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herb alpert


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Ebayscrounger
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Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 327
Location: Atlanta Georgia

PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 3:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Herb Alpert is the reason I stuck with the trumpet. In junior high (late 60's) we had the standard junior high type music for concerts, then the red, and later, blue books for practice/developement. I was so bored and disgusted with it that I was ready to call it quits, then I discovered Herb Alpert. Here was music that I could play that I actually liked...What a change!!! Like others have said, he was no altitude/speed freak (well, Zorba the Greek got pretty zippy) but every note he played was perfect, and that tone was incredible. I still find myself playing a lot of his stuff.
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camel lips
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Joined: 24 Jan 2004
Posts: 687

PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 3:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.herbalpert.com/difhits/index.html
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DaveH
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Joined: 20 Nov 2001
Posts: 3861

PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am a big Herb Alpert/Tijuana Brass fan, and have been for nearly forty years...

When I consider Herb Alpert, I do not regard him the same way I consider Al Hirt, for example - one of Herb Alpert's contemporaries. But I do regard him among the "greats" in the music world.

I never thought of Herb as a trumpet technician. Rather, I consider him a trumpet "stylist."

Herb used the trumpet to play "instrumental pop." Top 40 radio music. His was a household name back in the sixties. The Tijuana Brass had record sales rivaling, and at times even exceeding, the Beatles. His was an instrumental group, while most other popular groups of the sixties featured vocals and guitars. I don't think his Tijuana Brass music is much different than the other pop music played on the radio back in the sixties, although it was a little less rock oriented and had a broader audience appeal. I grew up in the sixties and listened to the radio all the time. During any given hour, you might hear the Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, Elvis, the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and a host of other pop/rock musicians that may have been popular at the moment - all played together in the same program set on AM radio.

Herb Alpert has been the catalyst/inspiration for many young people to take up the trumpet. He is a talented musician, arranger, producer, and entertainer. He was responsible, through his record company A&M Records, for launching the recording careers of many artists. He has had a solo recording career after the Tijuana Brass era. He has been a guest artist on a variety of other artists' albums. He is a painter, sculptor, and philanthropist. He has been tremendously successful in the business/commercial side of music - perhaps the most commercially successful trumpet player in history.

In these ways, I regard him as one of the greats in the history of popular music entertainment. Not as a great technician on the trumpet, but as an entrepreneur and entertainer who brought a new sound and style in pop music to the general public. And, what he does, only he can do. As soon as I hear the first few notes, I know I am hearing Herb Alpert...


[ This Message was edited by: DaveH on 2004-07-20 18:33 ]
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nacog
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Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 232

PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 5:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'll second Ebayscrounger. I too was ready to give up the trumpet when I "discovered" Herb Alpert. I have every record and every CD that has been put out (now if he would just release all the old TJB albums on CD ). There is no question that he is one of the most successful businessmen in music ever and he has an incredible ear for talent. I've also heard from numerous sources that he is a heck of a nice guy too. Those old TJB records still make me happy.
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MarkHeuer
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Joined: 18 May 2003
Posts: 221

PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm happy to see some nice things written about Herb Albert. It seems like he is often overlooked when we talk about some of the all time greats. Probably because he's doesn't play triple G's or circular breathe Moto Perpetuo. But so what? All he did during his career was have fun making beautiful music for the masses and earn a gazillion dollars in the process. I can't fault him for that. Herb Albert and Al Hirt were the two individuals that got me started on trumpet. When I heard their recordings as a young boy I thought, "I want to play trumpet just like them!" He's an inspiration. p.s. Have you heard him play Zorba the Greek with the Tijuana Brass? VERY tasty stuff!

[ This Message was edited by: MarkHeuer on 2004-07-20 21:36 ]
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ziggy2172
Regular Member


Joined: 13 Jul 2004
Posts: 25
Location: Boston Area

PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 6:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

All I wanted to know was what horn he played I didn't think people would be so interested. This is great stuff. Thanks for all the replies.
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DaveH
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Joined: 20 Nov 2001
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 5:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Always happy to talk about Herb Alpert...a great inspiration to me...
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TimBrown
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Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 738
Location: Galesburg Illinois

PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 6:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Herb Alpert was probably one of THE reasons I started playing trumpet. Actually, my late brother was taking lessons in '65 or so, and I started sneaking his Conn Director cornet. (I can still remember seeing the marching men on the copper bell...and I still am looking for a horn like that one). But I heard Herb Alpert and liked the music. I started getting more serious about playing. Eventually in high school my parents bought me the ELkhart Bach Strad 37 that I sold about 14 months ago. I was so disappointed that the second valve slide was bent the "wrong" way. I remember trying to figure out what kind of trumpet he played. THen I read in an article somewhere that it was "custom built". Little did I know that was just words off the bell of the horn. I thought it was just a "one off from scratch" thing that I could never get. Of course I had never heard of a Benge -- all I knew was my band instructor was yelling "Bach". Too bad; the price of my old Burbank Benge and my Bach Strad at that time were awfully close to the same!

Yes, he gets alot of flack. But he has a way of playing that makes the horn "talk". He doesn't just "play notes". For me, some of his old stuff sounds really dated; maybe that's only because they play it in the grocery stores as musak....and I think they quit doing that some time ago. In the period it fit very well....there was reason why he was so popular.

If you ask what work I like best, it's probably works like "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" which is never outdated. Also, "Route 101". That song moves along pretty well but he sounds so relaxed. I'm working on it.

I think it was "Carmen" on HA9th that was his most difficult. All that fast tonguing. I still have that album although I haven't listened to it in a VERY long time. When it gets to that section I just put my horn away and forget it. I remember talking to Flip Oakes once about a WT (before I got my Benge) and he said something like "...his range isn't great but he can tongue like a snake."

I still listen to his work on rare occasion; I'm focused more on doing my own stuff. However, he has undoubtedly flavored my tecnique; probably far more than I am concious of.

Tim
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