I Mean, Were Trumpeters Really This Cool...?

 There they lie, a stack of records on the floor of a house soon to be void of records, furniture, clothes...basically everything. The son and daughter-in-law of the past home owner and soon-to-be past record owner held an estate sale. The woman had so much stuff, stuff they had to clear out.

Stuff we didn't need.

When we walked inside the house, I spotted the stack of records. Old records can be cool so I started thumbing. No 70s hair bands, no 80s alternative (I thought, maybe...), but there were several 50s and 60s standbys. That's when I came across the classic, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: What Now My Love.

It's one of the albums you could have found in my home growing up, along with several Sing Along With Mitch, and, of course, the original cast recording of Lex de Azevedo's, Saturday's Warrior. Did I buy it?

I did not, though I considered buying it. It came down to the fact I would probably never play it.

But I took a picture of it. That's almost as good.

Tonight I looked through pictures from the last week and I stopped at the photo of Herb and some woman cuddling up to him as he stood stoic, with mariachi players in the background and a trumpet at he ready. It got me wondering...

Was there ever a time when trumpeters were that cool?

I believe we as a society have lowered our appreciation for truly talented individuals, especially those in the arts. Musicians nowadays need to be expert in social media to be successful. A slick campaign and a nice set of...teeth can take a person almost anywhere.

I think, back in the day, people though Herb was the bee's knees. I think they really thought he was that cool...maybe not as cool as they lady practically glued to his side thinks he is, but cool. Yes. In jr. high when I played trumpet (clarinet, actually...), the best player was Clif Orem. And yes, he was one cool dude. Come to think of it, he still is.

So, I guess to answer the question...yes, they were. And to many, they still are.