Listening,” an antiquated marketing category that seems wholly
inadequate in explaining his sound. But then, neither does “Jazz”, “Pop
Instrumental” or any other. As a trumpeter and bandleader, a composer
and producer, Alpert’s musical vision is broad and diverse, and his sound
remains immediately recognizable. He’s a singular product of many
influences, who still humbly measures himself against the heroes of
his youth.
“I’m basically a jazz musician, but not… I was in the closet as a jazz
musician in the ’50s and ’60s because I wasn’t quite sure where I fit in,
and wasn’t willing to tour and play night after night – that pure
dedication, always in pursuit of it. As Dizzy says, ‘the closer it gets, the
farther it looks.’ Jazz is always in my spirit. I understand the genre.
Even when I was playing pop music, and I would classify it myself that
way, I was approaching it from a jazz point of view.”
