On March 14, the ASCAP Foundation announced its list of 21 jazz composers who won the 2022 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award. Robert Perez (Music BFA 2015, MFA 2018) was named a recipient of the award for the third time.
This year, Perez was recognized for his composition The Flowers Bloom, with Perez on the pipe organ and Claire Perez on the piano. For this new piece, the LA-based artist mentioned his connection to his newborn as an influence to creating Flowers in Bloom.
“As a new father, there is a new feeling of homesickness that I experience at times when I’m off to work,” Perez said. “It is in these moments where God leads me beside still waters, and I can look forward to the joy set before me at home where my wife and daughter are being silly—where the flowers bloom.”
Funded by the ASCAP Foundation’s Bart Howard Fund and The Herb Alpert Foundation, the award was established in 2002 to recognize young jazz composers under the age of 30. Each winner receives a cash prize and is selected by a jury, this year consisting of Fabian Almazan, Chuck Owen, and Camille Thurman.
In the ASCAP press release, Foundation President Paul Williams said, “We are so proud to recognize the 2022 ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award recipients and to celebrate 10 years of generous support from The Herb Alpert Foundation. These emerging voices are taking their music in creative new directions, and we deeply appreciate the Herb Alpert Foundation for helping to nurture the craft of jazz with this enduring partnership.”
—by Ishika Muchhal
