A&E

Carrying an air more suited for a 50s pop musician than a sophomore in high school, Alex Jaffe can proudly say that he’s experimented with just about everything music-related. From his theorized toy brass band to conducting this year’s Soph-Frosh SING!, Alex Jaffe seems to have done it all.

Alex Jaffe’s interest in music stems from his older brother Dan Jaffe, who plays the trombone. “I just took it up after him,” Alex Jaffe said. Alex Jaffe has played trumpet since fourth grade and takes classes at the Manhattan School of Music. In sixth grade, he added the horn, conducting and music theory classes to his expanding list of musical endeavors. Alex Jaffe plays with the All-City Band and the school symphonic orchestra, both conducted by Assistant Principal Music and Fine Arts Dr. Raymond Wheeler, and has performed with orchestras in a number of concert halls, including Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall.

As the years passed, Alex Jaffe discovered that his hobby was much more serious than he had initially thought. Despite the poor quality of his middle school band, Alex Jaffe’s interest in music continued to grow. “I’m definitely considering it when I look at colleges,” he said. “But further than that, I don’t know. I want to keep my options open.”

For the moment, music takes up a large portion of his time—Jaffe spends much of his time planning and practicing for performances. “Before, it was just something fun to do. There’s a lot more to it now,” he said. Music has given Alex Jaffe a sense of direction.

He finds it crucial to keep a sense of humor, especially in a school where not many people share the same passions. Few students have heard of Kaye and the other old music-comics. “No one knows who they are anymore, and it’s sad,” Alex Jaffe said. Still, he mentions them frequently to others, even if in jest. “Sometimes unsuccessfully, but I was laughing,” Alex Jaffe said.

His sense of humor is echoed in his plans to start a “toy brass group.” Alex Jaffe owns several miniature brass instruments, including a pocket trumpet, that he hopes to have others play in his imagined band. “They’re very small, and about an octave higher than their original versions. I thought it would be funny to get something started,” Alex Jaffe said.

Alex Jaffe regards Danny Kaye as one of his greatest inspirations. Kaye was a music-comic, combining music, comedy, and acting in his performances, from the 50s. He was known for his use of broad gestures to entertain the audience—he would often stand with his back to the orchestra and make the audience laugh by comically adjusting his bowtie or making flirtatious gestures. “He combined music with comedy,” Jaffe said. “He made people laugh, and as a conductor I also try to do that.”

Alex Jaffe himself has earned a reputation at Stuyvesant, having conducted the band for the past two fall musicals, “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” “It was something I’d never done before, something out of my element,” he said. “It gave me a great sense of power at the beginning of each night to wait that extra few seconds knowing that until I start, the show ain’t starting.”

Alex Jaffe was also one of the directors of this year’s Soph-Frosh SING! band. Although pessimistic about SING! at first, Alex Jaffe described SING! as “a great experience,” he said. “I came into it thinking that it was going to be very painful, that I would be yelling at them the entire time,” he said. “But I was working with talented people, and we were all in it together with a goal in mind. It just made it more fun.”

Despite all of Alex Jaffe’s musical achievements, his musical career is not devoid of problems—mainly his brother. “My brother went to Stuy also, and my biggest obstacle is being in his shadow,” Alex Jaffe said. Dan Jaffe was very active in the school orchestras, also conducting the band in a few theater productions. “[Music teacher Joe Tamosaitis] doesn’t call me by my name,” Alex Jaffe said. “He calls me ‘Dan’s brother.’”

Alex Jaffe’s cheerful mood enables him to view (almost) everything in a positive light and his vast knowledge of older pop styles makes him stand out from Stuyvesant’s other student musicians. Perhaps the outfit he wore for Soph-Frosh SING! best describes his unique personality: a majestic white suit, accompanied by clean, white gloves.