Ensemble Faculty

"I think students come to Berklee for many of the same reasons. They find role models they can identify with. Our job is to provide the fundamental training for young musicians to succeed in the world they live in."

"The most important thing I want for my students is musicality in playing whatever they want to play: expression with rhythm, with pulse, and with movement. To make a beautiful sound, it doesn't need to be one kind of sound, but it does need to be expressive. I also want them to be aware of the culture, to be aware of what they're playing, and feel confidence in it. I try to make students aware—without being self-conscious—of how their body works with the instrument when they're performing."

"I constantly tell students to improve their reading skills because that’s a big thing in the music business. A lot of my performances are reading music. I do others, too, where I don’t read, where I play memorized stuff, but the big things I do are reading. And I just try to encourage the students."

"I teach a broad mix of classes in both the Ensemble Department, which includes the Performance Studies curriculum, and the Piano Department. I teach Intro to Latin Jazz, Rhythm Section Ensemble, Standard Jazz Repertoire 1, Jazz Improvisation Techniques 1, and Basic Keyboards 1. I also have several piano students for Private Instruction. I like to provide a context for any subject that I teach. I teach two labs (Afro-Cuban Piano Montunos and Improv in Cuban Piano), which are ostensibly for developing skills for playing in this style. I give a lot of practical information and transcriptions, but I also talk as much as I can about the historical and cultural context of the music."

"Good ensemble playing requires the ability to hear not only your own playing, but all the playing that is happening around you—to hear your musical relationship to the other players acutely, so that it informs and guides your musical actions. The more advanced your playing skills are, the more capable you will be of dividing your listening attention between yourself and the band."

"My whole goal with Hip-Hop Ensemble is to blur the line. Right now, the perception of hip-hop is a standoff. It really comes down to a debate over what a musician is. Some people think pushing buttons isn't being a musician, it's production. But there's validity in the music I'm making. I'll have students playing samples live, like an instrument, as if they were playing a piano. For me, a rapper with a DJ is not any different from someone singing and someone else playing a guitar. It's voice and an instrument."

"As soon as I became a true student of music, I began to teach. I grew up in a family of musicians so it was somewhat inevitable that I would follow in their footsteps, regardless of how many times I said I was going to be an entertainment attorney! At the age of 14, I knew in my heart that life as a musician was the course for me. I asked my father to be my coach, and that's when my intense training began. Hard work, patience, faith, persistence, and pass-it-on are a few of the many character traits instilled into me as a young musician and that I try to practice to this day."

"I've always appreciated the fact that Berklee accepts students with high potential and the right attitude, not just who's the hottest player. Five-string banjo was my first instrument, but when I decided to apply to Berklee as a student they didn't teach it, so I had to play another instrument. I had recently started playing bass, and it felt like going back to square one as a player, but I was motivated and determined. My teachers recognized that and helped me to make fast progress. Now, as a teacher I enjoy working with students who share those qualities."

"I build my classes on a foundation of mutual trust and respect, a space where fear is kept at bay and every student is expected to work hard, take chances, and make mistakes and then grow from them—but most importantly, to explore and discover, or rediscover, for themselves that unique voice. Because it takes high standards, discipline, and hard work to have a successful music career, these elements are integral to all of my classes. Watching students grow in this discover-trust-develop continuum is a constant wellspring of inspiration for me. Being a catalyst in the process is one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching."

"What I try to get out my class is leaders. Everyone’s supposed to lead, everyone. I put people on the spot just to see how they’re paying attention to things. I’ll say, 'Okay, next week, I want you to lead.' Or I don’t even say that. I just say, 'You’re going to lead today.' In my class, you’re always on your toes. It’s the only way to develop leadership. You’ve got to be on your toes in the real world."