“We were in competition with the big corporations like Warner Bros.
and EMI, who had lots of gelt to buy artists and to throw around for
promotion. It was getting harder and harder to compete with that,
so Jerry and I felt that the timing was right.”
Alpert parted with A&M, retaining only his own masters, and remaining
on board to steer a few projects still in the pipeline. When good friend
Stan Getz passed away in 1991, Alpert returned to his jazz roots and
recorded an album’s worth of heartfelt ballads in memory of the
saxophone legend, with one cut recorded with Getz before he passed
called “Friends.” Midnight Sun carried poignancy deeper than just the
music. Released in 1992, it was Alpert’s final recording for the label he
founded thirty years before.
That Alpert spent most of his career meeting the demands of being a pop
star while running a record company that was exploding in size, says as
much of his musical focus as it does of his work ethic. That he and Moss
sold A&M and soon began another recording enterprise – Almo Sounds
– reveals an tireless commitment to music over matters of business.
“I loved being the ‘A’ of A&M. I think we did great things, I know we
treated artists right, we were honest and put out great product. But with
where the business was going, I don’t look back at our decision to sell
at all.”
