remembering Herb Pomeroy

Herb Pomeroy, trumpeter, educator and one of the kindest souls in the jazz world, passed away on Saturday, Aug. 11, at the age of 77, after a prolonged battle with cancer. A pillar of the Boston and greater New England jazz scene, Pomeroy had a long and active career from the 1940s until shortly before his death, in which performing and teaching went hand in hand. Among the many luminaries with whom Pomeroy performed were Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, Stan Getz, Lionel Hampton, Sonny Rollins and the recently deceased Max Roach. He applied these experiences to his teachings at such renowned Boston schools as Berklee, MIT and the New England Conservatory.

One of Pomeroy’s many positive qualities was the way he treated people, especially fellow musicians. Les Harris Jr., a local drummer and longtime member of the Press Room’s Sunday jazz house trio, recalled Pomeroy’s giving nature, saying he “had a way of making you feel good about yourself, which brought out the best in you and in the music you were playing.” Harris’ experiences with Pomeroy go back to 1973, when Harris was a budding 12-year-old drummer exchanging sets with his drummer father and other musicians at the Sunday jam sessions hosted by the late Tom Gallant. It was there that Harris first played with Pomeroy. “That’s an amazing memory for me,” Harris said, adding that it was “an important part of my development as a player and a person. I count my blessings that I was able to be around a musician and person the caliber of Herb. Another amazing thing for me is that Herb never forgot that first time we played together and that he would mention it to me almost every time we played together after that,” Harris continued. “I can’t even begin to tell you how good that made me feel that he would even remember that time.”

Harris isn’t the only local musician to recall the goodness of Pomeroy. Pianist Larry Garland said, “Herb provided me with the opportunity to work around Boston with a variety of fantastic players. I enjoyed the numerous gigs I worked with him over the years. He was a remarkably inventive player and a generous person. One of the kindest things that Herb said to me was that I made him think when we worked together.” Garland also mentioned how Pomeroy made the decision to move away from the big band to the more intimate small group format. “He said to me that he felt it was a mistake to keep pursuing running a big band when he really wanted to be working in a quartet,” Garland said.

My personal experiences with Pomeroy were infrequent, but nonetheless positive. I met him in the mid-’70s at Ted Herbert’s Music Mart and found him to be a warm and engaging personality. I was aware of his reputation as one of the top teachers at Berklee, where his long running student big band, known as the Berklee Recording Ensemble, was a prime training group for musicians aspiring for the next level—a level including the touring bands of Buddy Rich, Woody Herman and numerous other big bands that were prevalent in those days. But, what I was especially struck by was how he would make someone he had just met appear to be significant and important. Over the years, I had occasion to speak with Herb on numerous occasions about jazz history, the Red Sox and life, in general. That I had the chance to talk about jazz with such an esteemed musician was a humbling experience.

While interviewing Pomeroy for a profile I wrote several years ago, I discovered his fondness for one my jazz heroes, saxophonist Sam Rivers. During the years Rivers lived and worked in the Boston area, he played in Pomeroy’s big band and joined him for other gigs. Pomeroy considered himself a huge fan of the contemporary avant-garde saxophonist. I also had the opportunity to briefly experience Pomeroy as a teacher when he came to rehearse with the Seacoast Big Band on a couple of occasions while I was a member. His positive nature, sense of humor and dignified approach—as well as his deep reservoir of musical knowledge—were a continued source of inspiration. In recent years, long after his retirement from teaching, he split his time between his beloved homes in Gloucester and Florida. I looked forward to his return performances at the Press Room, as well as his farewells before heading south each winter.

Herb Pomeroy has left an indelible mark on the Northeast jazz scene, not just as a performer, teacher and historian, but also as a humanitarian. Les Harris cited a quote from my interview with Herb. “A player comes to a gig first as a human spirit, second as a musician and third as an instrumentalist,” he said. “Many players reverse that.” Truer words have never been spoken. Those words were the essence of who Herb Pomeroy was.

Although Herb is no longer with us, I have a feeling he’s already pulled together some of his colleagues up there for a good old-fashioned impromptu jam. As he listens to the others play, I can see him sitting there with his eyes closed and that warm smile on his face as he digs the music.