Herb Alpert

Herb Alpert – In The Mood (2014/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · March 9, 2023 · Comments off

Although trumpeter and pop icon Herb Alpert is largely associated with his jazz, Latin, and lounge instrumentals of the ’60s and ’70s, he’s never fully retired from the music scene. In fact, Alpert’s 2013 album with wife and vocalist Lani Hall won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Coming on the heels of that album, Alpert’s 2014 effort, In the Mood, finds the stylistically wide-ranging artist once again bringing together a mix of jazz standards, smooth pop instrumentals, and infectious original compositions. Working with his nephew, arranger/producer Randy Badazz Alpert, as well as such longtime collaborators as Bill Conti, Mike Shapiro, and Jeff Lorber, Alpert has crafted an album that perfectly updates his approach for a modern audience. Alpert was an early adopter of electronic sounds and In the Mood is no exception as it features a very club-ready, EMD reworking of the swing-era classic “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” It’s an iconoclastic move also echoed in his funky, hip-hop-inflected take on “Blue Moon.” While Alpert always seems to be in search of new musical ground to explore, he’s conversely never afraid to revisit his past, as evidenced by his electronic- and contemporary R&B-infused arrangement of his old Tijuana Brass number “Spanish Harlem.” Elsewhere, Alpert teams again with Hall for several gorgeous, laid-back Latin numbers including the funky “Don’t Cry,” and the romantic “5 A.M.” And it’s not just Alpert’s knack for crafting listenable, relaxing pop songs that makes In the Mood so enjoyable. Arguably, Alpert’s trumpet playing has only deepened over the years and cuts here, like his poignant orchestral reading of “When Sunny Gets Blue,” reveal his gift for small group jazz balladry that brings to mind a mix of Chet Baker and Harry Sweets Edison. Ultimately, whether he’s digging deep into a jazz standard, or defying expectations with a breezy electronic arrangement, Alpert proves yet again he is a true pop journeyman on “In the Mood”

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Herb Alpert – Human Nature (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · March 9, 2023 · Comments off

Legendary pop and jazz icon Herb Alpert continues his prolific career run with his 2016 studio album, Human Nature. The album follows up his well-received 2014 effort, In the Mood, and picks up on that album’s mix of electronic pop and Latin-inflected, dance-oriented grooves. In his eighties at the time of recording, he has aged into a soulful, lyrical musician able to bridge the light pop stylings of his youth with more introspective choices. Human Nature finds him completely engaged, continuing to explore new sounds and songs. Joining Alpert here are several longtime collaborators in producer/percussionist Michael Shapiro, producer/arranger/keyboardist Eduardo Del Barrio, bassist/guitarist Hussain Jiffry, keyboardist/arranger/producer Bill Cantos, and others. As with Alpert’s other albums since coming out of a ten-year hiatus in 2009, Human Nature finds the trumpeter applying his distinctively sweet-toned sound to a nicely balanced combination of beloved pop standards, unexpected covers, and originals. Sometimes, as on the title track, an inspired Brazilian Mardi Gras-infused reworking of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature,” Alpert goes for an inventive cross-genre angle. Other times, as on his lush, romantic reading of the Burt Bacharach/Elvis Costello-ballad “Look Up Again,” he takes a more straightforward approach, framing his yearning Miles Davis-esque lines with reverb-soaked piano and shimmering orchestral strings. Alpert even draws upon his iconic Tijuana Brass double-tracked trumpet sound for a bright, electro-Latin take on the Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” which also features vocals from his wife, muse, and frequent collaborator Lani Hall. Elsewhere, Alpert strikes a similarly pleasant, cross-genre stance with his originals, like the disco-salsa “Shake It” and the sophisticated, cocktail hour-ready Latin jazz of “Mystery Man.” Ultimately, Human Nature is a warmly produced album by an artist who has seen and done it all, and yet still finds magic and mystery in the process. –AllMusic Review by Matt Collar

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Herb Alpert – Fandango (1982/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · March 9, 2023 · Comments off

Digitally remastered edition of this 1982 album from the Jazz/Pop icon. After a meteoric rise to fame as the leader of the Tijuana Brass, one of the most successful groups of the ’60s, Herb Alpert focused on running A&M Records, the indie powerhouse he had founded with partner Jerry Moss. His second artistic journey began with the release of Rise, which climbed to #1 on the Billboard chart. His acclaimed album, Fandango, found Alpert returning to Mexican and Latin American sounds and rhythms, but with a modern sound. The result was one of the most acclaimed albums of his career, remaining on the Billboard Top Albums chart for half a year, and featuring the Top 40 hit ‘Route 101.’

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Herb Alpert – Come Fly With Me (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · March 9, 2023 · Comments off

Herb Alpert’s legendary career includes five decades of unprecedented breakthroughs as an artist, record executive and philanthropist. In the past two years alone, he won his ninth Grammy for 2013’s Steppin’ Out and received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama. As impressive as those accolades are, they may soon be overshadowed. Come Fly With Me, his latest studio album (to be released in September 2015 via his own label, HerbAlpert Presents) is some of the best work of Herb Alpert’s career, rivaling his classic Tijuana Brass output.

In the past year, Alpert composed seven original songs for the album, drawn from a diversity of musical influences, with inventive arrangements and lush orchestrations. His stirring new material is wonderfully complemented by fresh interpretations of some of the most indelible melodies of the 20th century. The exciting original compositions on Come Fly With Me were inspired by everything from a Tito Puente rhythm Alpert fell in love with (the propulsive “Night Ride”) to jamming with his world class band in between shows on tour (the fun, reggae-infused “Cheeky” was born of these sessions).

On “Walkin’ Tall”, another track with a punchy reggae beat, Alpert’s trumpet melody slinks and slides. Herb’s take on one of Frank Sinatra’s most famous recordings, “Come Fly With Me,” is set to a groovy bossa nova beat with the surprising addition of a steel drum. His sparse take on George Harrison’s “Something” includes the use of an electronic instrument known as an EVI, to play the signature guitar lick from the original recording. Alpert was always fond of the infectious melody in “Something,” and of George Harrison as a person, who recorded on Alpert’s A&M Records in the seventies.

Alpert co-founded A&M in 1962 and headed the label for thirty years. In that time he mentored generations of pop icons, from The Carpenters and Cat Stevens to Sting and Janet Jackson. A 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Alpert’s albums have sold over 72 million copies, and 29 of his records have reached the Billboard 200.

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Herb Alpert – Catch The Wind (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · March 9, 2023 · Comments off

Herb Alpert recently announced his new studio album, Catch The Wind, out September 17th via his own imprint Herb Alpert Presents. This new collection features 9 original compositions, plus covers of the beloved Beatles hits “Eleanor Rigby” and “Yesterday”, and American classics “Smile”, “America The Beautiful”, and “Summertime.” Fans can pre-order the album here + via Amazon here today.

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Herb Alpert – Blow Your Own Horn (1983/2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · March 9, 2023 · Comments off

This album is typical of Herb Alpert’s ’80s style, with his familiar horn sound grafted to contemporary dance and R&B rhythm tracks. He even got the old Motown team of Holland-Dozier-Holland to write and co-produce a couple of tunes. Although there is nothing here to rival Alpert’s 1979 comeback “Rise,” he had multi-format success with the album, which charted pop, R&B, and jazz and threw off two chart singles, “Garden Party” and “Red Hot.

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Herb Alpert – Sunny Side Of The Street (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · December 1, 2022 · Comments off

2022 release. Herb Alpert, the prolific Tijuana Brass titan, returns with Sunny Side Of The Street. This new set of 11 songs contains gentle ballads like “Childhood” and “Time After Time”, upbeat romps like “Pata Pata” and “Tickle Time” and covers of classic songs like “I’ll Remember You” and Louis Armstrong’s “On The Sunny Side Of The Street”. Few artists in the history of American music have been able to stay relevant decade after decade like the 87-year-old Alpert. So, put on your shades and take a walk with Herb on the Sunny Side Of The Street.

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Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – Christmas Album (1968/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · December 23, 2017 · Comments off

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – Christmas Album (1968/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 31:53 minutes | 621 MB | Genre: Holiday, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | © Herb Alpert Presents
Recorded: 1968 at A&M Studios, Gold Star Recording Studio, Hollywood, California

Herb Alpert turned to jazz’s Shorty Rogers — then toiling in the L.A. film and TV studios — for voice and string arrangements on his Christmas album, and Rogers in turn went all out for schmaltz. Rogers’ cooing voices introduce several of the tunes, whereupon the Tijuana Brass do their mostly unrelated Ameriachi thing familiar from past albums. Indeed, “Las Mananitas” seems to have been lifted from an obscure B-side of a 45 and overdubbed with the Rogers treatment. Jingling bells is a recurring song theme — first with “Jingle Bells,” then the cloying “The Bell That Couldn’t Jingle,” and ultimately “Jingle Bell Rock.” For the first time in a long time, Alpert’s sense of pacing occasionally goes awry; “My Favorite Things” nearly comes apart in the silences and piano/vocal interlude between the TJB grooves, and “Sleigh Ride” screeches to a dead halt. And yet time and further exposure has revealed this record’s homey charms, which no doubt is one reason why it continues to be available on CD where other TJB best-sellers have fallen by the wayside. –AllMusic Review by Richard S. Ginell (more…)

Herb Alpert – Beyond (1980/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · December 23, 2017 · Comments off

Herb Alpert – Beyond (1980/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 40:22 minutes | 752 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | © Herb Alpert Presents
Recorded: 1980 at A&M Recording Studios

Following the wild success of his previous album, Rise, Herb Alpert refuses to get comfortable and instead continues to redefine his sound. This album features a further departure from the beginnings of Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass and even delves into some synth and funk sounds. (more…)