DownBeat February 1993 [antikvár]

ON THE BEAT downbeat February 1993 The Treasurem by Dave Helland C ¦¦ n my elementary school there was ^H a music room loaded with different instruments. A student could just pick the instrument of his or her choice and try to make some noise with it. I picked up the trumpet—couldn't make a sound with it, but I liked the way it felt. I was kind of a shy person—still am—and I liked the idea that you could make a lot of noise with the trumpet." In the music room of an L.A. grade school, Herb Alpert took the first step toward a career that has brought him seven Grammys, 14 platinum records, and a bebop lesson from Stan Getz. The "A" in AM Records, Alpert was in Chicago doing publicity for Midnight Sun, his jazz-inspired tribute to friend Stan Getz that was riding high on the contemporary jazz charts at press time (see "Reviews" Oct. '92). But our conversation kept veering away from his recording to the twin topics of jazz and music education. "I agree with how Stan put it: 'Jazz isn't about riffs, about individual lines,'" explains Alpert. "It's not about quick, hip phrases. Jazz is a full story with a logical beginning and an ending. From my angle, that's why Clifford Brown was revered. Those incredible lines that he seamlessly wove together. That's right-brain/left-brain at its best: to take a chrod structure and develop something so uniquely special and have a story attached to it." Alpert is adamant about the need for a renewal of arts education in the public schools. The doorway that was opened for him has since slammed shut for tens of thousands of students in his native California and hundreds of thousands more around the country. "The overall picture is pretty bleak. We have to do a hell of a lot more, or we're going to end up just listening to rap music." Alpert doesn't limit it to a failure to teach music to children, but to the educational system's general failure to teach the arts. Esthetics aside, art teaches a way of dealing with emotions, and Alpert sees serious consequences for a society in which people take out their frustrations on each otter. "I think through music, through the arts, you get in touch with certain feelings. Most musicians would agree that the only way you can really resonate fully is to come in a straight line, to be as honest as you can about yourself—and that's going to translate through the horn. never get to the place where you'd like to be. There's so much to learn on the instrument; and the more you learn about yourself, the closer you can get to making something meaningful come out of the other end of the horn. That pursuit never ends." But that's not the reason why Alpert has endowed lAJE with three fellowships— named after Gil Evans, Clifford Brown and Stan Getz, and Louis Armstrong—that annually fund an original composition (see DB May '92), bring a high school all-star combo to lAJE's annual convention, and purchase instruments for music programs in the convention's host city. "I'm involved with lAJE because I'm a jazz fan. I love jazz. I admire the great jazz musicians. As you know, Stan Getz was a real dear friend of mine. He was treated like royalty all through Europe for years and years and years. You play there, you develop an audience, and they stay with you. Here it is a whole different story. We have to do a lot better. We developed it here in this country, but we don't seem to treasure it like we should." DB