ROB ROSE

By Bob Blumenthal

Berklee Keys promises to be a typical
Rob Rose evening—bold in concept,
professional in execution, and aesthetically
rewarding. It is also the final production
for Rose, the vice president for Special
Programs, who retires after an affiliation
with Berklee that stretches over half a
century. During those decades, Rose's
diverse skills and expansive vision have
marked him as an essential force in
making Berklee the inclusive, innovative
focal point for music education that it

is today.

Rose grew up in Hopedale,
Massachusetts, and at age 11 began
seven years of study with Henry “Boots”
Mussulli, an alto saxophonist best known

for his work with Stan Kenton in the 1940s.

“Teachers who used books drove me
crazy,” Rose recalls. “Boots never used
books. He'd ask me what | wanted to
learn, I'd bring in a record and he would
transcribe it. Only later did | realize that he

 

had transcribed the same ‘Cherokee’
solo for me with increasing degrees of
difficulty as | grew older. Boots ran the
Milford Area Youth Orchestra, which |
played in, and was also booking bands
and acts at the Crystal Room in Milford,
where | met people like Count Basie.”

Family input also cemented Rose's
future as a musician with a Berklee
pedigree. His parents catered events at
the Lakeview Ballroom, and brought Rose
and his future wife, Jodie, along on a night
when Duke Ellington needed help
setting up the bandstand, which gave
the teenager a precious four hours of
personal time with one of his idols. While
in high school, Rose played country and
rock gigs with his brothers, one of whom
had attended Berklee's summer program.
He arrived as an undergraduate in 1967
with a broader musical base than many
of his jazz-focused peers.

“I was an arranging/composition

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