Irving Herbert Pomeroy III (April 15, 1930 – August 11, 2007) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

trumpeter, teacher, and the founder of the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble.

Early life

Pomeroy was born in

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...

, United States. He began playing

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

at an early age. In his early teens he started performing in Boston, claiming inspiration from the music of

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

. In 1946, at the age of 16, he became a member of the Musicians Union in Gloucester after the union did not have enough members to conduct a meeting. He studied dentistry at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

for a year but dropped out to pursue his jazz career. After high school, he studied music from 1950 to 1952 at the

Schillinger House Berklee College of Music is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United State ...

in Boston.

Career

Remaining in Boston, he played with

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

for one week in 1953, then briefly with

Charlie Mariano Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist who focused on the alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well. Biography Mariano was born in ...

, before going on tour with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

and

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

. Back in Boston, he played with

Serge Chaloff Serge Chaloff (November 24, 1923 – July 16, 1957) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist. The first and greatest bebop baritonist, Chaloff has been described as 'the most expressive and openly emotive baritone saxophonist jazz has ever ...

and was hired to teach at Schillinger after it had been renamed the

Berklee School of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. During the latter part of the 1950s he was the leader of a sixteen-piece band which included Mariano,

Bill Berry William Thomas Berry (born July 31, 1958) is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guitar ...

Jaki Byard John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...

Joe Gordon Joseph Lowell Gordon (February 18, 1915 – April 14, 1978), nicknamed "Flash" in reference to the comic-book character ''Flash Gordon'', was an American second baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yank ...

, and

Boots Mussulli Henry "Boots" Mussulli (November 18, 1915 in Milford, Massachusetts – September 23, 1967 in Norfolk, Massachusetts) was an Italian-American jazz saxophonist, based chiefly out of Boston. According to the Social Security files, he was born in ...

. For two years after that, he led another band, which included

Alan Dawson Alan Dawson (July 14, 1929 – February 23, 1996) was an American jazz drummer and percussion teacher based in Boston. Biography Dawson was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania and raised in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Serving in the U.S. Army during th ...

Hal Galper Harold Galper (born April 18, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator, and writer. Biography He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. Galper studied classical piano as a boy, but switched to jazz wh ...

, Michael Gibbs, Dusko Goykovich, and Sam Rivers. He worked in pit orchestras for Broadway shows passing through Boston. Beginning in 1963 he led bands at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. He led a band until 1993, two years before retiring from Berklee. He helped establish the Jazz Workshop on Stuart Streert under the leadership of Mariano and including Chaloff, Varty Haroutunian,

Ray Santisi Ray Santisi (1 February 1933 – 28 October 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, recording artist and educator. Santisi has played as a featured soloist with Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Mel Torme, Irene Kral, He ...

, and

Dick Twardzik Richard Henryk Twardzik (April 30, 1931 – October 21, 1955) was an American jazz pianist who worked in Boston for most of his career. Career Twardzik trained in classical piano as a child and made his professional debut at the age of fourteen. ...

on the faculty. In 1963 he was hired to revitalize the Techtonians big band at MIT. It was renamed the Festival Jazz Ensemble, and he continued as its director for 22 years. He led the band throughout the US and abroad, taking it to the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

in Switzerland. On May 10, 2008 the university had a memorial concert for him. He taught at the Lenox School of Music where he conducted a full orchestra of his students. After retirement, he did workshops for local students through the Gloucester Education Foundation. Although Pomeroy is remembered as a music educator, his first love was performing as a trumpeter.

Awards and honors

* Hall of Fame, International Association of Jazz Educators, 1996 * Jazz Education Hall of Fame, ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine * Honorary degree, Berklee, 1995 * Musician of the Year, Boston Musician's Association, 2004

Former students

Former students include Lee Allen (piano),

Franck Amsallem Franck Amsallem is a French-American jazz pianist, arranger, composer, singer and educator. He was born in 1961 in Oran, French Algeria, but grew up in Nice, France. Early years Amsallem was born in Oran (Algeria) to Elie Amsallem (1922-2019) a ...

Toshiko Akiyoshi is a Japanese–American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Akiyoshi received fourteen Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman to win Best Arranger and Composer awards in ''Down Beat'' magazine's annual Readers' Poll. ...

, Michel Barbaud,

Alan Broadbent Alan Leonard Broadbent (born 23 April 1947) is a New Zealand jazz pianist, arranger, and composer known for his work with artists such as Sue Raney, Charlie Haden, Woody Herman, Chet Baker, Irene Kral, Sheila Jordan, Natalie Cole, Warne Marsh ...

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...

, Janez Gregorc, Duško Gojković,

Mika Pohjola Mika Pohjola ( (born December 1, 1971) is a Finnish-born jazz pianist and composer who resides in Stockholm. He is one of the most prolific Scandinavian jazz musicians in his generation. Biography Childhood in Helsinki, Finland 1971-87 Mika P ...

Gary McFarland Gary Robert McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 3, 1971) was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s. '' Down Beat magazine'' said he made "one ...

Jože Privšek Jože Privšek (19 March 1937 – 11 June 1998), who also presented himself with the pseudonyms Jeff Conway and Simon Gale, was one of the most acclaimed Slovene jazz and pop musicians. He was a pianist, vibraphonist, composer, and conductor ...

Miroslav Vitouš Miroslav Ladislav Vitouš (born 6 December 1947) is a Czech jazz bassist. Biography Born in Prague, Vitouš began the violin at age six, switching to piano after about three years, and then to bass at age fourteen. As a young man in Europe, ...

Ranko Rihtman Ranko Rihtman (Sarajevo, ) is Bosnian pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor. Education Ranko Rihtman attended Sarajevo Music Academy, where he graduated at the Department of Ethnomusicology and Conducting, followed by attendance at the ...

, Dennis Wilson (trombone), and Mickey Yoshino.

Discography

As leader

* ''Jazz in a Stable'' ( Transition, 1955) * ''

Life Is a Many Splendored Gig ''Life Is a Many Splendored Gig'' is an album by the Herb Pomeroy Orchestra. Recording and music The album was recorded in New York in June 1957. The arrangements were written by various band members. Release The album was released by Roulette ...

'' (

Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

, 1957) * ''Band in Boston'' (

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

, 1958) * ''

The Band and I ''The Band and I'' is an album by vocalist Irene Kral performing with Herb Pomeroy's Orchestra which was recorded in 1958 and originally released on the United Artists label.

'' with

Irene Kral Irene Kral (January 18, 1932 – August 15, 1978) was an American jazz singer who was born to Czechoslovakian parents in Chicago, Illinois and settled in Los Angeles in the early 1960s. She died from breast cancer in Encino, California. Kral's ...

(United Artists, 1958) * ''Pramlatta's Hips'' (Shiah, 1980) * ''This Is Always'' (Daring, 1996) * ''Walking on Air'' ( Arbors, 1997)

As sideman

With

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

* ''

The Wonderful World of Jazz ''The Wonderful World of Jazz'' is an album by pianist and composer John Lewis recorded for the Atlantic label in 1960.

'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1960) * ''

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

'' (Atlantic, 1962) With

* '' Charlie Mariano with His Jazz Group'' (Imperial, 1950) * '' Modern Saxophone Stylings of Charlie Mariano'' (Imperial, 1951) With

* '' The Jazz Version of "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying"'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

, 1962) With

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

* '' All the Sad Young Men'' (Verve, 1962)

References

External links

MIT

The Pocket Herb, The teachings of Herb Pomeroy in Outline Form
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomeroy, Herb 1930 births 2007 deaths People from Gloucester, Massachusetts American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Harvard School of Dental Medicine alumni Bebop trumpeters Berklee College of Music faculty American jazz bandleaders Swing trumpeters 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters Jazz musicians from Massachusetts 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Orchestra U.S.A. members Arbors Records artists Roulette Records artists United Artists Records artists