The faint sound of music drifts through the bright confines of what used to be the Homewood post office on busy Hamilton Avenue.

	Bill Wade, Post-Gazette At the Afro-American Music Institute in Homewood, Howie Alexander works with Tatyana Martin, 13, of Homewood, foreground, and her twin sister, Anastasia Martin, at the Saturday youth jazz lab. Click photo for larger image.

As you walk down the main hallway, drawn by the music, you notice brightly colored paintings and photographs lining the walls -- pictures of young people as well as famous musicians and singers. Inside one of the doors, Howie Alexander sits at a piano. He's the man creating the jazzy sounds that fill the hallway.

"I just feel comfortable at the piano," Alexander said. "My body clock is just telling me 'It's 4 o'clock, you should be playing.' "

Alexander, 29, of Point Breeze, is an instructor at the Afro-American Music Institute, a Homewood institution and one of Pittsburgh's best-kept secrets for the last 22 years.

But with the move last summer to the old post office, AAMI, as the institute is called, hopes to gain more visibility -- for itself and for Homewood and the 200 students, who, like Alexander, feel "they should be playing."

"It is very important for us to keep our business in the community," said AAMI co-founder Pamela Johnson. "Preserving our community, that's what we are doing."

The institute was established in 1982 and operated first out of St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Larimer, then at the Alma Illery Medical Center annex, before moving to the heart of Homewood.

Alexander and 15 other instructors carry on a legacy dating back centuries -- African-American music.

"Black music is very integrated into the community," said AAMI founder Dr. James T. Johnson Jr. "I mean, it's not only been used for entertainment, but it's been used for survival. If you know anything about the history of black American music, you know this is how we survived all these years through all these hardships."

Most traditional African-American music styles are taught, such as jazz, blues and gospel, along with classical music. The institute offers training on electric keyboard, piano, saxophone and other woodwinds, bass, guitar, drums and voice.

There are also courses in directing, song writing and arrangement are offered.

"This school has a spirit," Alexander said with a wide, infectious smile. "Everyone is so loving, caring and supportive. They care about you and they care about the music and keeping the music alive."

In addition to preserving the musical heritage of black Americans, the institute serves as a safe environment for students and families. Many students come after school to do their homework or hang out with friends as well as do music.

Twin sisters Tatyana and Anastasia Martin, 13, eighth-graders at Homewood Montessori School, have attended AAMI for five years. They learned to play piano and will attend the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in the fall. They credit the energetic Alexander with helping them prepare for their CAPA auditions.

"Howie is fun and spontaneous," Tatyana Martin said. "He teaches us jazz piano, improvisation and how not to get stage fright. He's a good musician and patient with the students."

The instructors use innovative approaches to keep students interested. One of Alexander's techniques is to write out chords in fraction form so the students can visualize the music. Anastasia Martin said that helps her with mathematics as well.

Alexander, who himself was a student at AAMI, teaches roughly 50 students through his class, individual lessons and work as assistant director of the AAMI Boys Choir, which will tour Alabama this summer.

"I love kids," he said. "I love that feeling of seeing students accomplish things with so much negativity out there in the world. I get joy from seeing them try, not necessarily doing well, but at least trying. Just seeing them reach their potential, I'm filled with joy and I know it will pay off in the long-run no matter what they do."

Alexander, a regular on Pittsburgh's jazz scene, is excited that many of his students want to pursue music as a career. In fact, both Martin sisters aspire to be professional musicians.

As AAMI continues to grow, one trace of the old post office remains, and it is the focus of a new renovation project. The institute wants to convert the loading dock in the back into a state-of-the-art performance hall.

The Afro-American Music Institute accepts students of all skill levels, ages 6 and older, including adults. An open house is scheduled for May 21-23. The institute is at 7131 Hamilton Ave., next to the Homewood branch of the Carnegie Library. For more information, call 412-241-6775.