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The music man (continued)


Q: Your bio says you see music as a "tool to achieve conflict resolution on a global scale." Tell me what you mean by that, and how you envision it working.

A: I think the number-one problem we have as human beings is we have this evolutionary, instinctual architecture that makes us form into small clans and tribes, and then we like to fight each other, or disrespect each other, discriminate against each other, imprison and enslave one another. The best way I’ve ever seen to overcome that is to help people communicate to one another, so they see each other as human beings, not as members of the bad clan or the bad tribe. And music is the language that arches across those cultures, and lets us hear and see one another.

I remember reading Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, and being struck by this concept that the worst form of hatred is not beating someone up, but not even noticing they exist. So if music is the way that people can be heard and seen and understood, I think it gives us one of the best tools we’ve got to humanize one another, and therefore not go to war with one another, not hate one another, not abuse one another.

Q: How did living in places like Kenya and Cambodia and Sudan affect your feelings about music and your relationship to music?

A: In each place, one of the ways I tried to relate to people was to first understand their music. In each of those places, I learned a couple of popular songs that I would sing with people. Whatever the equivalent of "Fire and Rain" is in the Sudan, I don’t think I ever sang it very well, but it didn’t matter. People just admired you for caring and trying. And there was a song in Cambodia that I learned. So I found it a very helpful technique of understanding people and having people connect with me. And then you just see how passionate people are about their music, how much it means to them, and how much of their own sentiment about their humanity is bound up in their music.

[In Cambodia] under the Khmer Rouge, many of the "bourgeoisie" had been killed, so doctors, lawyers, government officials, scientists, and also musicians were considered part of this leisure class that was evil. [So] there had really not been much music in people’s lives for four or five years. And one of the best things I think I did was, I turned a rice warehouse into a recording studio, and invited the musicians who had somehow kept their heads down and survived to come and record music for people again. And these little cheap cassette tapes we made on boom boxes in a rice warehouse were incredibly popular and so well-received. It just reminded me that when you have people who’ve been starving, and you finally get food to them, the transformation is so immediate physically, and I felt like the same thing was happening culturally and emotionally when people were finally allowed to have music again.

Q: How do you think your international experiences will affect your vision for Berklee?

A: Berklee is an international community. We have almost 1000 students from other countries; they come from 78 countries. We have a network of 15 schools around the world that we have relationships with, from Barcelona to Brazil to Malaysia. So part of what I think I bring is a respect for and a knowledge of how the rest of the world operates and thinks, and how important it is that Berklee be part of that world community. And the truth is, the most exciting musics always seem to come out of fusions of these disparate musics. You think of what happened when Dizzy Gillespie went to Cuba; well, the same thing is happening right here at Berklee when a Chinese folk musician meets a Brazilian percussionist. What you and I are listening to 20 years from now might be invented right down the street here. So part of what I’m hoping to do is just foster that sort of collaboration and community of musicians so that the big ideas of the future can be born here.

Q: I know making Berklee accessible to those who can’t afford its tuition is a priority for you. How do you plan to make that happen?

A: It’s easy to say and maybe more difficult to do: we just need a lot more scholarship support. And we need scholarships that will allow people to not only get some tuition support, but also some support for room and board. So we are launching our first-ever full-tuition, room-and-board-stipend scholarships next year. I am out aggressively raising money from people who share this vision. I’m not only trying to get people excited about the future musicians we could be supporting, but also the fact that even for people who turn out to not be the next Branford Marsalis, a good four-year college education can transform their lives, in terms of their own economic and social opportunities.

Q: How often do you get out to see live music?

A: I see enormous amounts. I’m seeing less outside the Berklee universe right now, because there’s so much happening here. I try to see more-obscure things: clinics that students are going to, or some of the student recitals. I’m hearing a lot of music. Probably more than I ever have.

I love live music, and in some ways, we’re blessed that the better your taste, usually the less the ticket will cost, and the closer you’ll be to the action.

Q: Whose albums are in your CD player right now?

A: There’s a new CD by Ed Saindon and Kenny Werner. Ed’s on the faculty and Kenny’s a fantastic pianist. Someone just handed me a CD by Ned Rothenberg, a local sax player who I’ve just been learning about. I’ve been listening to a lot of the Black Eyed Peas; I just really like that band. My kids have been trying to introduce me to hip-hop so I’m not totally out of sync with the world.

Q: What did you think about the Ashlee Simpson lip-synching debacle?

A: When music becomes only entertainment — well, let’s face it: every movie you watch is lip-synched. So if music is just entertainment, then what do you expect? People aren’t going to play their instruments and people aren’t going to sing, and it’s more about a packaged show. So I don’t make too much of that. I think real musicians are out creating real music, and for people who want that, it’s out there. The talent level is as high as it’s ever been; there’s enormous creativity happening. So I won’t be critical of someone who’s trying to find their way in the world, doing what I think is really an acting job. It doesn’t diminish my enjoyment of music at all, but I’m hoping what we can do as a society is keep our standards high so that we also are really appreciating someone like a Terri Lyne Carrington, whose virtuosity is just phenomenal, but it’s not music for the faint of heart.

Q: Do you sing in the shower?

A: Not well.

Berklee College of Music celebrates Roger Brown’s inauguration with a series of free public workshops and events beginning on Monday, November 29. Visit www.berklee.edu for information. Tamara Wieder can be reached at twieder[a]phx.com

page 2 

Issue Date: November 26 - December 2, 2004
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