On November 10 the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation presented the first “Satchmo Award” to recording legend Herb Alpert.
The award was presented to Alpert at the Newark Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey, during a WBGO jazz-radio gala. Singer Dee Dee Bridgewater acted as master of ceremonies.
The Satchmo award recognizes Alpert”s contributions to the field not only as a stellar producer and performer of ear-licious music, but for his entire range of arts activities:
- The Herb Alpert Foundation, funding arts and education programs.
- Theatrical producer, bringing to Broadway, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, August Wilson’s Seven Guitars and Gregory Hines’s Jelly’s Last Jam.
- Multi-media artist whose sculptures Black Totems were recently exhibited in Beverly Hills gallery
- Restaurateur operating the Vibrato Grill, Bel Air restaurant/jazz club
- Concert appearances: Herb continues to perform with his GRAMMY™ Award-winning wife, singer Lani Hall. Their latest recording, I Feel You is scheduled for a 2011 release.
Accompanying the award was a Sonaré 801 trumpet hand crafted by E.K. Blessing at its Elkhart, Indiana workshop.
Blessing President Steven Wasser commented, “It’s fitting but no coincidence that Louis Armstrong played a Blessing cornet.
“The American workers at Blessing put a lot of loving care into this special trumpet for Herb Alpert.”
Alpert called it, “beautifully engraved and a great instrument.”
Like this? Read more on Herb and Satchmo:
- Herb Alpert, super-mensch
- Herb & Lani sprinkle their magical sound around Disney Hall
- Herb Alpert’s higher education scholarships for burgeoning artists.
- Louis Armstrong sings “Stardust” while Debra reviews Terry Teachout’s Armstrong bio, “Pops”.
- Pops performs “Mack the Knife” in London 1956
Photos and text: E.K. Blessing, The Herb Alpert Foundation