ton. That led to work with Stan Kenton, the Jazz Workshop,and later gigs with SergeChaloff, Ben- ny Golson, Start Getz, and Zoot Sims. But someof his strongest memories come from his Boston pick-upgigs with the great Charlie Parker. "WhenI started working with Bird in 1953,his health wasbegin- ning to deteriorate," he remembers. "Butstill, I can remembergoing to workthe first night with him. It wasat the HighHat at the cornerof Mass. Ave. and Columbus. And, literally, myknees were shaking as I waswalking up the stairs. Because I really had no right being on the bandstandbeside him. I waslike a boy. Pomeroyreminisces with Doug Roerdell '83 at a Bostonalumni event: "To what- "But he wasgreat to workwith. everdegree I ama young61," he sa~¢s,"it hasa greatdeal to dowith my He used to call meHerbert and he associationswith these amazing talents." wouldwhisper in myear, 'Yeah, Herbert, you're wailing.' AndI "Theprocess of seeing scores being in his high school years. AndBerklee wouldjust melt." written for myband and then hearing seemedthe perfect piace to be. Pomeroyalso learned a lot about a goodband play thembegan to devel- "June of 1948 is whenI wasfirst his ownplaying by performing with op a great eye-earrelationship. associatedwith this place," he remem- the master. "SoI started teachingby putting up bers. "It was betweenmy junior and "It wasa great experience,even just examplesof things that I and other senior year of prep school. I had al- playing the head of a tune with him. people had donethat had worked,"he waysbeen interested in math, and my Before I workedwith him, I thought I explains. "AndI began,after a couple mother had heard these ads on the played with someamount of defini- of years, to drawsome principles and radio for this schoolwhere they taught tion. But playing the head in unison generalities fromthese examples.Over music by math. She thought I would with himwas like the horn was being the next three or four years, the line- be interested. So I called the school pulled out of myhands. He played writing course and its basic shape and talked to somebodyabout doing with suchferocity." evolved." someprivate study that summer." By the mid-1960s, the class had Thehalls of Berkleeat that time Backto School evolved into a legend. The course's were boomingwith veterans from In 1955, Joe Viola recommended manyrules and theoremsshaped sev- World War II. A mathematical ap- Pomeroyfor a job at Berklee, and his eral generationsof composers,arrang- proachto music,the Schillinger meth- legendary teaching career began. As ers, and performers.Today, its impact od, wasone of the manycourses taught his line-writing course gainedmomen- has spread far beyondPomeroy's stu- at the time. As young as he was, tum, his direction of the BerkleeRe- dentson to their students. Pomeroywas old enoughto sense the cording Bandgrew in stature. Soon, "I teacha short versionof the class excitementof those early years. That the bandwas pulling the best of the in Europefrom time to time," he says. excitement eventually drew him away Berkleestudent players, writers, and "Andthe majority of the people come fromhis first year at Harvardto be- arrangers,and sendingthe best of Berk- withall of the class notesin their hands, comea full-time Berkleestudent with lee aroundthe world in the "Jazz in having studied privately with some- a classof futuregreats. the Classroom"album series. one who had taken the course with "Charlie Mariano was a student Drivenby his love for DukeElling- me.It is really a lovelyfeeling so far back then, and Ray Santisi and Bob ton's music, Pomeroysoon created a away from home." Winter. During mysecond semester courseon writingin the Ellingtonstyle here, I wasin manyof the sameclasses that becameyet another badgeof hon- OpenWide as QuincyJones. He had great talent or for Berkleestudents. Witha few minorchanges in his plans, and had that push that has madehim "I really didn't listen to Ellington Herb Pomeroycould have been work- so successful.It wasquite obviousthat until I wasabout 23," he says. "I wasa ing on a different kind of chops. The he was going to do something very fan of DizzyGillespie's bandfor the first male in three generations of special." newness of the bebop, and Woody Pomeroysnot to be a dentist, Herb After two years, Pomeroywas of- Herman'sband for the combination waslured fromhis familycalling even fered a touring gig with Lionel Hamp- of swing and bebop. But whenI was 10 Berklee today Spring1992