Music Volume 3: Herb Alpert Reimagines The Tijuana Brass

by Herb Alpert

Overview

As with recent projects like 2014's In the Mood, 2015's Come Fly with Me, and 2017's Music Volume 1, 2018's Music Volume 3: Herb Alpert Reimagines the Tijuana Brass finds trumpet legend Herb Alpert updating his trademark instrumental pop sound with programmed electronics, keyboards, and added instrumentation. Joining him is Music Volume 1 producer/sound designer Jochem van der Saag, who helps Alpert rework a handful of his best-loved Tijuana Brass hits for a modern, club-oriented audience. However, rather than offering Ibiza-style anthems, they instead deliver pleasantly snappy electronic arrangements that fit into the easy listening tradition Alpert helped define throughout the '60s and '70s when most of these songs were originally on the charts. Fittingly, the album kicks off with a bass- and synth-heavy take on Alpert's first big hit, 1966's "The Lonely Bull." We also get a jaunty mash-up of 1965's "Spanish Flea" and 1979's "Rise." Elsewhere, they deliver a reggae-meets-Bond theme-sounding version of 1965's "A Taste of Honey," and apply a woozy dub beat to 1966's "Work Song." Slightly more traditional is Alpert's lush rendition of "Spanish Harlem," which trades some of the original track's mandolin ambiance for cinematic strings. Admittedly, these electronic reimaginings never quite match the kitschy, analog charm of the original Tijuana Brass recordings. Besides the interesting "Spanish Flea/Rise" mash-up, there's not really anything so different or unexpected here as to completely justify Alpert's revamping of the material. Nonetheless, it's nice to hear the trumpeter revisit his legacy with such a warm sense of fun. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	10/19/2018
Label:	Herb Alpert Presents
UPC:	0814647021973
Rank:	18736

Tracks

1. The Lonely Bull
2. Spanish Flea I Rise
3. Work Song
4. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
5. Green Peppers
6. Whipped Cream
7. A Taste of Honey
8. Spanish Harlem
9. Bittersweet Samba
10. Wade in the Water
11. El Presidente
12. America

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Herb Alpert   Primary Artist,Trumpet
Jochem van der Saag   Keyboards,Vocals (Background),Vocals,Synthesizer
Andy Martin   Trombone
Chuck Findley   Trumpet
Lani Hall   Vocals
Eduardo del Barrio   Orchestra
William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr.   Trombone
Mike Shapiro   Drums,Sabar,Congas,Percussion
Dan Higgins   Saxophone
Gary Grant   Trumpet
Brandon Fields   Saxophone

Technical Credits

Jochem van der Saag   Sound Design,Horn Arrangements,Orchestral Arrangements,Mixing,Arranger,Engineer,Producer,Programming
Ric Marlow   Composer
Brian Porizek   Design,Art Direction
Randy Alpert   Composer,Executive Producer
Hussain Jiffry   Engineer
Traditional   Composer
Sol Lake   Composer
George Bassman   Composer
Eduardo del Barrio   Arranger
Leonard Bernstein   Composer
Robert William Scott   Composer
Jerry Hey   Horn Arrangements
Ned Washington   Composer
Jerry Leiber   Composer
Nat Adderley   Composer
Andy Armer   Composer
Herb Alpert   Arranger,Producer,Horn Arrangements
Stephen Sondheim   Composer
Phil Spector   Composer
Julius Wechter   Composer
Allen Toussaint   Composer
Vlado Meller   Mastering