🎵 AotW AOTW: Herb Alpert - Midnight Sun (CD-5391)

[Captain Bacardi]

Herb Alpert
MIDNIGHT SUN
A&M CD-5391

Released 1992
NOTE: This was the last jazz album released by A&M Records

Format: CD/Cassette

Produced by Herb Alpert

Songs:

• 1. Midnight Sun (Lionel Hampton/Sonny Burke/Johnny Mercer) - 6:05
  2. All The Things You Are (Oscar Hammerstein II/Jerome Kern) - 3:53
  3. Someone To Watch Over Me (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) - 5:16
  4. In The Wee Small Hours (Bob Hilliard/David Mann) - 5:53
  5. Friends (Eddie del Barrio/Herb Alpert) - 4:21
  6. A Taste Of Honey (Bobby Scott/Rick Marlow) - 6:52
  7. Mona Lisa (Jay Livingston/Ray Evans) - 5:46
  8. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face (Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe) - 5:07
  9. Silent Tears And Roses (Eddie del Barrio) - 3:50
  10. Smile (Charles Chaplin/John Terner/Geoffrey Parsons) - 4:13

Musicians:
Herb Alpert - Trumpet, Vocals (3, 8 )
Frank Collett - Piano
Monty Budwig - Bass
Harvey Mason - Drums
Larry Carlton - Guitar
John Pisano - Guitar
Barry Zweig - Guitar
Stan Getz - Tenor Sax (5)
Eddie del Barrio - Piano (5)
Jeff Hamilton - Drums (5)

Arranged and Conducted by Eddie del Barrio
String Contractor: Bill Hughes

Recorded at A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA
Remixed at Ocean Way Studios, Hollywood, CA
Engineer: Steve Smith
Assistant Engineers: Greg Goldman, John Aguto, Ed Goodreau, Thom Russo, Eric Rudd
Mastered by Bernie Grundman

Art Direction: Roland Young
Design: Shiffman/Young Design Group
Photography: Jurgen Reisch


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captaindave]

I bought Midnight Sun wanting to hear how Herb Alpert would play and sound on this particular kind of music.

One of my favorite things about Herb Alpert is the way he sounds - his tone; and the way he phrases and interprets a song - any song. I don't think there is another trumpet player who can give music the Herb Alpert "treatment." Of course, you wouldn't expect anyone else to sound like that. No one can copy that sound and styling.

I wish there was less use of mute. My preferences on the album are the songs that Herb plays on the open horn. I know that certain styles of music favor mute use. But, I have been a trumpet player myself for nearly forty years, and I have always learned to appreciate outstanding tone quality. To me, the thing that makes a trumpet player great is sound.

So, while I appreciate the album, I would have been a lot happier if there had been a lot more open horn, because these songs would have really been great with Herb letting us hear them with his unique sound and styling. IMO, the mute gets in the way...

 

[Phil Fox]

Too much mute for my taste. This album for me is the farthest away from the TJB sound of any of Herb's albums. I know that this album was never intended to be like the brass albums, but they will always be my standard by which all will be judged.

On the other hand, this is the only Herb Alpert CD of which I have an autographed copy!

Phil

 

[DAN BOLTON]

I heard a jazz station DDJ refer to this album as, "Herb's first accoustic album"...and to me, that's the context it really belongs in. It is, by far, the most removed body of work from the old TJB days as Herb could get...and I really don't consider that a bad thing. It shows me just how versatile Herb can be.


As for the mute...the selections call out for it; so for me, it's a moot point. This is a quiet , after-hours album...and I wish that there were more of these in the canon. I might just be in the minority, but so be it.

I keep thinking that Herb must've opened Vibrato so that he could play music like this when the mood strikes him...




Dan

 

[Harry]

This one's bitterwseet for me. Like Dan, I find the use of mutes to be appropriate for the material, and the album is a soothing one - as far away from NORTH ON SOUTH STREET as one can get. It's a tribute to Herb's versatility that he could release two such albums consecutively.

Bittersweet because it's the last album of new material Herb would do for the label he co-founded. Thirty years had passed since "The Lonely Bull" had charged its way onto A&M Records, and this album was Herb's farewell effort. The softer, muted sounds seem more appropriate in that context - like it's the sad quiet music that's playing as Herb's cleaning out his office. Strains of "A Taste Of Honey" and "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face", two old TjB-era songs reinforce that feeling.

Even more poignant is the final track. Written by Charlie Chaplin, who built "the Lot", it's a truly fitting closer.

Harry
NP: MIDNIGHT SUN, Herb Alpert

 

[LPJim]

Little did we know we'd have to wait about 4 years for Herb's next recording; and what a turbulent time it would be.
First we endured the sale to Polygram and the end of the 4100-5403 series of albums. There were no Herb recordings in the 0000 series, and Almo Sounds didn't start releasing anything until '95, with SECOND WIND finally emerging a year later.
I haven't gotten used to seeing a Herb release without an A&M logo yet.
JB

 

[martin]

I think Midnight Sun is a beautiful album. It is a vulnerable project, acoustic, no trace of the "synthpop" elements of many previous efforts, and Herb's interpretations carry the album. When reading Bacharach's liner notes on "Definitive Hits" it is clear that he liked it too...

- greetings from the north -
Martin

 

[PartyRico]

Perfection is NOT an accident, and "Midnight Sun" is perfect. Yes in a way I too see it as Herb's bittersweet goodbye to the A&M paradigm. This is Herb doing it "his way". Jazz is my religion too, and I feel it's one of Herb's best. I would love to see Herb release some of the great music featured on his "Music For The Eyes" recently shown on the Sundance channel. Some are collaborations between Herb and Jeff Lorber, with Michel Colombier, or with Eddie Del Barrio. The music if fabulous, and I hope it becomes available to us. That documentary on Herb and his paintings and sculptures was awesome, but one was left wanting for more than little "snippets" of great trumpet playing. By the way both Herb and Lani look great! Lani was her usual lovely and gracious self! Two classy people who belong together.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

When this album came out I was going through some trying times as my dad was dying, so this was somewhat of a depressing listening at first. However, I soon started to enjoy this quite a bit. I think this is an album that Herb needed to make. To me this was Herb breaking out of his usual mold. I was most impressed with how naked he was playing the trumpet. No echo, no reverb or any of those other gimmicks that was on his funk/pop/fusion albums. And I think he came out sounding pretty damn good. I like the choice of songs for the most part, although I thought "Mona Lisa" was a bit tedious. The strings were a bit lumbersome in this song as well as on "All The Things You Are". As usual, I didn't care for Herb's singing, although he did have a bit of a Chet Baker-ish sound to "Someone To Watch Over Me". I absolutely loved "In The Wee Small Hours", and it was great to hear Herb and Stan Getz together on the poignant "Friends". "A Taste Of Honey" got quite a bit of airplay on the jazz stations here, and I'm glad Herb didn't revert to any kind of TJB sound on this arrangement. Overall, I'd give this 3, maybe 3 & 1/2 stars.

Incidentally, bassist Monty Budwig died shortly after doing this recording. He was a very solid bass player.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[PartyRico]

Monty Budwig was an awesome bassist, and his work with Pete Jolly, Shorty Rodgers and the Condolli brothers on the "Lighthouse All-Stars" recordings was excellent.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I should mention that there was a video released for "Someone To Watch Over Me". Herb also played this song and "A Taste Of Honey" on Jay Leno back in 1992, complete with a string section!


Capt. Bacardi