Herb Pomeroy, 77; jazz trumpeter and teacher at Berklee College of Music

Herb Pomeroy, 77, a jazz trumpeter who played with Charlie Parker, backed up Frank Sinatra and influenced generations of musicians in four decades as a teacher at Berklee College of Music and MIT, died Saturday at his home in Gloucester, Mass., after a long struggle with cancer, his daughter said.

Pomeroy played at times with Parker, Stan Kenton, Charlie Mariano, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins and others. In addition to Sinatra, he backed Tony Bennett and Sarah Vaughn.

Pomeroy taught like he played jazz -- by improvising, with no notes, no syllabus, no textbooks, said Larry Monroe, a former student who is now Berklee’s vice president for international affairs.

Above all else, Pomeroy was a family man, said his daughter, Perry Pomeroy.

He fashioned his career so he could always put family first, she said.

Irving Herbert Pomeroy III was born and reared in Gloucester and began playing music as a teenager. He spent a year at Harvard University before leaving to become a full-time musician.