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Herb Pomeroy

With Louis Armstrong as inspiration, Herb Pomeroy chose the trumpet as his instrument. By age twenty-five, he had performed with Charlie Parker, toured with Stan Kenton and Lionel Hampton and recorded with Serge Chaloff. Herb Pomeroy became known as a "musician's musician," a leader in big band jazz, an improviser of uncommon stature, a legendary educator at the Berklee College of Music for forty-one years and founder and director of the Festival Jazz Ensemble at MIT for twenty-two years.

By the age of twenty-two audiences already had identified Pomeroy as an exceptional trumpet player. He left Harvard University after one year to join the legendary Charlie Parker Quintet. Herb also received praise as composer, arranger, soloist, and section player with the bands of Lionel Hampton and Stan Kenton and then established one of the most formidable bands in the world - the Herb Pomeroy Big Band.

The Stable, an old renowned Boston jazz venue frequented by musicians, became the band's home. The band's first recording by Roulette Records life is a many splendored gig was received with critical acclaim and a five-star Downbeat review; disc jockeyÕs nationwide played the album tracks as theme songs for their shows.

He and his band were then invited to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival alongside the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Benny Goodman Orchestra, the International Jazz Band, and the Maynard Ferguson Big Band. As stated in the press, "only the Pomeroy outfit lived up to its initial promise" and proved itself as one of the premier big bands.

In the following years, Herb performed with his band at Carnegie Hall, the Kool Jazz Festival, the Boston Globe Jazz Festival, and behind such singers as Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Dionne Warwick, Sarah Vaughn, and Nancy Wilson. In addition to such noted vocalists, he has performed with countless instrumentalists including Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson and Gerry Mulligan.

An excellent teacher and adjudicator, Herb Pomeroy taught at the Berklee College of Music for forty-one years and at MIT for twenty-two. As a result of his influence on generations of musicians, Berklee awarded him the first Alumni Association Award for his contribution to students. In addition to teaching at Berklee, MIT, Harvard, Brandeis and countless colleges and universities in the US, he adjudicated numerous regional and national jazz competitions.

In the spring of 1995 Herb retired from the Berklee College of Music and was presented an Honorary Doctor of Music degree.

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35
Album Review

Stan Kenton: Salute!

Read "Salute!" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Stan Kenton, one of the most renowned and influential bandleaders of the twentieth century, died on August 25, 1979. Fortunately—for the sake of history in general and creative music in particular—Kenton's remarkable legacy lives on, and in a perceptive and open-minded world would endure forever. Even to this day, small but devoted groups of enthusiasts share a wish that some previously hidden array of his material might come to light, satisfiying for the moment their craving for more memorable music ...

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1

Interview

Anthony Weller + Herb Pomeroy

Anthony Weller + Herb Pomeroy

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Boston trumpeter and educator Herb Pomeroy was known largely for his big band work as a leader and sideman. But in the early 2000s, Pomeroy led a gorgeous, romantic working trio consisting of Pomeroy on trumpet, Anthony Weller on guitar and David Landoni on bass. The group recorded three albums—two live and one in the studio. Live At Cafe Beaujolais in Gloucester, Mass., was their first in 1999, followed by Aluminum Baby recorded in Boston in 2003 and then Live ...

1

Event

Golden Anniversary Of Jazz At MIT To Feature New Work By Chick Corea

Golden Anniversary Of Jazz At MIT To Feature New Work By Chick Corea

Source: Clarise Snyder

2012-2013 50th Anniversary Season to Celebrate Pomeroy, Corea and others The 2012-2013 season marks the 50th anniversary of formal jazz performance and study at MIT, where jazz has thrived since 1963. This academic year’s special performances and events celebrating MIT’s jazz golden anniversary will culminate on April 27, 2013 with a Gala Concert in Kresge Auditorium featuring the world premiere of an original piece by Chick Corea, specially composed for this performance by the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble. The NEA ...

87

Recording

Herb Pomeroy: Pramlatta's Hips

Herb Pomeroy: Pramlatta's Hips

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

One of the best albums by the Herb Pomeroy Orchestra wasrecorded live at the El Morocco in Worcester, Mass., in 1980. It's also among the rarest. Even many fans of the Boston trumpeter and bandleader are probably unaware of the LP's existence. Released on Shiah Records, Pramlatta's Hips never made it onto CD, which is truly a shame. However, I suspect that after this post, someone will figure out a way to make it available as a download. Shiah Records ...

583

Education

Line Writing Rules by Herb Pomeroy on Blue Music Group

Line Writing Rules by Herb Pomeroy on Blue Music Group

Source: Michael Ricci

Herb Pomeroy (1930-2007) is regarded as one of the most influential jazz educators of the 20th century. He is best known for having taught the high-level arranging courses Line Writing, The Music of Duke Ellington and The Jazz Composer's Seminar at Berklee College of Music. Pomeroy also lead two student big bands, which performed at the Berklee Performance Center at the end of each semester. Less known is the Small Ensemble in which he concentrated on each individual student. He ...

323

Recording

Herb Pomeroy: A Splendored Gig

Herb Pomeroy: A Splendored Gig

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Before he became an educator at Boston's Berklee School of Music, trumpeter Herb Pomeroy briefly led a big band in the late 1950s. The band had a solid, swinging sound, like a steam locomotive going at full tilt. While Maynard Ferguson's band during this period was about the sonic impact of the brass section and frenzied daring of its soloists, Pomeroy's short-lived orchestra specialized in rhythm and round tonality, with an airy emphasis on the reed section. Through deft composing ...

226

Event

Berklee Remembers Herb Pomeroy: Tribute Concert to Feature Joe Lovano, Hal Galper, Jack Walrath, and Greg Hopkins and the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra

Berklee Remembers Herb Pomeroy: Tribute Concert to Feature Joe Lovano, Hal Galper, Jack Walrath, and Greg Hopkins and the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra

Source: Toni Ballard PR

PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT THE HERB POMEROY SCHOLARSHIP FUND On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, Berklee College of Music will present an historic musical event, as colleagues and former students converge to honor the memory of beloved trumpeter and educator Herb Pomeroy, who passed away in August, and whose four decades teaching at Berklee helped the college earn its world-wide reputation as the premier institution for the study of contemporary music. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Herb Pomeroy Scholarship Fund. ...

135

Recording

"The Last Goodbye": Composed by Vibist Ed Saindon in Honor of Herb Pomeroy

"The Last Goodbye": Composed by Vibist Ed Saindon in Honor of Herb Pomeroy

Source: World Improvised Music

Dedicated to Legendary Jazz Educator, Big Band Leader and Trumpeter Herb Pomeroy Ed Saindon's composition, “The Last Goodbye" is the lead track on the recently released recording Depth of Emotion which features Dave Liebman on soprano and Saindon on vibes. Saindon has had a long playing association with Herb Pomeroy who passed away in 2007. Saindon, a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston since 1976, had played with Pomeroy for many years mostly in a duo context with ...

129

Obituary

Jazz Trumpeter Herb Pomeroy Dies After Battle with Cancer

Jazz Trumpeter Herb Pomeroy Dies After Battle with Cancer

Source: All About Jazz

BOSTON --Jazz trumpeter Herb Pomeroy, who played with Charlie Parker, backed up Frank Sinatra, and influenced generations of musicians in four decades as a teacher at Berklee College of Music and MIT, has died. Pomeroy died at his Gloucester home on Saturday after a long struggle with cancer, his daughter said. He was 77. Pomeroy played at times with Parker, Charlie Mariano, Stan Kenton, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins and others. In addition to Sinatra, he backed Tony Bennett and Sarah ...

Mehmet Ali Sanlikol
multi-instrumentalist
Stephen Enos
trumpet

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Salute!

Sounds of Yesteryear
2023

buy

Band In Boston

Fresh Sound Records
2010

buy

Boston Blow-Up!

Capitol Records
2006

buy

Walking On Air

Arbors Records
1997

buy

Jazz In A Stable

Splasc(H) Records
1979

buy

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