Alum

Rick McLaughlin

Position
Associate Professor
Telephone
617-747-8066

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Rick McLaughlin is a multifaceted musician. He is a bassist, educator, composer, arranger, author, producer, and music superfan. These characteristics have taken him to stages on four continents; performances and recording sessions with legendary musicians; clinics, classrooms, and private lessons both in person and virtual; and to the microphone as a podcast guest. He was a featured guest on The Wonder of Stevie is a seven-part podcast focusing on the life, career, and music of Stevie Wonder, which was released in 2024. Among guests such as Barack and Michelle Obama, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning host Wesley Morris, and Stevie Wonder himself, McLaughlin reflected on the ways in which Wonder uses musical elements to tell nuanced, moving, and meaningful stories. McLaughlin’s reflections stem from working with hundreds of students in a course that he designed and teaches on Stevie Wonder at Berklee College of Music, where McLaughlin is an associate professor in the harmony and jazz composition department.

As a bassist, McLaughlin is a longtime member of the Grammy-nominated jazz group Either/Orchestra and has been heard on stage and in recording studios worldwide. Along the way, he has shared the stage with jazz luminaries, rock and country music legends, stars of stage and screen, and has collaborated with Ethiopian music innovators Mahmoud Ahmed and Mulatu Astatke. His own debut as a leader, Study of Light, garnered critical acclaim, and he is featured on a multitude of recordings. In addition to his work as a performer, McLaughlin is a composer and published author.

Career Highlights
  • Featured guest on The Wonder of Stevie podcast, produced by the Obama Foundation, Questlove's Two One Five Entertainment, Audible, and Stevie Wonder
  • Multiple CDs and performances worldwide with Either/Orchestra, including Glastonbury Festival 2008 (featuring Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke, Alemayehu Eshete and Getachew Mekurya)
  • Leader of the Rick McLaughlin Trio and bassist/composer/producer of Study of Light
  • Label owner of Altered Music Productions
  • Bass player of Lennie Tristano Centennial Quartet for Live at Berklee (2021)
  • Performances with Mick Goodrick, Steve Lacy, Roger Miller, Peter Wolf, and Miguel Zenón
Education
  • School Name
    New England Conservatory of Music
    Degree
    Master of Music (MM)
    Field of Study
    Music
    Date Degree Received
  • School Name
    New England Conservatory of Music
    Degree
    Bachelor of Music (BM)
    Field of Study
    Music
    Date Degree Received
In Their Own Words

There's a really beautiful universal language in the way that Berklee thinks about harmony. Not every kind of music operates in the same way that we teach the language, but the tools of understanding harmony at Berklee make it possible for a student to say, 'This note in this context is either right or wrong, a good or bad choice.' It gives students the ability to make the transformation from whatever kind of music we're talking about today to whatever kind of music they go on to explore as artists.

On stage, I'm the bass player, and when I'm with a class, I'm thinking of myself not only as the teacher, but also as the bass player. In class, I'm trying to support and inspire the students, and this mindset is quite similar to how I approach performing. For example, as a bass player, it's my job to keep everyone together. In that way, I'm connecting with the entire band. When somebody takes a solo, we have a kind of conversation, mutually exploring new musical places. When I transfer these, and other aspects, to class, it means that I'm actively making a connection with each student and simultaneously connecting with the class as a whole. As a result, we can all exist 'in the moment' and learn as a community.

A concept that I really believe in comes from Gunther Schuller, and that's the concept of the complete musician. The complete musician is a strong performer who can hear very deeply into the music being made and, by thinking both analytically and historically, can understand the greater context for it. If you add to that the ability to compose and arrange music, perform for gigs, tours, and recordings, and, of course, teach, then the complete musician becomes someone who has a holistic view of music. I think this is invaluable to the students because it helps them to get beyond the classroom and onto the stage.