By: Edna Landau

Edna Landau — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:16:11 +0000

Thanks so much for your warm comments about “Ask Edna” and for sharing the delightful story of your early days as a jazz musician. It sounds like everything turned out for the best, especially for the large number of lucky students in Boston who have benefited from California’s loss.–EL

By: John Baboian

John Baboian — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 12:47:27 +0000

Hi Edna, John Baboian (professor of Jazz guitar at Berklee in Boston, friend of Mary Loiselle) here. Just wanted to let you know, (as I told Mary a few months ago when you mentioned her name) how much I enjoy reading your column every week. This question in particular was a good one, and I believe that you gave a great answer with clear and interesting guidance. Times have changed and will keep changing and we must be willing to flex to grow and learn and open opportunities for ourselves as musicians, all the while hoping not to lose the focus of what drew us to music in the first place.
A story comes to mind. In 1978, after graduating from Berklee with a music ed degree, I traveled to California, thinking that that was where I wanted to be (warm weather, film studios, etc). Visited UCLA and went to admissions to ask about their masters program in Jazz composition. An older woman with half- eye glasses hanging from a chain and a cardigan sweater (oh I hope I’m not offending you with that, but I think you get the picture) was behind the desk. When I asked for info on their Jazz programming, she looked down her nose at me, pulled out a “mimeographed” page of around 10 school names (Berklee was on the list), handed it to me and said in a very condescending manner, “These are the schools that offer jazz”. “We find that jazz musicians don’t know their harmony well enough”. Well, I was taken aback by her comments about the music that I had just spent 4 focused years learning and left disillusioned about my thoughts of going to school in California. I ended up coming back home to Boston, later getting my teaching job at Berklee (32 years now) and a masters degree in Jazz composition at New England Conservatory, married, kids, etc. Film recording studio jobs started going downhill not too long after that, so maybe it was the best thing (although I wouldn’t mind the weather, but not the taxes!). Anyway, I’m sure that by now UCLA has changed its mind on jazz programming, but it probably didn’t come without some heated discussions from the principals there.
Thought you would enjoy that. Keep up the great work.
John Baboian
Professor – Jazz Guitar
Berklee College Of Music
Boston, MA

Comments on: Is It Dangerous to Cross Over Too Soon?

By: Edna Landau

By: John Baboian