Woodwinds
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Jim Odgren, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Woodwind Department- Alumnus, Berklee College of Music
- Alto saxophonist
- Member of East West Standard Time
- Performances with Gary Burton, Steve Swallow, and JoAnne Brackeen
- Recordings with Gary Burton, Hiromi Uehara, Vinnie Colaiuta, Antonio Sanchez, Victor Mendoza, Michael Brecker, and Jim Kelly
- Major publications include Saxophone Quintet Arrangements for Advance Music and Berklee Practice Method - Alto Sax
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Jamie Baum, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Woodwind Department- B.M., New England Conservatory
- M.M., Manhattan School of Music
- Jazz flutist, composer, and clinician
- Performances with George Russell, Mick Goodrick, Randy Brecker, Donald Brown, Kenny Barron, Dave Douglas, Ralph Alessi, Uri Caine, Wadada Leo Smith, and Karaikudi Mani
- Four CDs as a leader: Sight Unheard, Moving Forward, Standing Still, and Solace
- Leader of Jamie Baum Septet, including Ralph Alessi, Douglas Yates, Tom Varner, George Colligan, Johannes Weidenmeuller, and Jeff Hirschfield
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Frank Tiberi, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Woodwind Department"I take a very technical approach. You must know your notes and tonalities, and not play by ear. One thing that I really emphasize is to be able to use restraint, texture, and balance in your approach, in your 'deceptive inserts' and other things which require a lot of technical knowledge. A lot of students can come in and just move their fingers around, but when they play a ballad, where does it come from? Where's the restraint? Of course you're not going to be playing a ton of technical things in a beautiful ballad that should be really heard soulfully."
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George Garzone, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Woodwind Department"If you're going to play free, it's up to you. You got it. I'm not going to yell directions to the ensemble or the soloists as they play. You got it. If the music stops and you're flailing, that's your problem. It's up to you to pick it up and make it happen. That happens to everyone; the music comes to a settling point and now it's up to someone to pick the ball up and go with it."
Read MoreBill Thompson, Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT : Woodwind Department"Some students may know a great deal about harmony and be adept at hearing and identifying chords, yet they cannot read a note of music. Some are great performers and can sing with great persuasion, yet they can't read a note. For these students, formal ear training at Berklee introduces them to general facts and musical situations they've never encountered before. It helps them understand the make-up of music's mathematical systems, like note values and time durations, as well as the whole idea of connecting rhythms and melodies to make up a complete musical thought or phrase."
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Jackie Beard, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Woodwind Department"Times have changed a lot, and the music industry has changed a lot, but if you're a really well-rounded player, the industry and the times can continue to change as much as they want to; you'll be fine. My personal musical passion is within the jazz idiom, be it mainstream or straight-ahead; however, being well rounded and versatile is what allows me to play a rap gig with a back-beat track and smoke it. The skills are always applicable."
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Andy McGhee, Professor Emeritus
DEPARTMENT : Woodwind Department"I teach my students that if you accept a job, regardless of what kind of job it is, you must play your best. Working with Lionel Hampton, I remember one incident in the Metropole—we had about 10 people, and Lionel was playing like he was playing for 10,000. And, being young, I thought, 'Why the hell is he working that hard?' But in the six years I was with him, I learned that once you hit the bandstand, you play as well as you can."
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Bill Pierce, Chair
DEPARTMENT : Woodwind Department"Playing with Art Blakey's and Tony Williams's bands, I really felt a part of a jazz lineage. And I was able to play with them long enough to be part of a living, growing organism. Over a period of time playing with the same people, the music morphs into something more than the composer may have intended. It develops into more than the sum of its parts. Because of that experience, I can convey to students the significance of a group concept, a band concept. Music is a source of communication between people, regardless of whether you want to be a star or not."
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"Most of my students are not performance majors, so I see them coming from all fields of study at Berklee, such as MP&E and music therapy. I focus on sound bassoon technique, great tone production, and the ability to sight read well, because you're only as good as your sight reading! I try to develop critical listeners, so that whatever field in which they end up, they still know what a good sound is."
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Shannon LeClaire, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Woodwind Department"Berklee's phenomenal for a few reasons. One, at no other school are you going to get this choice of teachers. Two, students are always jamming, in ensembles and after-school sessions, because there are so many students here. And three, the theory and ear training here is really applicable, whereas at a normal college, the program is classical theory. While it's great background, it doesn't really apply. Here you learn it on your horn and you can use it immediately, and that's a good thing."
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