- Herb Pomeroy
Infobox musical artist
Name = Herb Pomeroy
Img_capt = Cover art for "Herb Pomeroy and Donna Byrne: Walking on Air" (Arbors Records )
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name Irving Herbert Pomeroy
Alias =
Born =April 15 1930
Died =August 11 2007
Origin =Gloucester, Massachusetts
Instrument =trumpet ,flugelhorn
Voice_type =
Genre =Jazz
Occupation =
Years_active =
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Associated_acts =Charlie Parker
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Notable_instruments =Irving Herbert "Herb" Pomeroy, III (b.
15 April 1930 ,Gloucester, Massachusetts – d.11 August 2007 ) was an influential swing andbebop jazz trumpeter and educator. He played with legends such asCharlie Parker andLionel Hampton as well as his own jazz bands for over half a century.= Biography =
Early life
Herb Pomeroy began playing
trumpet at an early age, and in his early teens started gigging in the greater Boston area, claiming inspiration from the music ofLouis Armstrong . In 1946, at age 16, he became a member of the Musicians Union in Gloucester after the union didn't have enough members to conduct a meeting. After High School, he studied music at theSchillinger House in Boston, which is now theBerklee College of Music , where he excelled as a jazz trumpeter and began to find his calling inbebop .Herb the Performer
Herb Pomeroy studied dentistry at
Harvard University for one year but dropped out to pursue his jazz career. Charlie Parker liked Pomeroy's playing and hired him frequently when the alto saxophonist performed at Boston's Hi-Hat and Storyville. Herb Pomeroy also played with Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington,Stan Kenton , andSerge Chaloff , among other jazz giants. After experience as a sideman in the big bands of Hampton and Stan Kenton (separated by a five-month stint at leading his own 13-piece band in the early 1950s), Herb Pomeroy put together a big band that drew national attention in the late 1950s in a Boston club called the Stable. He led the band from 1957 through the mid-1960s and intemittently until 1993. During that time and since then he led popular small groups ranging typically from duo (usually with bassist John Repucci) to quintet. His big band played inCarnegie Hall and established series such as theNewport Jazz Festival on the same bill withBenny Goodman ,Duke Ellington , and other major jazz figures. Pomeroy also backed up several singers, includingMel Torme ,Tony Bennett ,Irene Kral ,Ella Fitzgerald , andFrank Sinatra . He became noted as a true master ofmusic theory and musical form. Pomeroy's playing exhibited a limited upper range on the trumpet, but his extraordinary improvisational resources counteracted that limitation. Gradually during the mid-1990s, as Pomeroy performed more frequently with small groups, he abandoned the flugelhorn for the trumpet.Although Herb Pomeroy is best known to some people as a music educator, his first love was jazz performance on the trumpet. He ranked leading a band and teaching music second and third respectively in his hierarchy of passions. He was not much of a fan of recordings, always emphasizing that jazz is a music that must be witnessed in person. A good example of such an incident can be found in the Berklee video archives. The video documents an October 31, 2005 Friend Hall panel session on jazz in Boston at mid-century. At one point the panel was asked what the best recordings of jazz in Boston in the 1950s are. Several people offered suggestions. Finally in apparent frustration Herb told everyone to take all of the recommended recordings (most which featured Pomeroy) “and throw them away.” Instead, he suggested that all people in attendance go out to clubs and “see live jazz.”
As Teacher
In addition to a successful performing career, Herb Pomeroy also enjoyed a highly successful teaching career. He helped found the Jazz Workshop on Stuart Street--under the leadership of
Charlie Mariano - which included such musician/teachers as Varty Haroutunian, Ray Santisi,Serge Chaloff ,Dick Twardzik and Pomeroy on the faculty. Later Pomeroy joined the faculty of the Berklee School of Music in Boston where he taught for 41 years. In 1963 Pomeroy was enlisted to revitalize a venerable but moribund big band, The Techtonians, atMIT . It was renamed the Festival Jazz Ensemble, and he continued as its director for 22 years. During his time as director he helped the FJE perform throughout the US as well as abroad, even helping them become the first college ensemble to appear at Switzerland’s prestigiousMontreux Jazz Festival . His contribution toMusic at MIT is well known and on May 10th the university had a memorial concert for him in theKresge Auditorium ] . [ MIT Tech article: Herb Pomeroy, founder of MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble, dies. August 14th 2007. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/obit-pomeroy-0814.html ] He also taught at the Lenox School of Music, where he conducted a full orchestra of his own students.In the later part of Mr. Pomeroy's life he did several workshops for local Middle and High School aged students most notably with the Gloucester Educatation Foundation.Herb the Legend
Herb Pomeroy was recognized as the Boston Musician's Association 2004 Musician of the Year and received an honorary degree from Berklee after he retired in 1995. His final concert with the Berklee Jazz Ensemble was attended by well-noted musicians from around the world. In 1996 Pomeroy was inducted into the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) Hall of Fame, and in 1997 he was inducted into the "
Down Beat " Jazz Education Hall of Fame. After his retirement, Herb Pomeroy graciously gave his time helping people studyjazz in the Greater Boston area.Former students
Former students include such diverse players as
Gary Burton ,Alan Broadbent ,Toshiko Akiyoshi ,Gary McFarland ,Franck Amsallem , Dennis Wilson, Lee Allen (pianist) andMiroslav Vitouš . People who played in his big bands run the gamut fromBoots Mussulli toSam Rivers and include such influential musicians asAlan Dawson ,Jaki Byard (as saxophonist and arranger), Phil Wilson, Ray Santisi, Greg Hopkins, Dick Johnson,Charlie Mariano , Michael Gibbs,John LaPorta ,Lennie Johnson ,Serge Chaloff ,Ryan Shore ,Mike Nock , Bill Berry,Hal Galper , Joe Gordon, and many others.elect discography
With "Donna Byrne"
*"Walking On Air" (Arbors Records )
*"Life is a Many Splendored Gig" - The Herb Pomeroy OrchestraRoulette Records LP R-52001
*"Band in Boston" - The Herb Pomeroy OrchestraUnited Artists Records LP UAS 5015
*"The Band and I" - Irene Kral and the Herb Pomeroy OrchestraUnited Artists Records LP UAS 5016
*"Pramlatta's Hips" - The Herb Pomeroy OrchestraShiah Records LP HP-1
*"Charlie Parker at Storyville" - Charlie Parker with ensemble including Herb Pomeroy on five tracksBlue Note Records LP BT-85108
*"Here's to Joe" - Paul Broadnax with ensemble including Herb PomeroyBrownstone Recordings CD BRCD 9611
*"The Bird You Never Heard" - Charlie Parker with Bostonians Herb Pomeroy, Bernie Griggs, and Baggy Grant on four tracksStash Records CD ST-CD-10
*"Live at Café Beaujolais" - The Herb Pomeroy TrioWeller Records
*"Jazz in a Stable" -Transition LP TRLP 1 Sources
* http://web.mit.edu/fje/www/bios/herb.html
* http://www.newenglandconservatory.edu/faculty/pomeroyH.html
* http://www.bostonmusicians.org/herb.htmReferences
External links
* [http://jazzhistorydatabase.com/collections/studio3-videos.html Herb Pomeroy solos and interview with Studio 3]
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