Berklee Oral History Project: Herb Pomeroy
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Herb Pomeroy Interview
One-on-one interiew with Herb Pomeroy.
Entire Herb Pomeroy Interview:
Click To View Entire Interview with Herb Pomeroy
Highlighted Clip Selection:
Clip 1:
His Berklee job offer, Joe Viola's jazz musicianship.
Clip 2:
How and why Joe Viola believed Herb would make a good faculty member.
Clip 3:
A pedagogical look at Berklee and academics. Herb describes how the student body has changed since he first began teaching.
Clip 4:
Mention of Toshiko (the first international student) and his description of students as one of the richest parts of his career.
Clip 5:
Herb speaks of feeling that Berklee was becoming too inbred and how Lee Berk and John Laporta brought in more "outside blood".
Clip 6:
"Berklee-itis" and the "Chord Factory Syndrome", John Laporta's influence, and the Jamey Aebersold band camps.
Clip 7:
Herb talks about the "downhill slide for jazz" of the 1960's and how that affected the faculty and their musicality.
Clip 8:
Herb talks about Gary Burton and what his own teaching style is like.
Clip 9:
A discussion on the Billy Strayhorn / Duke Ellington relationship and how Herb used Duke's style in the classroom.
Clip 10:
Herb talks about Lee Berk's impact on Berklee and the differences between Larry and Lee. He goes on to discuss what he believes to be the future of jazz.
