Basic Improvisation

Author

Matt Marvuglio (1945-2017) was Dean of the Performance Division at Berklee College. As a virtuosic flutist and composer, he traveled throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan, premiering his compositions for jazz flute. He presented clinics for the National Flute Association, the Acoustic Society of America, and the International Flute Convention in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His composition "Simples of the Moon" for processed flute, EWI MIDI wind controller, and acoustic and electronic percussion, may be heard on the CD Divinations, by Dean Anderson. Matt's first solo album entitled Why Cry? features three of his own compositions and a number of interpretations of old favorites. His articles on jazz flute playing have appeared in The Instrumentalist. He was the curriculum editor and composer for the Berklee Practice Method series, and wrote and hosted Berklee's When Music Works DVD Series.

Author

Jim Odgren is Academic Assistant to the Dean of the Performance Division at Berklee College of Music. Odgren is an alto saxophonist who doubles on tenor and soprano saxophones and flute. Throughout his fifteen-year career at Berklee, he has taught in the Performance Studies and Woodwind Departments. From 1980 to 1983, he toured throughout the world and recorded two LPs (Easy As Pie and Picture This) with the Gary Burton Quartet. Since then, he has recorded and/or played with Kevin Eubanks, John Scofield, Kenwood Denard, Jim Kelly, Victor Mendoza, Oscar Stagnaro, George Garzone, and many others. In 1989, he received the Dean of Faculty Award for his work in improvisation at Berklee. In 2002, Odgren released his own CD, Her Eyes. He is author of the instructional DVD, Accelerate Your Saxophone Playing, and coauthor of two books, Berklee Practice Methods: Getting Your Band Together, with Berklee Woodwind Department Chair, Bill Pierce. Odgren graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1976.

Author & Instructor

Edward Tomassi is an active performer and bandleader, playing saxophones, clarinet, and flute. He has performed with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Carl Fontana, Hal Galper, Nick Brignola, Bob Mover, the Four Tops, and the Temptations. A professor at Berklee College of Music, since 1976, Edward has taught jazz improvisation, performance, harmony, and history. He also teaches at Brown University, and presents clinics for the Dave Liebman IASJ (International Association of Schools of Jazz), among others. He graduated from Berklee Summa Cum Laude, with a major in composition. His mentors include Dave Liebman, Charlie Mariano, George Coleman, Joe Viola, Charlie Banacos, and Jerry Bergonzi. Edward's instructional video/DVD is called Jazz Improvisation: Starting Out with Motivic Development (Berklee Press, 2003).