NPR’s Scott Simon speaks with a legend of jazz, Herb Alpert, who has just released his 50th album. It is called “50.”
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Herb Alpert has a new album that brings together lessons he says he’s learned from playing the trumpet for over 80 years, specifically those times in which he says, a-ha.
HERB ALPERT: I had problems playing the trumpet. I started stuttering through the instrument. I couldn’t get the first note outright. So I met this trumpet teacher in New York City. His name was Carmine Caruso. And he was called The Troubleshooter. I said, Carmine, what am I doing wrong? He said, let me tell you something, kid, this trumpet is just a piece of plumbing. That’s all it is. It’s a series of pipes, and you’re the instrument. That sound comes from deep within you.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERB ALPERT’S “DANCING DOWN 50TH STREET”)
SIMON: The album begins with a new song from Herb Alpert, “Dancing Down 50th Street.”
ALPERT: I wanted to, you know, start it off with a song that I wrote. I wrote this and it just feels good. It’s upbeat. It’s fun to listen to. And I’m not just going for a whoopee sound. I’m just going for the sound that touches me.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERB ALPERT’S “DANCING DOWN 50TH STREET”)
ALPERT: And I’ve always made music like that. I make music for myself, really. And if it feels good, I put it out. If it doesn’t, I throw it away (laughter).
SIMON: Your new album is titled “50,” and you have a whole bunch of 50’s going on now, don’t you?
ALPERT: Oh, it’s an exciting time for me, Scott. I’ve been married 50 years. This is the 50th album. That caught me off guard. I didn’t realize I had 50 albums in the can already. And in 2025, I’m going to be celebrating my – I’m stuttering now – 90th birthday. I’m going to do something that I’ve always wanted to do. I’m going to form the new Tijuana Brass featuring my beautiful wife, Lani Hall, who was the original singer with Sergio Mendes in Brasil ’66. So we’re going to go out there for a year and just revisit some of the things I used to play, and people are going to enjoy it because I’ve had so many requests to get the old Tijuana Brass sound back. And I’m going to do it.
SIMON: And what keeps you going making music, being about to turn 90?
ALPERT: Music is a healing vibration that fills me. I believe people as well when they hear a song they like, it does something for you. When you get into art or you hear a great piece of music, your life kind of just gets into that very moment that you’re living in. And that’s really beautiful.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERB ALPERT’S “BAUBLES, BANGLES AND BEADS”)
SIMON: Do you think you’re a different kind of performer now than you were back in the ’60s and ’70s?
ALPERT: Oh, yeah. I think I’m hearing music differently. I’ve had a strange experience. When COVID hit in 2020, I was kind of in my studio, not doing any concerts at that stage. And I started remembering all the trumpet teachers that I experienced through the years, and they all had a little different approach to teaching the trumpet. I had this one trumpet teacher that said, you know, it’s like you’re skiing behind a boat. And if you’re going at a particular speed, you’re just floating right over the water. But if the boat slows down, you start sinking into the water, and that’s what you don’t want to do. You want to keep that air flowing in one direction.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERB ALPERT’S “BAUBLES, BANGLES AND BEADS”)
ALPERT: I started reflecting on some of the things that they said, and I incorporated most of the things. And it’s easier for me to play now than it was, like, 30 years ago.
SIMON: Herb, it sounds like you still have a lot of music in you.
ALPERT: And I practice all the time. Wait a minute, let me grab my horn right here.
(SOUNDBITE OF TRUMPET)
ALPERT: Am I corny or what?
SIMON: Oh, my gosh (clapping).
ALPERT: (Laughter).
SIMON: Thank you. I feel honored.
ALPERT: Thanks, Scott. Yeah, I do that all – you know, every day in my life. It’s just something that’s just part of me. I don’t think I could live without it. I mean, this is – this gives me energy.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERB ALPERT’S “ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT?”)
SIMON: Can I tell you about, for some reason, my favorite track on this new album, “50”?
ALPERT: It’s probably “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”
SIMON: That’s beautiful. I like that.
ALPERT: Yeah. You know, and I realized – you know that record by Elvis Presley?
SIMON: Yeah.
ALPERT: You know when that tune was written? 1937.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERB ALPERT’S “ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT?”)
SIMON: What do you think you bring to it with your trumpet? Trumpet’s a great instrument for being lonely.
ALPERT: I don’t know, but you know what? We were playing in Las Vegas years and years ago, and I was at the blackjack table. I was playing blackjack, and this lady comes up to me. She said, Mr. Alpert, thank you so much for that concert. Your music is upbeat in a melancholy way (laughter).
SIMON: Wow (laughter).
ALPERT: So that kind of resonated with me. I thought, yeah, that’s true. Sure. I think my music makes people feel good. Makes me feel good to play it when it’s right. And I think a certain amount of people get that energy.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERB ALPERT’S “ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT?”)
SIMON: Herb Alpert, he’s got a new album out, and it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be his last by any means. It’s called “50.”
ALPERT: Oh, I’m in the middle of two albums right at the moment.
SIMON: Oh, my word.
ALPERT: I don’t really want to upscale my, you know, the album that’s out there, but I’m doing another Christmas album. I got some really great renditions of some, you know, standard Christmas songs. And another album.
SIMON: You ever take a nap?
ALPERT: What’s that?
SIMON: (Laughter).
ALPERT: You do that with your eyes closed?
SIMON: That’s the preferred way of doing it, yeah. I guess there’s no rule. Yeah.
ALPERT: (Laughter) Yeah. Sure I nap. You know, I’m going to be 90 next year, and I’m trying to take care of myself at the same time.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “SH-BOOM”)
THE CHORDS: (Singing) Life could be a dream. Life could be a dream.
SIMON: Herb Alpert has a new album out. It’s called “50.” It’s his 50th wedding anniversary, and albums 51 and 52 are already in the pipeline. Such a pleasure to talk to you again. We’ll look forward to it.
ALPERT: Scott, it’s a pleasure to talk to you. Thanks a lot.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERB ALPERT SONG, “SH-BOOM”)
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