You’d Know They Exist, If You’d Just Turn Down (Part 2: Saxophone)

by Jehad Choate
Staff Writer

It was mid-afternoon in the 150 building, and like any other Berklee kid, I hadn’t slept for days and decided to catch a quick cat nap between classes in one of the practice rooms. It was dark, I was cozily tucked into the corner, and my eyes were growing heavy. Then all of a sudden, the most piercing sound to ever grace my ears woke me from my slumber. Restless and annoyed, I peeked my head out to see what clamorous goose had been released to run amok in the practice hall. Then it all became very clear: it was a saxophonist playing long tones.

The saxophone and I go way back. Before I was an esteemed guitar principal here, I was a low brass player during all of middle and high school. It was then that this instrument caught my attention—not because I was surrounded by the best players ever, because I really wasn’t, but because they were a constant thorn in my side preventing me from getting any kind of interesting solo. I thought that once I graduated and became a gigging guitarist I would have seen the last of it, because we all know nothing beats a guitar solo in the heat of the moment. But there was that sound again, constantly stepping on my toes, beating me at every expressive technique I could possibly use on my instrument. It would be a dreadful lie if I said that the saxophone was a hidden force in the band, because they are a lead instrument just like mine. But since I am on a journey to find out more about these other players and why they are so important, I could not under any circumstances pass up the opportunity to turn down my guitar and get to know the reeded rival of my principal: the saxophone.

Hailed as the manufactured instrument to most closely resemble the human voice, the sax in all its sizes expresses sound like no other instrument. It growls, it cries, it squeaks. It’s not hard to translate emotions on this instrument when the player knows what he or she is doing. When I asked faculty member and sax player Jeff Harrington what the saxophone means to him, he said, “The saxophone is such a perfect instrument – so expressive and adaptable to a wide array of styles, and there’s such a rich lineage of great players to draw from. It’s a terrific vehicle for pure creativity.” The tonality of a fantastic sax solo can be the perfect icing on an already perfect cake, because it speaks directly to the listener.

Sax players are a hard bunch to figure out in the band though, because they carry the heavy responsibility of melodic continuity coupled with the burden of figuring out where to go when they aren’t in the spotlight. At least when I need to back down, I can comp. It’s kind of like having Aretha Franklin in your band just to belt out a powerful bridge, then making her sing background for the choruses. That’s where the typical sax players I have come to know and love do something that even a showy guitarist such as myself can’t do well—they apply theoretical concepts not only appropriately, but off the cuff! Ask two guitarists to read the same sheet of music, and you get what might be bad counterpoint. Ask two sax players to read the same sheet of music and they can both invent lines and expand on them effortlessly.

The four primarily used saxophones span the soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone voices. The identical fingering system allows a saxophonist to play any one of these with some adjustments to the embouchure, the way the mouthpiece is held between the lips. It also requires them to be transposition fiends if they want to read off the same chart as the piano player, bouncing between transpositions to Bb and Eb. Of course sax players are happiest when they don’t need to transpose. As saxophone player Josh Alba puts it, “please don’t ask a horn player to sight-read a non-transposed part with a billion notes at a fast tempo. This only frustrates the horn player, which will in turn frustrate you”. The various voices allow saxophone players to compensate when range is an issue, where the other instruments may not be able to keep it together. They are a composer’s best friend and a Jazz band’s weapon of choice.

Every sax player I have ever hung out with has always been a well balanced individual, taking to heart more than just the wicked solo that is coming up. When asked what she takes into consideration when playing, student Amber Woodhouse thinks about space, context, and how she can contribute. “I look to players like Miles Davis and Duke Ellington when it comes to utilizing space and dynamics in my playing. I want to be more engaging to the audience, so breathing room is always a good way to keep them engaged. When you listen to Davis and Ellington, they make you wait for the next note and it keeps you on the edge of your seat.” She continues, “One of my pet peeves is going to a jam session where everyone thinks they need to play at the same time, steal the spotlight, play the fastest, etc., like if someone is trying to play their fastest licks on a ballad. If you’re not thinking about context in a group setting, you’re not contributing anything worth listening to. I’ve found that the players that understand this are usually the ones who get called for the gigs more often.” Josh Alba states, “I try to take taste into consideration above all else when playing. Whatever I play on an instrument that is rather soloistic, it’s incredibly important that I play in context. My goal isn’t to melt your face off with wicked licks and ultra-fast passages of notes. I try to pick the ‘good notes’, and get as many miles out of them as I can. I would rather play memorable phrases that have melodic value before I play technical ideas; of course both of these things have great value. Really, I try to sing through my sax.”

Sax players unanimously agree upon the context of their expression, always giving whatever style they play a humanistic vibe, but what does sax mean to the rest of us?

Fourth semester drum principal Shane Shook sees the role of the saxophone as depending on the genre. “It can be the heart and soul in a ballad, it could be percussive in a funk tune, but none the less beautiful in any category.” Third semester guitar principal Kevin Haug sees the saxophone as a means to “allow me to adapt new personality to my voice, because it pushes me to choose different roles as a guitarist instead of competing with the sax’s sound.” Fourth semester voice principal Meghan Murphey said it best though:x “You can’t have sexy without saxophone.”

As for me, after treading softly into the minds of my rival instruments and seeing what they care about in music I may or may not play with them, I understand that being a melodic instrument has its glamour and sexual appeal in any given genre, but the saxophonist also bears the heavy responsibility of not overpowering an already good thing. They have their solos and melodies, they have their guide tones and hits, but a good sax player also knows the value of rest and space to make what they play powerful and important. I may not be able to get that kind of space and rest in the 150 practice rooms, but I can appreciate what they contribute outside of them on stage, in ensembles and in rock bands. So the next time you find yourself linked with a sax player, whether it’s in a classroom or at the Government Center T stop, listen to what they have to offer. Musicians of their caliber have the power and ability to add so much human connection to any music they appear on, and they always inspire instrumentalists such as myself to figure out better ways to make the music we play together as beautiful as it is listenable.

Interested in learning more about the saxophone? There are plenty of amazing sax players out there, I recommend getting started by reading about and downloading (legally) the following artists: Michael Brecker, the most widely recorded soloist; Charlie Parker; John Coltrane; Stan Getz; Maceo Parker, original sax player for James Brown; Clarence Clemmons of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band; Kenny G (don’t hate); Smally of the Supervillains; Pharaoh Sanders; Rahsaan Roland Kirk; and of course all the excellent saxophone players at and around Berklee.

Featured Saxophonists:

Will Silvio
Assistant Professor, Harmony Department
Jamaica Plain, MA
Photo provided by the artist

Why did you choose the saxophone? I started piano lessons when I was five. Around the age of nine, I started to play clarinet. I liked the clarinet, but when I was two, I had an accident which severed off the end of my right pinky. The more advanced I got with the clarinet, the more I realized that missing part of my pinky would cause technique problems on the clarinet. I had a choice between switching to trumpet or saxophone. So I chose the saxophone and have been playing it for well over 25 years.

Who are your influences? Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker

What are your frustrations and triumphs associating with other instruments, playing live, or in compositions? I am finishing up my debut album, which should be out by mid-August.  The recording session was a great experience. I had Tim Ray on Piano, John Lockwood on Bass and Bob Gullotti on drums.  They are so easy to work with and such great musicians. I couldn’t have asked for a better session!

Jeff Harrington
Associate Professor, Woodwind Department
New York, NY
Photo provided by the artist

Why did you choose the saxophone? I started on the clarinet when I was 9 adding the saxophone in high school.  Sax became my primary focus soon after because of my love for Coltrane, Bird, Brecker, et al.

Who are your influences? These days, I’m influenced by everything I hear regardless of style or instrument. Initially my influences were saxophonists John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Berg, Rick Margitza, George Garzone, Stitt, Rollins, Cannonball, Stanley Turrentine and many, many others great jazzers including Wes Montgomery, McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Pat Martino and Joey Calderazo.

Amber Woodhouse
Music Business / Management Major
St. Paul, MN
Photo provided by the artist

Why did you choose the saxophone? I started playing music in the fourth grade on the clarinet. One day before church, I saw a man with a soprano saxophone. At the time, I thought it was a golden clarinet, so I asked him if I could try it. He told me what it really was and let my play a few notes on it. I was hooked ever since.

What does saxophone mean to you? I am a singer as well as a saxophonist. I love how the saxophone can emulate the human voice (with bends, growls, altissimo notes, etc.) For me, saxophone is just an extension of my voice. It’s a better way for me to get my musical ideas down accurately.

Who are your influences? Branford [Marsalis], [Charles] Mingus, Lester Young, Joshua Redman, Bud Powell, Ellington, Miles Davis, Erykah Badu, Anita O’Day, and many others.

Josh Alba
CWP and MP&E Major
Grapevine, TX
Photo provided by the artist

Why did you choose the saxophone? I chose to play the saxophone in 5th grade for some rather goofy reasons. When the middle school band that I would soon join gave a demonstration of the different instruments, the guy that demonstrated the saxophone played the intro melody from “The Simpsons”. I thought to myself “Hey! You can play ‘The Simpsons’ on that!” Of course, it didn’t occur to me at the time that this is an available melody to play on any instrument. The biggest reason that I chose to play the sax is because I knew that everyone loves a good screaming sax solo!

What are your frustrations and triumphs associating with other instruments, playing live, or in compositions? I love live playing! I played in a caf show on Good Friday with my fellow Berklee student and singer Kelly Yarn (stage name KMY), for which I also produced and arranged the music. Associating with instruments, writing, and live playing are all a part of this experience. Having an understanding of the people you work with and their individual needs as people as instrumentalists is crucial. The best way to know the needs of each individual is to simply ask!”

What does saxophone mean to you? Saxophone can certainly portray a broad range of emotions, but I wouldn’t say that Saxophone means an incredible amount to me as a general topic. Don’t get me wrong, I love the instrument (and my saxophones!) but in the broad scheme, the saxophone is simply one instrument that can be employed among many instruments. The saxophone has a rather powerful effect that can cause the listener to experience a sudden surge of emotion, but I would say that the saxophone is certainly more of an accessory instrument in today’s scene. That having been said, I love including the saxophone in a variety of styles of music, and try not to put limits on where it belongs or doesn’t belong. This philosophy can be applied with any instrument or idea—its how we break down barriers and create new ideas!

Have a comment? A question? Know a Sax player that deserves recognition? Comment on this article using your facebook account!

Every day we go to school with gig bags strapped to our backs and a glimmer of light in our eyes, utterly afraid of how we pale in comparison to the billion others playing the same instrument as us. There are plenty of things around Berklee to take each of us down a peg: a lab of junk you never expected, a bombed proficiency, or a dude on the beach effortlessly playing a riff that you’ve been practicing the whole semester. So why do you do it? Why don’t you sell your Fender Stratocaster, quit music school, and use whatever is left of your loan money to buy a car and get out of dodge? I’ll tell you why: it’s because the day you picked up your hunk of wood or brass and physically expressed your life through it, you made an otherwise lifeless item into an extension of yourself, and like any appendage you would much rather augment and improve it than amputate. With that being said, instead of wallowing in the depressing facts of being a musician by today’s ridiculous standards, we should all relish in the extensions of our personalities — our instruments.

This series will focus on one principal instrument at a time, and what better way to start than with the most overworked and underappreciated instrument in the band? It’s the one that bears the heavy burden of balancing both rhythmic and harmonic continuity: The Bass. There are numerous bassists scattered throughout the school, and chances are you have bought coffee next to them at Dunkin’ Donuts or held the door open when their hands were tangled with an upright. Knowing the important role held by bass players, I decided to talk to a number of them around Berklee to find out why they do what they do. Why? Because maybe I don’t want to be a cocky guitarist anymore, and because maybe the best way to improve my mediocre skills on my principal is to glean a little inspiration from players of instruments that aren’t generally deified by music fanatics. And maybe we as a community of musicians can stop living in our own little worlds, worrying about how we compare to our peers, and start playing our parts together with one sound and one voice.

To know the bass, one must know the bassist. In all my experience with bassists, they are placid soft-spoken creatures. Even though they have the very essence of sexual appeal in any song, you’ll rarely catch them screaming for the spot light because they are busy being the adhesive material between a crazy drummer, an overplaying guitarist and a dogmatic vocalist. Of course the likes of Les Claypool, Flea, and Bootsy Collins do exist, but even in their most ostentatious stage gimmicks they still fundamentally express a great musical power along with extreme responsibility. Bassists must exercise restraint because they don’t see songs as just the lyrics or an epic solo. They see the whole picture, and they lock in with everyone through a phenomenon known as the groove (not to be confused with The Groove). When asked to identify the most important aspect of playing bass, faculty member Mark Poniatowski said, “The groove, is there anything else?” So what is the groove? Other than it being your favorite source of information online, there are many definitions for groove. One book will tell you it’s listening and enjoying, another that it’s a routine or set pattern, and a third might describe it as a narrow pathway carved to guide motion. These differing concepts that seemingly have no real connection to each other are all applicable to the musical concept of groove. Another way to put it is student Matt Augustine’s description of his most important job as bass player: “locking in with the drums, not over playing, having a good time, and filling out the sound.”

Bassists live with an internal understanding of groove, but what about the rest of us? Fourth semester guitar principal Nick Fair states, “The groove is the magic moment when everything is going right, and we as guitarists can feel what we play, and I always say the bass is what gets the butts moving.” Fourth Semester Vocal Principal Sara Rachelle expresses, “The bass gives you ground to stand on, without it I feel naked,” and continues, “The groove shows what emotional state I should be in. If the groove is funky I should feel funky, if it is sad, I should feel sad.”

The guiding principle of bass is that the listener doesn’t have to consciously realize it’s there, but it would be impossible not to miss if it were gone. That’s not a bad thing, because during that moment when the guitarist is wailing and the drums are driving, the bass fits it all together, making the performance or recording into a harmonious experience. Fourth semester bass principal Diarmuid Lally extends the concept of bass past a particular instrument to a role, saying, “If I show up to a gig with a tuba, there’s a chance I might not get fired. Bass is a frequency range and so it must be understood that tuba, electric bass, upright, organ bass, synth etc. are the one family. And we must understand how to use all of these to provide the listener with something they can move to.”

My best friend is a bassist, and he has always proven over the last ten years to be the linking factor between the most dramatic and dynamic personalities in our group of friends and musicians. Such is the gift and particular role of being the foundation of all music. So as we continue on through this semester of ensembles and groups, and spend the rest of our lives as avid players and listeners, let’s take a step back and listen to the bottom. Not only is it the libido of sound, it is the bringer of equilibrium to music. And when you see a bass player, thank them, because without them keeping all of us together the whole band would collapse.

Featured Bassists

Mark Poniatowski
Professional Writing / CWP Faculty

“The first instrument I studied was trombone in the 5th grade. By 7th grade, I had discovered Led Zeppelin and John Paul Jones and quickly realized that bass was the cooler instrument.”

Influences: “Ray Brown, Charles Mingus, John Paul Jones, George Porter Jr. and James Jamerson.”

Daniel Morris
Bass Department Faculty

“From the first time I picked up a Fender Bass, it felt comfortable. I was a trumpet major and my roommate was a business major who had a Fender sitting in the corner of our dorm room. Picked it up and started playing along with James Taylor records. Felt great! Still does…Love the instrument and what it is capable of in a group setting.”

Influences: “The Wailers bassist Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett…he plays melodic, and groove heavy. Another influence is Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead. Haven’t figured him out yet. That’s what’s so intriguing. He’s an enigma to me. He often leaves out downbeats, often plays tonalities other than the root of the chord, and when the Dead used to play live, the scene was so awesome. That’s togetherness…the audience would hang on to every note, and Lesh’s playing had lots to do with it. No one sounded like him… there was no bass player paradigm for Phil Lesh… consequently he developed his own unique voice. There’s a lesson to be learned there, if you can find it.”

What should non-bass players know about the bass? “Listen to music through the bassists ears… try and isolate the role of the bassist in the music. There are many different kinds of bass parts and they each reap a different vibe. Eventually you develop tastes for this style or that style. As a bassist I try to not listen so much analytically when studying, becoming too influenced… I did that for around 30 years… Working on solidifying my own voice.”

Matt Augustine
Third Semester Bass Principal, Professional Music Major

“My dad was a drummer, and I got an electric guitar when I was fifteen, and I jammed with two other guitarists. As an act of fate, I leaned my guitar on a desk and it fell over and the headstock broke. So I started playing bass while it was in the shop. When I got my guitar back, I just felt more comfortable with the bass. “

Preffered Styles: “Soul, R&B, and Hip-hop, Early Fusion.”

Diarmuid Lally
Fourth Semester Bass Principal

“Most guys I knew played other instruments, bass seemed like a cool way to get into a band. It was also the instrument I know least about, which drew me to it.”

One aspect of the bass you respect while playing: “Space, trickiest to master, but if you pull it off, it has the most impact. Felt just as quickly by musicians and non-musicians.”

Influences: “On the Bass, everyone from Jaco to Hendrix (listen to him play bass on “All Along the Watchtower”). Off the bass, anybody that’s really speaking on their instrument. Listening to good soloists is important too because the best ones improvise with space really well, Benny Goodman being a good example.”

Victor Paugh
Gigging Bassist

“Freshman year of high school, three friends and I wanted to start a band, and everyone else picked all the well-known instruments. That, and the fact that every group has only one bassist, with few special exceptions. Also, the fact that I knew so little of it made me interested. The rest is history.”

Influences: “John Berry from Rufio, one of the best rock bassists ever. Flea from Red Hot Chillie peppers for obvious reasons. Victor Wooten, not because of his playability but because of his attitude towards music and the bass. Local Orlando Bassists Todd and Jarrod for showing me what local bassists could do, and for always being cool. ”

Most important aspect of playing bass: “Being able to transcend between melody, rhythm, and noise without anyone noticing.”

Fascinated by the bass? There are plenty of amazing players out there to listen to. Certainly too many to list in one mere article, but I recommend reading about and listening to the following musicians: Victor Wooten of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Bootsy Collins of James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic, James Jamerson of the Funk Brothers, Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone, Les Claypool of Primus, Jaco Pastorius of Weather Report, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Geddy Lee of Rush.

My Fake Funeral performing at SXSW in Austin, TX.

By Zac Taylor
Managing Editor

Heavy Rotations’ number one zombie flick aficionado has dropped her name in favor of a more fitting, group-oriented moniker. Ann Driscoll has renamed her solo project My Fake Funeral, derived from the name of a one-act musical theater piece she penned last year. The band still features the same cast of topnotch musicians: Bruno Esrubilsky on drums, Dabbo Caucci on bass, and Justin Hancock on guitar.

MFF broke in their new name last Saturday, April 17 at Church. The crowd danced and sang along with Driscoll and the boys; imagine In Utero-era Nirvana fronted by Fiona Apple with an orange Grestch guitar. The quartet is still tight from a number of SXSW showcases, and are currently compiling material for a record sometime this summer.

Also the front person for all-girl dance rock band Mrs. Danvers, Driscoll’s catalog continues to define itself as dark and edgy content juxtaposed with super-catchy melodies and highly sing-along-able choruses; the tunes “I Wanna Be Your Zombie” and “I Wanna Believe You” perhaps exemplify this delightful contradiction.

You can catch My Fake Funeral this Sunday, May 2 on the roof of 173 Newbury Street at 2pm. Check them out at myspace.com/myfakefuneral.

By Jehad Choate
Contributing Writer

Photo Courtesy of Artist

In a time when society is detached from an over abundance of reality; taking refuge in the anti-personal, over-produced circus of crap music, one voice shines through to give hope to the world’s weathered ears.  Sammy Witness. This Seattle-based female folk singer crosses boundaries of style as well as emotions with her raw talent, and sincere words. Always pushing her voice to different intensities, and writing music that transcends beyond genre, she never loses her folk roots of great story telling. Her new EP, The Winter Sessions, is a sincere and emotional story of one person’s journey of growing up into an imperfect world where she playfully and at times brutally calls out the strengths and weaknesses of everyone, including herself.  Everything about this EP is genuine, from honest lyrical content to dynamic music that flows behind each story told.  This not something you just pop in while you pass the time between train stops, this is music that walks with you when you are lonely, pushes you when you are lazy, and carries you when you feel like you can’t go on.

But who is this siren that is leading the modern day listener’s ego to ship wreck? I sat down with her via Skype, to have a cross-country discussion of epic proportions:

Jehad Choate: So, Sammy it’s great to have a bit of your time, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Sammy Witness: Well, I am a singer-songwriter from South Florida, just got established in Seattle.

JC: How is Seattle treating you?

SW: Seattle has reached out to me with open arms personally and musically.

JC: How would you best describe your music?

SW: [laughs] folk music with a grr! … I would say brutally honest. I have always been eager to write popular songs that aren’t repetitive or cliché’ as far as the lyrics are concerned. You’ll never catch me using words like ‘Baby’ or ‘Tonight’, and I don’t sugar coat anything.

JC: Do you have a particular message that you hope to provide with the songs that you write?

SW: I never really think about delivering messages… I just write songs in hopes that someone will relate.

JC: Tell me about some of your influences.

SW: Well, I’d watch Sheryl Crow music videos as a kid, and I tried to base my life around her songs. But I am a big Counting Crows fan because their songwriting is flawless, and I love some Alanis Morrisette and all the chick rock that follows in her footsteps. I also love Joane Osbourne for her relentless raunchiness and raw sound.

JC: I sense a hint of Maria Taylor in some of your style.

SW: Actually she is not one of my influences, great music, but we are just oddly familiar.

JC: I see you also play guitar, any influences there?

SW: Not really, I started playing classical guitar in middle school, so I listening to Paco De Lucia.

JC: Tell us about the Winter Sessions.

SW: The Winter Sessions EP was recorded in Boston, and on a side note it was the first time I ever saw snow… I recorded it in Mad Scientist Studios outside of Harvard Square. There were two blizzards and an Ice Storm while I was there, and we worked on it while snowed in. I was living off ramen and everyone else was living on ham for a week. Brian Hauver co/produced the album and Jason Dunn engineered. A lot of the songs were previously written before getting there, but we reconstructed to whole album the night before recording, and then knocked it out the second week.

JC: All the music came out great on the EP, but there was one song in particular that truly struck a chord with me, what is ‘Only Human’ about?

SW: It’s about religion. At the time it was written, I was walking around Gainesville, Florida, and passed a guy preaching fanatically. A couple girls walked past him wearing shorts, and he screamed at them about how they were going to hell. I just thought of the ridiculousness of being religious and being so hateful, and wrote about such a contradiction.

JC: Who were your session musicians on the album?

SW: I recorded all the acoustic parts, and Jason Dunn did the electric.

JC: Any Berklee kids?

SW: Our drummer, Steven Foster, is a Berklee alumnus, and we coerced him to brave the terrible snow and be locked up with us, with only a mere offer of great music and a six-pack of winter ale [laughs].

JC: Any song off of the album that has particular significance to you?

SW: ‘Therapist’ was one of the hardest songs to write. It stems from a situation when I was signed to a label at 15, and the music producer truly left a negative impact on my life. I locked myself in my closet for 48 hours to get the situation down on paper.

JC: [laughs]… In a closet?

SW: [laughs] Yeah! In the early days I would write and record all my music in a closet… so I wouldn’t disturb anyone, and they wouldn’t disturb me. I find the whole thing suitable since my fan base is made up of men, lesbians, and metal heads…. The metal heads came along when I had a reoccurring opening gig at a Metal bar in Orlando, Florida called The Haven.

JC: Any upcoming events or shows lined up for you?

SW: Aside from usual gigs, I am playing a festival called ‘Free Fall Festival’ in Santa Fe on October 2 and 3. There will be over thirty bands performing. Scott Huttin, who owns six Santa Fe radio stations puts on a fall festival of this caliber annually, so I will be getting airplay on his radio stations.

JC: Where can the public give your music a listen?

SW: You can find the EP on ITunes, and if you go myspace.com/sammywitness or sammywitness.com, it will have information on where to obtain CDs.

JC: Well Sammy, there are plenty of folk musicians circulating through Boston from a lot of the local shows I’ve hit. Before we go our separate ways, do you, as a successful folk artist on both coasts, have anything to say to aspiring folk artists out there?

SW: Make it happen! The world doesn’t owe you anything so kick ass and make it yourself. Practice. When some people get me down, it doesn’t stop me, it just becomes fuel to the fire, and it should be the same for you too.

Sissy Castrogiovanni, 2nd semester CWP major from Catania, Itlay.

By Zac Taylor
Managing Editor

Italian born and raised, Sissy Castrogiovanni is a second semester student who has already made quite a name for herself at Berklee. A singer, percussionist, and composer, Sissy most recently performed at the Berklee Performance Center for the International Folk Fest, dancing along to a beautiful Neopolitan ballad followed by a “Tarantella” melody. “The leader of the show was Gian Aurelio Faraone, and he asked to me to bring a lot of Sicily in his show,” Sissy said. “So as one of the really few Sicilians at Berklee, I had the big pleasure to say “Yes!”

While she has been racking up other accolades at Berklee, including singing with Jack Dejohnette, the Gospel Choir, and Maggie Scott’s Vocal Jazz Series, the twenty-five year old has had more experience in her home country of Italy, touring around with jazz groups, funk outfits, and even as an acoustic duo or trio. In addition to teaching vocal instruction in Italian private schools, she has also performed in a number of renowned Italian jazz festivals, including Umbria Jazz, Jazz Marathon, Vittoria Jazz Festival, and Piazza Jazz.

“Now I’m working on my own music,” the Italian singer said. “I’m composing and arranging all my own tunes, and I hope to finish everything for my first disc as soon as possible, probably in this year. It will be afro/jazz music, with blues and funk influences.”

For more on Sissy, visist myspace.com/sissynsb.

Every band and artist on the new roster of Heavy Rotation Records sat down with BerkleeGroove.com to talk about their lives, music and dreams of success. Click on their name and picture to read their full interviews.

By Ann Driscoll
Associate Editor

The breadth of Michael Gottlieb’s musical interests and influences is vast. A singer-songwriter who crafts dark, orchestral piano pop, Gottlieb, ’09, is also an accomplished vocalist, composer, and arranger.

Years of study and dedication to his craft have engendered the 27-year old musician heard today. Prior to coming to Berklee in the fall of 2007, Gottlieb studied music at Tel Aviv’s Hed College of Music, where the star student was asked to join the faculty. Soon thereafter, he received a scholarship to study at Berklee.

Drawing upon his experience scoring films that were distributed throughout Europe, Gottlieb initially majored in film scoring, but instead made the switch to professional music. The college recognized his talent: they selected his original, “You’re in the Sun,” as a winner of the 2008 Songwriting Competition, and the vocal department picked him to sing background vocals for Singer’s Night in fall 2007.

Gottlieb’s vocals can be heard on the recording projects of his sister, the New York-based jazz singer, Ayelet Rose Gottlieb. Her album, Mayim Rabim/Great Waters featuring Gottlieb’s lead vocals, was released on Tzadik, a label started and operated by experimental saxophonist and frequent Lou Reed collaborator, John Zorn.

With his wide array of talents, Gottlieb could seemingly pursue a career in a variety of directions—as a vocalist, a film composer, an arranger—but his primary pursuit is writing, performing, and recording original pop songs.

“I learned [at Berklee] that a musician really needs to focus on what he or she wants to do. Berklee offers a lot of information, but it took me a while to really figure out what’s the most important thing for me, and right now it’s songwriting.”

Having just completed his debut album at Somerville’s Q Division studios, Gottlieb will graduate in December and move back to Israel. “I will put a lot of energy in marketing [the record] once I go back.”

A diehard fan and student of mainstream and avant garde pop alike, Gottlieb’s compositions, which have Hebrew lyrics, are influenced by everyone from Michael Jackson (“I still know every bass line or “c’mon” in every Micheal Jackson song, since I was 12”) to Laurie Anderson. The bouncy, whimsical number, “Karati la maya” (I Named Her Maya) has the melodic hooks of Madonna’s best work with the irony, wit, and energy of early Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The autobiographical song is about how the openly gay Gottlieb had to conceal his sexuality while doing compulsory military service in the Israel Defense Forces by pretending to have a girlfriend named Maya—a turbulent emotional experience transmuted into deceptively catchy, wryly funny pop.

Gottlieb’s strengths at arranging bring a vital dimension to the material, which frequently features violin, cello, viola, and tenor sax. “I try to think of the song or piece and it’s character and I decide what instruments I want to use. Once I’ve decided that, the lines will come eventually when I sit at the piano and play the song a bunch of times.” In their rich, fully realized trappings, his songs, both live and recorded, resemble the work of other orchestral, theatrical pop titans, Rufus Wainwright and Antony and the Johnsons, with subtle whiffs of Middle Eastern harmony and melodic motifs.

In Boston, Gottlieb found that his unique marriage of language and genre has made it difficult to book gigs. According to Gottlieb, there is an audience in the United States for performers of Jewish folk music, but not pop/rock in Hebrew. In other words, you can get gigs playing folk songs in Hebrew for old Jewish people in Brookline, but it’s harder to book Hebrew pop/rock at clubs like TT the Bear’s.

Gottlieb says it’s the opposite in Israel, where having English lyrics is a disadvantage. “[Having Hebrew lyrics] definitely helps…Even though there’s a lot of English-based music in Israel, most of it is still very unknown to the general public. Even though some of it is really good, the major labels tend to ignore it.”

By happenstance, Gottlieb recorded his debut album with an Israeli-American engineer, Rafi Sofer at Q Division, who speaks Hebrew and was able to understand the lyrics, and therefore, the music. His experience with Sofer and at the studio in general was positive. “It’s a great studio. It was also pretty cool to find out that in that very same studio the Pixies recorded Surfer Rosa and Aimee Mann recorded the songs for one of my favorite films, Magnolia.”

The album consists of songs Gottlieb wrote during the past two years at Berklee. “I feel like it’s the first time I’m 100 percent satisfied with something I’ve created. The band sounds great, and I really think I got the most out of these songs. I feel like the album is very organic, very focused.”

When Gottlieb charts his one-way plane ride for Israel, he will leave behind, and perhaps later reunite with a tight-knit community of Israeli Berklee students. “Most Israelis I know here are very connected. Personally, most of my best friends here are Israelis. Musically, most of them are Jazz Performance majors, though I knew a few who do more pop/rock stuff. Socially, we can be pretty loud but I think we’re nice and friendly people usually.”

Gottlieb will live in Jerusalem with his boyfriend until he finishes medical school, and then relocate to the more cosmopolitan Tel Aviv, because “that’s where it all happens!”

Dominique Toliver

By Robert Gillies
Contributing Writer

Money is not the only thing being let go of in these harsh economic times. Many are the students at Berklee who have had to see their friends return home simply because they cannot afford the costs of tuition. Though sadly these situations have become common, there is one such story that is fast becoming one of hope and strength.

Dominique Toliver, a Los Angeles native, arrived at Berklee in the summer of 2008. “Music is my life. Jazz is my personality,” says Dominique, whose love of jazz came from a childhood enriched by the sounds of his uncle’s radio that was perpetually tuned into LA’s KJAZZ 88.1. After his third semester, Dominique found out that his financial backing had faded, and faced the prospect of heading back to L.A.

This setback was not to stop Dominique. After having spent several months at home, he decided that enough was enough and set about raising the money needed to finish his education at Berklee. Dom, known to his friends as a vibrant, multi-talented individual, created a fundraising website (www.yesdomcan.com) to start a ground roots movement to help him raise his grand goal of $140,000. It may sound insurmountable, but as Dominique puts it, “Just $1 from 140,000 people – or $20 from 7,000 people – can help me reach this goal”.

Within a day of Dominique posting his website on Facebook and Twitter, he found that his idea had blossomed into something much larger than he had envisioned. Inspired by his efforts, several of Dom’s friends jumped on board; within a day, had a small team of people working with a dedicated Twitter account (@YesDomCan), a buzzing Facebook fan page (currently gathering an average of 30 fans a day), and an excess of calls and e-mails going out to friends, colleagues and even celebrities.

It would seem that this effort has gone way beyond raising money to help someone achieve his or her dreams. What Dominique and his friends are doing is reversing the tide of an all too familiar situation, inspiring hope to those who face similar problems, and proving that by working together we can truly create the change we want to see in the world. And people are noticing. Several students in the same position have already contacted Dom and his team, asking for help and advice, and thanking him for that glimmer of a silver lining.

Find out more about Dom’s fundraising at YesDomCan.com.