Herb Alpert with Lani Hall August 21, 2011

I Feel You, Herb Alpert and Lani Hall’s newest release is packed with innovative arrangements and skilled improvisations that make old songs new and bring new songs to their audience. “I think originality is the whole key,” says Alpert. “The thrill for us has always been to find our own little niche. When we find songs that we like, we try to do them in a way that puts our own spin on them. And we were so fortunate to find the versatile and creative musicians in our band, Michael Shapiro (drums), Bill Cantos (keyboards) and Hussain Jiffry (bass), to work with and fill this music with our personal touch.”

The song collection is vast but what is most striking about I Feel You is the natural grace with which Herb and Lani blend their vocal and instrumental talents. Hall has said, “Each song is like a flower opening up, exposing new color and fragrance, strength and fragility.

The Chicago-born Hall, who’s especially known for her emotional vocal interpretations, started her professional career as the original lead singer with Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66. She helped propel the group to international stardom with her distinctive vocals on the infectious Brasilian tune “Mas Que Nada.” It was in 1966, while singing with the group in an audition for A & M Records, that she met Alpert. They were married in 1973 and since then their lives and musical gifts have mingled. Hall has enjoyed a distinguished solo career, having recorded some 14 solo albums (variously in English, Portuguese and Spanish.) In 1983, she sang the title song of the James Bond movie, Never Say Never Again, starring Sean Connery, and won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance for her album Es Facil Amar in 1986. She also has credits as a lyricist, producer, arranger, writer and editor.

Alpert is a legend in the music business and the co-founder of A&M Records, one of the most successful independent record labels in history. In the decades before Alpert and partner Jerry Moss sold A&M in l990, he significantly influenced and/or produced a diverse roster of talent, including Janet Jackson, Gato Barbieri, George Benson, Chuck Mangione, Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66, Milton Nascimento, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, The Carpenters, The Police, Joe Cocker, Sheryl Crow, Peter Frampton and scores of others. Alpert is also a prolific painter, sculptor, philanthropist and theatrical producer. He helped bring to Broadway Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer prize-winning “Angels in America,” as well as plays by Arthur Miller, David Mamet, August Wilson and others.

I Feel You also showcases Herb’s vocal in an up-tempo version of “There Will Never Be Another You.” As Lani notes, “Herb’s horn has always had such character, warmth and expression, but I don’t think people have ever heard him sound this way before.” Those familiar with Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass will no doubt recognize one of their greatest hits, “What Now My Love.” Although the arrangement is quite different and has a world music feel, Herb approaches this song with simplicity and emotional depth while painting a musical picture for the listener to fill in.

Herb Alpert and Lani Hall have found new and thrilling emotional possibilities on their latest collection. Their natural grace together blends their vocal and instrumental gifts in a magical pairing. Their first “studio” CD in nearly a decade, I Feel You, shows that this artistic couple continues to creatively breathe new life into their signature sound.

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