In the hands of the most creative and dedicated players, musical expression follows an intuitive path. No musician is simply the product of one’s influences: A plus B does not necessarily lead to C. A generation of instrumentalists came of age in the late ’40s, as Alpert did, and thrilled to the sound of trumpeters like Davis, Chet Baker and Clifford Brown. But only one of them managed to filter their music along with other sources of inspiration (Latin, Swing, R&B, evolving studio technology) and come up with the Alpert sound.
As such, much can be gleaned from tracing inspiration and tracking Alpert’s twists and turns. Knowing what he prized and how he processed it helps secure his proper place among his peers, rather than merely holding him up as a pop star with a pedigree of best-sellers. Not that there’s anything wrong with noting his popularity. In fact, as a first step towards grasping the Alpert sound, it works well to distill the man to his most familiar roles – as:
• Founder and leader of the Tijuana Brass, and creator of their enormously popular “Ameriachi” style;
