged to photocopythis form for additional signatures.

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Lionel Hampton is legendary forplaying an instrument no one in jazzhad played before. The vibes. So,naturally a,ffer performing for overfifty years he thought he’d found everyway possible to play them. That is,until he discovered the TechnicsSX-KN800 Keyboard.

A keyboard so advanced it createsvibes sounds impressive enough to geteven Lionel Hampton to put down hisinstrument and pick up ours. Whichisn’t surprising considering theKN8OO’s digitally-stored computerchips create sounds so lifelike you’d

probably think you had the actualinstrument right in front of you.

What’s more, the SX-KN800features over 32 other true to life instru-mental sounds, an 8-track sequencerwith flexible edit functions, and a 16-bitcomputer memory with optional diskstorage. Which allows an accomplishedmusician to accomplish even more.

But the true genius behind theKN800 is the fact you don’t have to bea genius to play it. Because at the touchof a button you’ll not only have a worldof instruments at your fingertips, you’llalso have a wide variety of rhythm

accompaniments to choose from aswell. Many of which have beenrecorded by respected musical artists.So, you can play with the best even ifyou’re just a beginner.

Now, if all this sounds too good tobe true, we suggest you hear it foryourself.

Come in to the participatingTechnics dealer nearest you and try theSX-KN800. And you’ll see why one ofthe world’s great vibes players is nowbacking us up.

TechnicsThe science of sound