Faculty
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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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Kevin Bleau, Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT : Harmony Department"Arranging music is a very powerful discipline. Arrangers tell performers how to play by the marks they write on the page, so I tell my students to embrace that power. Be clear. Be specific. And insist that performers follow your instructions."
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"Recording music is taking part in a kind of alchemy—you're transforming intangible, cerebral ideas into something real, something physical. It's a sort of magic. And you're working with material that is personal, emotional. Appreciating that and being sensitive to it is one of the most important things we can teach. Studio work is social. You can't do it without the technical knowledge, but you can't do it well without fostering a good creative environment. That's something I really want to pass along, because it isn't something that books can really teach, but it's the kind of thing that gets you work or not; it's the kind of thing that gets a record made well or not."
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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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Bruno Raberg, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Ensemble Department"The hallmark of a good bassist is knowing the foundation of both your own instrument and the music—understanding your own playing but also the role of your instrument within a group, how to interact and listen. In my teaching I make sure to cover all those aspects."
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"In Harmony 1 there's a lot of vocabulary that trying to comprehend to move on to the next level. Sometimes it seems like you're trying to learn the basic bricks, but where's the music in it? But you can't write a story without knowing how to spell words. Music is difficult because it's supposed to be fun and emotional, but how can that be if you can't remember what note goes on this chord? Once you internalize it, it becomes a part of you, and you don't have to worry about it. It's like being able to speak a language."
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Bret Willmott, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Guitar Department"The joy of the guitar is that it has so many different sounds and stylistic approaches. It has a harmonic sound unique to itself, and it can closely simulate the sound of a horn or voice through various techniques like string bending, hammer-ons, and tapping. I think many other instruments have greater difficulty accomplishing the versatile sounds that a guitar can make. Piano is ultimately the best instrument harmonically, no question, but I still believe the guitar is a more versatile instrument in terms of varied sounds and styles."
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Jon Klein, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Film Scoring"In teaching the technology, I try to do projects that I know will be the fastest way to get material across to the students. I want them to learn the essence of something so that they can work with it right away. I also try to develop task-oriented tutorials on what students need to know to get something done, then hopefully they can go on from there. I point the way for students to keep learning on their own."
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David Johnson, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Harmony Department- B.M.Ed., Hartt School of Music
- Performances with Pepper Adams, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Joan Rivers, Stevie Wonder, and others
- International tours with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and the Benny Goodman Tribute Orchestra
- Clinics and performances in Japan, Europe, Canada, and South America
- Articles on jazz harmony published in Jazz Player magazine
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Michael Wartofsky, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Harmony Department"I'd say one of the main functions of the Harmony Department is to ensure a certain level of musicianship among Berklee grads. And then, on a deeper level, it gives us the tools we need to be better writers, arrangers, and performers. I studied at Berklee for a year after already having an undergrad music degree. One year of Berklee, and especially Berklee harmony, changed the way I compose and changed the way I think about music. This system is unique to our school, and we're very fortunate to have it passed down to us. It seemed a lot more practical than the music theory I had studied previously.
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