Herb Alpert Albums (33)
What The Critics Say
Herb Alpert had never really embraced his inner jazzman over the course of an entire album before; the closest he came was 1992's Midnight Sun, ultimately a highly controlled cocoon of a recording. But this, at long last, is it, and it represents a string of firsts for the protean trumpeter -- his first truly straight-ahead jazz project, his first all-new album of any kind in ten years, his first complete album with his wife, singer Lani Hall (who gets co-billing), and his first released by a label which he did not co-own. The concept grew out of a series of live dates that he and Hall played in various cities, from which these tracks were assembled. Despite some apparent lightly applied overdubs, it remains an intimate small group album of mostly standards, the kind of thing one might run across at Vibrato -- Alpert's jazz club in the hills above Los Angeles. Hall appears in tandem with Alpert on nine of the 14 tracks -- with Alpert taking five for himself -- which guarantees an additional unique layer of intimacy as Alpert wraps his pithy horn lovingly around Hall's voice. Hall has kept her Portuguese in gear, doing well by Ivan Lins' "Dinorah, Dinorah" and the rapid-fire syllables of "Para-Raio." She adopts a dark, dusky tone on "That Old Black Magic," and for "Let's Face the Music And Dance," she takes on an air of desperation, focusing on the words, "there may be trouble ahead." Still in good shape in his seventies, Alpert retains the marcato bravado of the Tijuana Brass days and the more recent, terse, moody, muted tones of a Miles accolade; in "It's Only a Paper Moon," these two personas go mano a mano rather humorously. "The Trolley Song," done at an unusually lazy, loping pace by the Tijuana Brass more than four decades before, is taken at a more traditionally quick, Latin-accented tempo here, and this is the third time around for "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face" -- now a casual vocal showcase for Alpert with a witty coda that sneaks in a horn lick from "This Guy's in Love with You." The adept backup trio of Bill Cantos on keyboards -- who comes up with a few nifty quotes himself -- Hussain Jiffry on electric bass, and Michael Shapiro on drums and Latin percussion goes down agreeably. This is a classy, welcome return to album-making for Alpert, and a good fit for Concord's adult-oriented roster. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It would be easy for the former Tijuana Brassman and founder of A&M to just rest on his career achievements or just make music to pass the time, but instead, the 60-something trumpeter rings in with one of the year's most remarkable jams. Alpert's recent output has ranged from the heart of smooth jazz (Second Wind, produced by Jeff Lorber) to fiery Latin (Passion Dance), but here the muse takes him to the mystical world of studio-bred trip-hop. Working with multi-instrumentalists and producers Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbush, Alpert surrounds his muted trumpet with hypnotic vibes and ambiences -- some of which seem to drift into the sonic atmospheres, others bred from thick machine generated exotic percussion textures percolating over throbbing urban bass grooves. While ethereal experimentation with tons of cool studio equipment and sonic possibilities seems to be the general philosophy, he hasn't forgotten his Latin roots. The opening track, "Libertango," features a lighthearted horn melody drifting over a throbbing urban bass groove, percussion clicks, and the galloping flamenco flavors of Wimbish's acoustic guitar, all wrapped up in a dramatic synth orchestral sweep. "Dorita" centers Bernard Fowler's Spanish vocals amidst a wacky swirl of pitter patter and marching percussion, spacey sound effects, exotic soundscaping, moody retro keyboards, and Alpert's catchy, laid-back melody. Bridging past and present, Alpert approaches Burt Bachrach's "The Look of Love" as if it were a Miles Davis/Brian Eno collaboration, his smoky horn enhanced by his wife Lani Hall's breathy vocals. He also covers himself with a new hip-hop shuffle arrangement of his popular early-'80s gem, "Magic Man." Older and wiser than either Rick Braun or Chris Botti, Alpert gives the genre's two top horn guns a powerful run for their smooth jazz money. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Latin jazz purists who cynically looked at Herb Alpert's classic Tijuana Brass hits as synthetic fluff may find themselves blown away by the raw, live ensemble energy of Passion Dance, a hearty fiesta disc which proves once and for all that the legendary hornman is a clever jazz improviser who can blow authentic Latin sounds in frameworks beyond lightweight pop. Last year's Jeff Lorber-produced comeback project, Second Wind, was a solid R&B-flavored effort, but featured too much of the keyboardist's trademark riffs and not enough Alpert. Lorber co-wrote "TKO," one of the snappiest jams here, but primarily, Alpert finds a more kinetic collaborator in bassist/keyboardist Oskar Cartaya. While most of the cuts here are all out throw downs, the two strip down to muted trumpet and bass on the simmering "Baila Conmigo" for a sly game of cat and mouse. A few tunes even find Alpert trading off between that muted Miles effect and a bright, flashy flugelhorn flavor. He also has fun conjuring up the past with Stevie Wonder's "Creepin'," a new arrangement of Alpert's 1982 hit "Route 101," and a few Tijuana Brass riffs here and there. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
They finally couldn't keep the man away from the recording studio, or from owning a record label. Alpert is back in fine playing form on this part-mellow, part-funky set, blowing his trumpety heart out over a steady set of radio-ready grooves built up by keyboards player Jeff Lorber. It's intriguing to listen to the set, in fact, because there's a tendency for flourishes to come slapping out of left field, unexpected little touches that belie the formality of the construction and structure. ~ Steven McDonald, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Having recently sold A&M to PolyGram for a cool $500 million, and with his short but hugely affecting association with the late Stan Getz on his mind, Herb Alpert finally took the plunge and recorded what he called a jazz album, his last for the label he co-founded. But this would not be a conventional blowing session; rather it is an intimate, inward, wee-small-hours kind of album where, muted and not, Alpert's horn sighs, laments and sings over a conventional rhythm section and underneath a blanket of lush strings. Without a doubt, Miles Davis in his introspective '50s mode is Herb's primary inspiration -- always has been -- and he uses space between the notes in similar ways, but always with his own tone and distinct phrasing. Two old favorites from the TJB days, "A Taste of Honey" and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," are revisited; "Taste" is completely transformed into a dark elegy that breaks into the light before turning back to the shadows. One track, "Friends," was left over from 1990, where Herb was joined by a luminous-sounding Getz; they really play like intimate friends together. This is not a terribly spontaneous album -- Alpert is too much the master of structure to leave very much to chance -- but it creates a mood of melancholy serenity that is difficult to resist. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Ever attuned to what is happening out there in recordland, Herb Alpert tried to graft his trumpet onto the rhythms and textures of hip-hop and techno-dance music in North On South St., hoping again to crash the R&B charts. He used four young black co-producers (Greg Smith, Robert Jerald, Jimmy B and Troy Staton) and they get some festively percolating grooves going on tracks like "Passion Lady" and "Paradise 25." Clearly Alpert's early jazz leanings were beckoning more strongly, and his Miles Davis-like musings over the dance tumult actually anticipated the acid-jazz movement later in the decade, making this a historically important record. Yet there is something melancholy about Alpert's playing on this album, like a lonely figure from the past looking in on a party from an outside window on the street, genuinely wanting to join in but unable to totally connect. Still, for someone of Alpert's age (56) at the time of release, it is amazing that he was willing and able to stay in touch with the cutting edge of contemporary pop. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
My Abstract Heart was the disappointing followup to the hugely successful Keep Your Eye On Me. There's no Janet Jackson to sing along, just associate producer Eddie del Barrio providing a battery of synthesized strings, keyboards, bass, and percussion. Much of the album is somewhat melancholy, and the lack of any pop vocal connection (there is a laconic duet between Albert and Lani Hall on "When The Lights Go Down Low") kept it from finding much of an audience, although "3 O'Clock Jump" got to #59 in the Black singles chart. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The unbelievable sales success of this record is a testament to Herb Alpert's extraordinary ability to keep his ear to the ground -- no doubt aided by his position as vice-chairman and co-owner of A&M Records -- and adapt to the times. At a time when A&M's Janet Jackson was blazing up the charts, Alpert journeyed to Minneapolis and cut some tracks with Jackson's producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, producing the others himself in a mostly similar techno-pop vein. Presto!, three Top Ten R&B singles came out of the album, "Keep Your Eye on Me," "Making Love in the Rain," and the number one hit "Diamonds." The flashy, trashy "Diamonds" no doubt was aided on its rush up the charts by Jackson and Lisa Keith's bouncy lead vocals; it's really their record and that of Jam and Lewis, despite Alpert's top billing. Jackson and Keith also take the lead in the simple-minded lyrics of "Making Love in the Rain," which nevertheless has a haunting effect accented by Alpert's muted musings through an electronic gauze. At first, this seems like a gleaming digital machine of a record, loaded with repetitive sampling effects and drum machines churning out that ubiquitous '80s backbeat. But the techno stuff gradually gives way to Alpert's humane trumpet, which in a touching valentine to the '60s on Acker Bilk's "Stranger on the Shore," is eventually allowed to soar unimpeded over the electronics. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With his sights aimed squarely at the R&B charts, where he had become a regular visitor in the 1980s, Herb Alpert continued to collaborate with keyboardist John Barnes and bassist Romeo Williams on an album of mostly R&B-flavored dance music. Alpert sounds exactly the same as he had throughout most of the '80s thus far, merely grafting his spare, gently dancing trumpet onto drum machines and electronic keyboard textures, with Brenda Russell adding soul vocals at times. The most evocative track is the relatively reflective "African Flame" (later the B-side for "Cantare, Cantaras," the Latin American answer to "We Are the World"), and Alpert still exercises his vocal cords on a couple of tracks. Otherwise, this is mostly routine high-tech club music for the 1980s. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Yes, Herb Alpert did indeed record an album in 1984 under the name Tijuana Brass for the first time in nine years -- and in fact, he took a Tijuana Brass contingent on tour that year with four of the original band members on hand. But this album has nothing to do with the old TJB, for the music is the same high-tech pop of the 1980s that Alpert had been mostly purveying since "Rise," and with synths galore, a frantic electronic dance beat on many numbers, and none of the original Brass on the sessions. No wonder, for the arranger is John Barnes, who had worked for the Jacksons (Alpert was no fool; the Jacksons' sound was never hotter). About all that remains of the TJB is Alpert's familiar trumpet, which often hearkens back to his '60s manner in this gleaming setting. The best moments are the whomping title track, the hyperactive "Struttin' on Five," and the optimistic "Life Is My Song." But to call this a "Tijuana Brass" album was bordering on consumer fraud for the faithful -- though on its own terms, it is a fairly live slice of '80s pop. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
