PODCAST: Inside Berklee—The Pat Patrick Collection

A gift from the Massachusetts governor's family highlights the role of a jazz musician in mid-century society.

April 25, 2010

Thanks to a recent donation, students will have a new way to learn about the realities of life as a jazz musician in the good ol' days. Last month, the college officially opened the Pat Patrick Collection, part of the Africana Studies Archive.

Laurdine Kenneth "Pat" Patrick was an alto and baritone sax player best known for his long association with the progressive musician Sun Ra. After his death, his children—including current Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick—learned their father had left a voluminous collection of photographs, scores, concert programs, teaching notes, and other memorabilia that illustrated not only his own artistic development but the cultural context of musicianship at the time. The deep collection is now at Berklee to be plumbed by faculty and student researchers.

In the first Inside Berklee podcast, speakers at the March 24 dedication, including the governor, Berklee president Roger H. Brown, and Africana Studies director Bill Banfield share their thoughts as the Berklee Pat Patrick Tribute Arkestra plays.

to Inside Berklee: The Pat Patrick Collection