REVIEW: Herb Alpert and Lani Hall
“The world already HAS a Miles Davis!”
You don’t expect laughter to be the first thing you hear when you enter a “jazz” performance [late, regrettably] but there Herb Alpert was, somewhat meekly at the front of the stage, trumpet in one hand and mic in the other, telling the most delightful and hilarious stories.
It was Tuesday, November 17th and I arrived at home after a long day of being out and about. I had been offered some free passes to see Herb Alpert and Lani Hall at The Egg.
Herb Alpert is an award winning trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. Alpert has been on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts with multiple No. 1 albums, 14 platinum albums and 15 gold albums. Alpert is the only musician to hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as both a vocalist and an instrumentalist.
“I have too much work to do,” I thought.
Then I remembered what my work IS now: promoting local, live music. Trying to get others engaged and back out to see shows. Basically, the entire impetus behind my taking a step back from my own live performances.
Then my power went out. The lords had spoken.
“Are those tickets still available?” They were. Off I went.
You don’t expect laughter to be the first thing you hear when you enter a “jazz” performance [late, regrettably] but there Herb Alpert was, somewhat meekly at the front of the stage, trumpet in one hand and mic in the other, telling the most delightful and hilarious stories.
When I arrived, he was discussing how his song “Ladyfingers” was played on the popular TV Show Fallout, and how he was unwittingly introduced to streaming on Spotify and the (lack of) royalties one receives even after such a “viral” experience.
His stories made me feel incredibly engaged and I knew I’d have some homework to do when I got home. I now know where the sample from “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. originated.
Then, he put that trumpet to his mouth and showed why he is hands down one of the best in the business.
Admittedly unfamiliar with his music, I was delighted that circumstances led me to this show. Maybe I’d had more aggressive experiences with live trumpeting in my past because I was most impressed with how gently he played. It was effortlessly melodic, something I’d not experienced live before.
My favorite story of the night was how Alpert used to impart to band members how important it was not to fool around with women on the road. He’d even fired some band members for not heeding that warning. From there, he uproariously segued into introducing his wife of fifty years: Lani Hall.
He sat down behind her, giving her the rightful spotlight for a medley of songs including “The Look of Love” and “Day and Night”. Their chemistry during and in between songs even brought emotion out of a cynic like me. It was so pure and genuine.
I found myself knowing more tunes than I thought I would but was just as compelled by Alpert’s ability to tell a story. He offered some incredible advice to “any kids in the audience”, but there was no rule saying I couldn’t take that advice, too.
He discussed the importance of finding your own voice after he admitted to trying to sound like Miles Davis for years.
“The world already HAS a Miles Davis!” he exclaimed.
A few other noteworthy [sic] quotes were “being an introvert” is great for an artist because they have no problem spending hours alone in a room creating something. To be fair this was in reference to his other art which is painting and sculpting (another medium he excels at) though the message is true of any art.
He mentioned Ken Robinson’s “The Element” (which is now on MY list of books to read) and a story of an eight-year-old girl who struggled in school but became so engaged any time art was the subject. She was asked to draw a picture. The teacher asked what she was drawing. The girl replied with “God”. The teacher remarked that no one really knows what god looks like” to which the girl responded with “you will in a minute!”
He continued with a diverse set list, some of which included corresponding projection videos like Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” and the standard “Puttin’ on the Ritz”.
Other highlights of the set list included “Fly Me to The Moon”, Rent’s “Season of Love”, Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” and even a drum solo that involved a rubber chicken.
He encouraged folks from the audience to ask questions which to me is braver than anything else anyone can do on stage. It truly showed what a genuinely kind human he was. Someone asked him about his relationship with Karen Carpenter and he admitted it was tough to talk about her and how he had spoken with her a mere couple weeks before her passing. He got a little choked up when speaking and again when playing a few bars of “We’ve Only Just Begun”. (I only speculate that he choked up while playing because there’s no way this master made a mistake) It was beautiful.
I certainly won’t need the enticement of a free ticket to see this show the next time it comes around. Die-hard fans may cringe at my inexperience with the legend, but the important thing is even though I did not arrive as a fan, I certainly left as one.