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I was checking out John Pisano's website today and realized he has a page about his association with Herb. It's pretty cool, except for the part where he says he didn't like the music...
You can go to johnpisano.com, but here's what he says.
"After Peggy and Benny, I did a lot of stuff with Page Cavanaugh, and I was doing a lot of studio stuff. I had finally established myself in the studios. Then, one day, I got a call from Herb Alpert, who I sort of fluffed off at the time. I told him, ‘To be honest with you, I couldn’t take your music seriously.’ I told him I’d work a couple of weeks with him, because I had some friends who were in the band, and I thought it would be fun to get out of town. His first two or three Tijuana Brass albums had been done with studio guys. Tommy Tedesco played guitar on them originally.
When it came time that they wanted to do live performances, Herb had to put a real band together. By then, the albums were very successful. Musically, I just couldn’t get interested in it, but when we got off the road, he needed a tune for an album, which I provided for him. When I got my first royalty check in the mail, it convinced me that I should take it much more seriously!
I joined him in the later part of 1967. That was a very good connection because aside from performing with The Tijuana Brass, and getting some tunes on their albums, I also recorded with a lot of artists who were on Herb’s A&M record label. I did all of the early Sergio Mendes’ early hits, and was doing some things with Burt Bacharach, as well. During that period, we were always traveling and recording. I was with Herb for about four years before the band folded. By the early seventies, studio work was becoming a little less lucrative, and a lot of people were complaining. If only they knew what it would be like today… it’s almost non-existent!”
You can go to johnpisano.com, but here's what he says.
"After Peggy and Benny, I did a lot of stuff with Page Cavanaugh, and I was doing a lot of studio stuff. I had finally established myself in the studios. Then, one day, I got a call from Herb Alpert, who I sort of fluffed off at the time. I told him, ‘To be honest with you, I couldn’t take your music seriously.’ I told him I’d work a couple of weeks with him, because I had some friends who were in the band, and I thought it would be fun to get out of town. His first two or three Tijuana Brass albums had been done with studio guys. Tommy Tedesco played guitar on them originally.
When it came time that they wanted to do live performances, Herb had to put a real band together. By then, the albums were very successful. Musically, I just couldn’t get interested in it, but when we got off the road, he needed a tune for an album, which I provided for him. When I got my first royalty check in the mail, it convinced me that I should take it much more seriously!
I joined him in the later part of 1967. That was a very good connection because aside from performing with The Tijuana Brass, and getting some tunes on their albums, I also recorded with a lot of artists who were on Herb’s A&M record label. I did all of the early Sergio Mendes’ early hits, and was doing some things with Burt Bacharach, as well. During that period, we were always traveling and recording. I was with Herb for about four years before the band folded. By the early seventies, studio work was becoming a little less lucrative, and a lot of people were complaining. If only they knew what it would be like today… it’s almost non-existent!”
