Letters, Articles, & Memories
"One of the originators of what has become known as "world music," Ken was a skilled composer and improviser, with the intuitive ability to weave together the sounds of many cultures into new musical forms. For over 30 years, Ken delighted audiences worldwide as an accomplished professional musician performing on flute, piano, saxophone and a vast collection of world instruments. He was a co-founding member of the music group DOAH World Music Ensemble. Dizzy Gillespie hailed his music as "One of the important
contributions to the future of our music." Ken was a devoted member of the Baha'i Faith, a world-embracing religion founded on the principles of the oneness of humankind and world peace. He filled the world with his love and light, leading the way to help unite the world through music.
A beloved father, Ken lived his true life's purpose dedicated to spirit. His final days with his family and friends were beautiful and peaceful, full of prayer, meditation, music, and love, leaving us all with an unbreakable connection that continues to reverberate through the hundreds of hearts that cherished him all over the world. He will be deeply missed by his family, countless friends, and fellow musicians.
In lieu of flowers, a special educational fund has been established for Tobey and Adora. Checks can simply be made out to Ken LaRoche's Children's Educational Fund (no deposit # is needed) and mailed to T.D. Banknorth of NH, 120 Grove Street, Peterborough, NH 03458."
My Pal Ken - January 11, 2006 by Jane Miller
I hadn't stopped to think about how long I’ve known ken Laroche for a long time. In fact, I don't think I ever thought about that. We were just instant friends, and that was that. Yesterday, after I got word of his passing, I thought about it a lot.
In 1977, I had been gigging for several months. I must have done 3 or 4 gigs and knew everything there was to know about playing and writing music and all of the workings of the music business, too. that summer, I showed up in Ogunquit, Maine ready to turn my childhood vacationland upside-down. Somehow (divine guidance, I can now see) I ended up at Gulliver’s coffeehouse, on the shore road to perkin's cove. There, I met the manager and visited with him for a while as he was setting up the place for the season. He suggested I wait for his partner who was in charge of booking the music, to see if he could set me up with some gigs. I did. up the walkway came ken Laroche, who didn't scare me a bit. He was a big happy sweetheart who had all the time in the world to talk to me about music, my songs, my guitar playing, my studies, and my life. Someone told me he was in a group, too and played flute. How nice, I thought, now back to me. I gigged at Gulliver’s a lot that summer. I stayed at ken and Wendy’s place across the street, and I hung out endlessly with ken before and after gigs, at the beach when I was hyper after playing all night, at the bar after hours. We drank tea, we told silly jokes, and we talked about performing. Slowly, I came to know more about his life, his music, his career, his faith, his love. "Where’s ken?" "Oh, he's been on the road-he'll be back later today." and then I’d find out he had been touring with d'oa (later DOAH) with randy Armstrong and they had been to Israel or some such far away place playing what I now know to be the music of the spheres. And still, he didn't scare me a bit. I went to a few of their gigs and saw ken in action with their instruments and toys from all over the world. I saw him bring to life the ideas and late night philosophizing we had done over months and years. I saw him forget his gig shirt and go to Kmart to buy a suitable substitute for his performance at the Fitchburg public library. I saw him work and play and it was just like seeing him come up that walkway to say hello. It all made him smile.
I think he was one of the first total strangers to ever believe in me and teach me anything about playing music. He found an angle no one had approached yet; certainly not me. He and randy played world music long before it was fashionable. He whipped me into shape long before I knew I needed to be whipped into shape, and he did it with love and kindness.
Years later, I called him to say that I couldn't think of anyone more appropriate to co-produce and engineer my first recording, and he agreed to do that with me at his studio in peterborough, NH. In 1993, we worked days and weeks and months making "postcard," which I dedicated to my late great friend Emily Remler. My sister came by the first day taking pictures and serving food and ken busied himself with engineer stuff like they all do, and the rest of the musicians and I got comfortable and played our basic tracks in a day and a half. During overdubs, I had a toothache like you read about, waiting for phase two of a root canal procedure. He coached me through my solos and pain and sounds and ideas all at once. (Once in the kitchen, Wendy came at me with a fork offering to help me with that temporary filling once and for all; I decided I could play that solo to autumn leaves after all, but thanks anyway.) He kidded with the guys in the band, who can be disgusting, and they know who they are. He showed a gentler side in working with Mili Bermejo and Cercie Miller. When it was time to mix, he said "there's a lovely place downtown with a brook and some woods-why don't you take a walk for a while and come back and listen." and I did and he mixed the drums for me while I was gone so I wouldn't go insane. Our cd release party at del Rossi’s in dublin,NH was made so much more fun by ken's presence as he sat in and nearly stole the show with his fun energy on stage.
I couldn't wait for percussion day again when I invited him to play on my third cd, "the other room." I remembered how much fun we had hitting drums and sticks and such and wanted to experience that freedom and child-like play again with someone that I could be that comfortable and uninhibited around. We banged on things and listened to sounds and textures, and I whacked on something kind of hard and solid and he told me that was his flute case and we busted a gut laughing. He played flute tracks that affirmed his place in the music world to me. He knew what to do; it was that simple. He could find the right sound for the right moment. It was not just about the melody; it only starts there.
I ran into ken at 12 pines sometime ago. We complained a little about the sucky parts of our lives and smiled and celebrated the wonderful parts. He was a great hugger. I sure loved my pal ken, and I’ll sure miss him on the planet, but I’m glad we got to be here at the same time for a while."
Article by Seth Chatfield
PETERBOROUGH-The region lost a celebrated musical legend last week with the passing of lifelong Peterborough resident Ken LaRoche, but the legacy he left behind will live on to inspire others to explore the boundaries of music.
LaRoche was the co-founder of Do'a (later re-named "Do'ah" and then "Do'ah World Music Ensemble when the group became a quintet in the late 80's) a group widely viewed as true pioneers of world music, in 1974 with longtime friend Randy Armstrong.
Over the years, Armstrong and LaRoche shared countless experiences that shaped both their lives.
"Ken and I shared our young adulthood into our middle age together. We were certainly spiritual and musical brothers," said Armstrong.
"He was an amazingly talented virtuosic improviser and when we performed together, we were on fire. We shared many deep personal moments together-late nights in the recording studio, rehearsals writing and arranging music together and I can personally say, laughed about as hard as you could possibly laugh. He was one of the funniest, most humorous people."
Having found themselves signed to a record label in their mid-twenties, Armstrong and LaRoche must have know they were on to smething good, but it's hard to imagine even they knew at the time just how far their music and positive philosophy would take them.
Do'a was one of the first-if not the very first-bands to explore world music before the term was even coined, was praised by many, including very high-profile fellow musicians and critics everywhere.
Jazz Legend Dizzie Gillespie called Do'a's work "One of the important contributions to future of our music."
The Washington Post said the musicians that made up Do'a didn't just double on instruments, they "multiply them into a veritable symphony." The Boston Globe called the band's music "powerfully optimistic" and full of "striking originality." Musician Magazine said LaRoche and Armstrong "are genuinely relaxed about what they're doing and the result is always excellent listening."
Do'a performed at a wide range of venues, from the very small to the very, very large, and thrilled audiences across the globe with their unique combination of sounds. Together, LaRoche and Armstrong amassed over 400 instruments from around the world that helped the pair create sounds previously unheard anywhere. LaRoche himself was proficient on at least 200, including over 100 flute-based instruments.
While his musical side was well known by listeners the world over, Armstrong remembers his friend in more personal ways as well, having shared so many years making music with LaRoche.
"When I think back on our times together, the little snapshots that keep recurring are these little private moments we had," explained Armstrong, "one day we might be playing for two dozen people in a coffeehouse setting or 8,000 people at a convention center of university...a lot of the things that come to mind as I reflect on his passing are the moments of traveling cross-country, discussing our life stories from a to z as we'd be crossing through Wyoming on our way to some gig somewhere."
The band was recognized by the United Nations for their efforts and tour promoting the United Nations International Year of Peace. Their performances took them across the US, into Canada, and even as far as the Indira Ghandi Stadium in New Dehli, India.
LaRoche's song "Wayo" reached number seven on the Billboard list in 1987, and the song was used for a time as a theme for "Entertainment Tonight."
Later, LaRoche also co-founded the band "Transglobal" with friend Michael DiMartino.
This group recorded three albums, and performed in 1999 at "Drumming In the New Millenium" at the great pyramid in Egypt.
"We also toured extensively all across the country doing schools, festivals and private events," said DiMartino.
DiMartino said LaRoche was more than a musician and composer-he was also a humanitarian.
LaRoche had earned the nickname "Screaming Buddha," partly for his musical prowess-DiMartino said his flute and saxophone playing would bring audiences to tears with its beauty-and also for his "very compassionate Buddhistic aspects. You could see why he touched so many people's lives."
It can be said that a lot of musicians make music to enlighten the listener-but LaRoche's music was intentionally spiritually uplifting in a direct way.
Juana Conrad, Deputy-Secretary General of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, explained in a letter of condolence to LaRoche's loved ones "Ken used his impressive skills as a composer and as a versatile and accomplished professional musician to share with a global audience the inspiration he found in the unifying Baha'I teachings. The group's careful choice of the Arabic word "Do'a"-In English, "prayer"-signaled its ardent desire to...make music "as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may be lifted up unto the realm on high."
In addition to his well-known work with Do'a and Transglobal, LaRoche also worked with a number of different groups, including the Pangaeans, World Beat and Jazzotree. He also appeared on dozens of other musical group's albums, and worked with still more on other projects.
Friends are hoping some of these people will surface to add their contributions to a memorial website that will be active by Feb. 19, when friends and musical companions will hold a benefit concert in Northampton, Mass. at the Northampton Center for the Arts from 1-6 p.m. to benefit the Ken LaRoche Memorial fund. A dozen bands LaRoche played with will perform.
The website will be located at www.kenlaroche.com. Friends ask that anyone who would like to add stories, pictures and memories of LaRoche send their contributions to gaia@crocker.com.
The benefit won't be the only celebration of LaRoche's life and music, however. On Monday, Harlow's Pub in Peterborough will also host an open jam at 7 p.m. in memory of LaRoche, immediately following a memorial service at the Unitarian Church in Peterborough at 6 p.m.
LaRoche will certainly be missed by the many whose lives and ears he touched with both his charming, humorous manner and remarkable musical career. Fortunately, he was so prolific in his time with us, it will never be hard to find his music and fond memories of those he worked and played with. "If you heard him play you thought he was incredible," said DiMartino, you were in for an even better treat if you got the chance to meet the man.
"What a powerful and unique presence he had and how gentle and compassionate he was," said DiMartino, "When you put a compassionate human being together with an incredible improvisation musician, that was Ken LaRoche."
contributions to the future of our music." Ken was a devoted member of the Baha'i Faith, a world-embracing religion founded on the principles of the oneness of humankind and world peace. He filled the world with his love and light, leading the way to help unite the world through music.
A beloved father, Ken lived his true life's purpose dedicated to spirit. His final days with his family and friends were beautiful and peaceful, full of prayer, meditation, music, and love, leaving us all with an unbreakable connection that continues to reverberate through the hundreds of hearts that cherished him all over the world. He will be deeply missed by his family, countless friends, and fellow musicians.
In lieu of flowers, a special educational fund has been established for Tobey and Adora. Checks can simply be made out to Ken LaRoche's Children's Educational Fund (no deposit # is needed) and mailed to T.D. Banknorth of NH, 120 Grove Street, Peterborough, NH 03458."
My Pal Ken - January 11, 2006 by Jane Miller
I hadn't stopped to think about how long I’ve known ken Laroche for a long time. In fact, I don't think I ever thought about that. We were just instant friends, and that was that. Yesterday, after I got word of his passing, I thought about it a lot.
In 1977, I had been gigging for several months. I must have done 3 or 4 gigs and knew everything there was to know about playing and writing music and all of the workings of the music business, too. that summer, I showed up in Ogunquit, Maine ready to turn my childhood vacationland upside-down. Somehow (divine guidance, I can now see) I ended up at Gulliver’s coffeehouse, on the shore road to perkin's cove. There, I met the manager and visited with him for a while as he was setting up the place for the season. He suggested I wait for his partner who was in charge of booking the music, to see if he could set me up with some gigs. I did. up the walkway came ken Laroche, who didn't scare me a bit. He was a big happy sweetheart who had all the time in the world to talk to me about music, my songs, my guitar playing, my studies, and my life. Someone told me he was in a group, too and played flute. How nice, I thought, now back to me. I gigged at Gulliver’s a lot that summer. I stayed at ken and Wendy’s place across the street, and I hung out endlessly with ken before and after gigs, at the beach when I was hyper after playing all night, at the bar after hours. We drank tea, we told silly jokes, and we talked about performing. Slowly, I came to know more about his life, his music, his career, his faith, his love. "Where’s ken?" "Oh, he's been on the road-he'll be back later today." and then I’d find out he had been touring with d'oa (later DOAH) with randy Armstrong and they had been to Israel or some such far away place playing what I now know to be the music of the spheres. And still, he didn't scare me a bit. I went to a few of their gigs and saw ken in action with their instruments and toys from all over the world. I saw him bring to life the ideas and late night philosophizing we had done over months and years. I saw him forget his gig shirt and go to Kmart to buy a suitable substitute for his performance at the Fitchburg public library. I saw him work and play and it was just like seeing him come up that walkway to say hello. It all made him smile.
I think he was one of the first total strangers to ever believe in me and teach me anything about playing music. He found an angle no one had approached yet; certainly not me. He and randy played world music long before it was fashionable. He whipped me into shape long before I knew I needed to be whipped into shape, and he did it with love and kindness.
Years later, I called him to say that I couldn't think of anyone more appropriate to co-produce and engineer my first recording, and he agreed to do that with me at his studio in peterborough, NH. In 1993, we worked days and weeks and months making "postcard," which I dedicated to my late great friend Emily Remler. My sister came by the first day taking pictures and serving food and ken busied himself with engineer stuff like they all do, and the rest of the musicians and I got comfortable and played our basic tracks in a day and a half. During overdubs, I had a toothache like you read about, waiting for phase two of a root canal procedure. He coached me through my solos and pain and sounds and ideas all at once. (Once in the kitchen, Wendy came at me with a fork offering to help me with that temporary filling once and for all; I decided I could play that solo to autumn leaves after all, but thanks anyway.) He kidded with the guys in the band, who can be disgusting, and they know who they are. He showed a gentler side in working with Mili Bermejo and Cercie Miller. When it was time to mix, he said "there's a lovely place downtown with a brook and some woods-why don't you take a walk for a while and come back and listen." and I did and he mixed the drums for me while I was gone so I wouldn't go insane. Our cd release party at del Rossi’s in dublin,NH was made so much more fun by ken's presence as he sat in and nearly stole the show with his fun energy on stage.
I couldn't wait for percussion day again when I invited him to play on my third cd, "the other room." I remembered how much fun we had hitting drums and sticks and such and wanted to experience that freedom and child-like play again with someone that I could be that comfortable and uninhibited around. We banged on things and listened to sounds and textures, and I whacked on something kind of hard and solid and he told me that was his flute case and we busted a gut laughing. He played flute tracks that affirmed his place in the music world to me. He knew what to do; it was that simple. He could find the right sound for the right moment. It was not just about the melody; it only starts there.
I ran into ken at 12 pines sometime ago. We complained a little about the sucky parts of our lives and smiled and celebrated the wonderful parts. He was a great hugger. I sure loved my pal ken, and I’ll sure miss him on the planet, but I’m glad we got to be here at the same time for a while."
Article by Seth Chatfield
PETERBOROUGH-The region lost a celebrated musical legend last week with the passing of lifelong Peterborough resident Ken LaRoche, but the legacy he left behind will live on to inspire others to explore the boundaries of music.
LaRoche was the co-founder of Do'a (later re-named "Do'ah" and then "Do'ah World Music Ensemble when the group became a quintet in the late 80's) a group widely viewed as true pioneers of world music, in 1974 with longtime friend Randy Armstrong.
Over the years, Armstrong and LaRoche shared countless experiences that shaped both their lives.
"Ken and I shared our young adulthood into our middle age together. We were certainly spiritual and musical brothers," said Armstrong.
"He was an amazingly talented virtuosic improviser and when we performed together, we were on fire. We shared many deep personal moments together-late nights in the recording studio, rehearsals writing and arranging music together and I can personally say, laughed about as hard as you could possibly laugh. He was one of the funniest, most humorous people."
Having found themselves signed to a record label in their mid-twenties, Armstrong and LaRoche must have know they were on to smething good, but it's hard to imagine even they knew at the time just how far their music and positive philosophy would take them.
Do'a was one of the first-if not the very first-bands to explore world music before the term was even coined, was praised by many, including very high-profile fellow musicians and critics everywhere.
Jazz Legend Dizzie Gillespie called Do'a's work "One of the important contributions to future of our music."
The Washington Post said the musicians that made up Do'a didn't just double on instruments, they "multiply them into a veritable symphony." The Boston Globe called the band's music "powerfully optimistic" and full of "striking originality." Musician Magazine said LaRoche and Armstrong "are genuinely relaxed about what they're doing and the result is always excellent listening."
Do'a performed at a wide range of venues, from the very small to the very, very large, and thrilled audiences across the globe with their unique combination of sounds. Together, LaRoche and Armstrong amassed over 400 instruments from around the world that helped the pair create sounds previously unheard anywhere. LaRoche himself was proficient on at least 200, including over 100 flute-based instruments.
While his musical side was well known by listeners the world over, Armstrong remembers his friend in more personal ways as well, having shared so many years making music with LaRoche.
"When I think back on our times together, the little snapshots that keep recurring are these little private moments we had," explained Armstrong, "one day we might be playing for two dozen people in a coffeehouse setting or 8,000 people at a convention center of university...a lot of the things that come to mind as I reflect on his passing are the moments of traveling cross-country, discussing our life stories from a to z as we'd be crossing through Wyoming on our way to some gig somewhere."
The band was recognized by the United Nations for their efforts and tour promoting the United Nations International Year of Peace. Their performances took them across the US, into Canada, and even as far as the Indira Ghandi Stadium in New Dehli, India.
LaRoche's song "Wayo" reached number seven on the Billboard list in 1987, and the song was used for a time as a theme for "Entertainment Tonight."
Later, LaRoche also co-founded the band "Transglobal" with friend Michael DiMartino.
This group recorded three albums, and performed in 1999 at "Drumming In the New Millenium" at the great pyramid in Egypt.
"We also toured extensively all across the country doing schools, festivals and private events," said DiMartino.
DiMartino said LaRoche was more than a musician and composer-he was also a humanitarian.
LaRoche had earned the nickname "Screaming Buddha," partly for his musical prowess-DiMartino said his flute and saxophone playing would bring audiences to tears with its beauty-and also for his "very compassionate Buddhistic aspects. You could see why he touched so many people's lives."
It can be said that a lot of musicians make music to enlighten the listener-but LaRoche's music was intentionally spiritually uplifting in a direct way.
Juana Conrad, Deputy-Secretary General of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, explained in a letter of condolence to LaRoche's loved ones "Ken used his impressive skills as a composer and as a versatile and accomplished professional musician to share with a global audience the inspiration he found in the unifying Baha'I teachings. The group's careful choice of the Arabic word "Do'a"-In English, "prayer"-signaled its ardent desire to...make music "as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may be lifted up unto the realm on high."
In addition to his well-known work with Do'a and Transglobal, LaRoche also worked with a number of different groups, including the Pangaeans, World Beat and Jazzotree. He also appeared on dozens of other musical group's albums, and worked with still more on other projects.
Friends are hoping some of these people will surface to add their contributions to a memorial website that will be active by Feb. 19, when friends and musical companions will hold a benefit concert in Northampton, Mass. at the Northampton Center for the Arts from 1-6 p.m. to benefit the Ken LaRoche Memorial fund. A dozen bands LaRoche played with will perform.
The website will be located at www.kenlaroche.com. Friends ask that anyone who would like to add stories, pictures and memories of LaRoche send their contributions to gaia@crocker.com.
The benefit won't be the only celebration of LaRoche's life and music, however. On Monday, Harlow's Pub in Peterborough will also host an open jam at 7 p.m. in memory of LaRoche, immediately following a memorial service at the Unitarian Church in Peterborough at 6 p.m.
LaRoche will certainly be missed by the many whose lives and ears he touched with both his charming, humorous manner and remarkable musical career. Fortunately, he was so prolific in his time with us, it will never be hard to find his music and fond memories of those he worked and played with. "If you heard him play you thought he was incredible," said DiMartino, you were in for an even better treat if you got the chance to meet the man.
"What a powerful and unique presence he had and how gentle and compassionate he was," said DiMartino, "When you put a compassionate human being together with an incredible improvisation musician, that was Ken LaRoche."
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