The accidental flautist: the continuing adventures of Tim Weisberg
The Eric Weisberg band, circa 1978, in the backyard of Weisberg's residence. Photo Second of two parts. See part one. After playing the Newport Jazz Festival in 1970, Tim Weisberg finally realized that he was a legitimate bandleader. He also realized that if he was genuinely going to live as a professional musician it was time to do what musicians do – make a record. It wasn’t the easiest sell. As he tried to recruit a manager, he met skepticism. He wasn’t pitching himself as a jazz musician – a description he never felt comfortable with – but rather as a pop musician. “It’s 1970,” Weisberg said, recalling how his pitch was received within the music industry. “This guy plays the flute, can’t sing, and thinks he can play for a pop audience. I don’t think so.” Weisberg realized one man in the recording industry who might understand what he was up to was the trumpet player, bandleader, and – as it happened – record label owner Herb Alpert. He’d met Alpert through his friend and mentor Fred Katz, and Alpert had been kind enough to tell Weisberg that his office door was always open. He took him up on the offer and showed up to make his pitch. Alpert was another non-genre musician…
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