Herman Hampton

"Learning is an ongoing process, and that philosophy permeates my approach to jazz pedagogy. I was an adult learner—I didn't start college until the age of 40, and didn't finish my masters until seven years later."

"I learned my musical craft by shedding on my own and then playing in various musical configurations from symphony orchestras, pit bands, jazz clubs, salsa orchestras, and rhythm and blues groups. After many years on the scene, formal education appealed to me as the smartest move in my career. Along that path I discovered my other strengths, from my organizational skills to my love for human service work. I've worked with the homeless and delivered aid to the devastated in mother Africa. All with musical tone and song."

"I've learned so much since I finished school and college. Though they both supplied the tools of learning, the real teacher was life itself. That shapes how I teach my ensembles at Berklee."