Two of the most prestigious live music venues in New York City are Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass played Carnegie Hall in 1966. Sunday night, Herb was back to play New York. This time, the group was smaller and so was the venue. Herb Alpert and Lani Hall performed with their band (Bill Cantos, Hussain Jiffry and Michael Shapiro) for the American Songbook Series at the Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Lincoln Center. This is a most intimate venue, with a stage "backdrop" of floor to ceiling windows providing a spectacular view of Columbus Circle and the city.
While the "visuals" were something special, what we heard were clearly "super sonics." Playing a mix of tunes from their Anything Goes and the recently released I Feel You CDs, Herb and Lani both, never sounded better. Having been to their shows since the first outing at Herb's Vibrato a few years back, I have to say that they keep getting better and better. Herb's playing is clear and strong - in fact, he even played without amplification a couple times and easily filled the venue with his beautiful horn sound. Lani is just fantastic. From her tongue-twisting take on "Para-Raio" to her deeply emotional ballads, she is just a wonder to behold.
Herb explained that the basic structure of each tune has been set, then he and the band follow and surround Lani. Each night the song is slightly different, as the musicians are free to play as they will. And play they did! I don't think that Herb & Lani could have found a better band anywhere. All three are accomplished musicians.
For this show, we were seated to the right and had a better opportunity to watch Michael Shapiro work. He is simply amazing! Hussain Jiffry not only plays his bass with great vigor, but he smiles ALL the time! We have been fans of Bill Cantos for some time, in fact, I first met him years back, when he was on tour with Sergio. It's quite clear that they are all having a lot of fun playing for Herb & Lani and appreciate so very much the opportunity to perform together with them. A guilty pleasure for me is to watch the glances and exchanges between them as they play. With the free-form style of play, Herb also smiles a lot when he hears each band member come up with a new and slightly different way to play each night.
Set List:
Besame Mucho
Para-Raio
Moondance
Fever
Viola Fora De Moda
Medley: Rise, The Lonely Bull, Tijuana Taxi, A Taste Of Honey
Let's Face The Music And Dance
Morning Coffee
I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
Blackbird
'Til There Was You
That Old Black Magic / Anything Goes
I've Got You Under My Skin
Laura
Encore
Jobim Medly - Agua De Beber, Corcovado, One Note Samba / Spanish Flea
What Now My Love
Night And Day
To wrap up, here's some "inside baseball" info. Jerry Moss was in the audience. A fan asked about Lani's back-catalog - Herb said that her first two albums are being digitized for an expected next year release. Some of their tour schedule was adjusted, so that Hussain and Michael could play some dates for Sergio Mendes. Bill Cantos is hoping that his new CD will be released next summer. There are some potential tunes for bonus tracks on the Japanese release, but not definite. Oh, almost forgot - they were doing something on Monday at Sirius XM Radio - don't know if they were playing or just doing an interview.
Backstage At Lincoln Center
(L to R: Steve Sidoruk, Herb Alpert, Stephen Vakil, Andrea Sidoruk & Lani Hall)
While the "visuals" were something special, what we heard were clearly "super sonics." Playing a mix of tunes from their Anything Goes and the recently released I Feel You CDs, Herb and Lani both, never sounded better. Having been to their shows since the first outing at Herb's Vibrato a few years back, I have to say that they keep getting better and better. Herb's playing is clear and strong - in fact, he even played without amplification a couple times and easily filled the venue with his beautiful horn sound. Lani is just fantastic. From her tongue-twisting take on "Para-Raio" to her deeply emotional ballads, she is just a wonder to behold.
Herb explained that the basic structure of each tune has been set, then he and the band follow and surround Lani. Each night the song is slightly different, as the musicians are free to play as they will. And play they did! I don't think that Herb & Lani could have found a better band anywhere. All three are accomplished musicians.
For this show, we were seated to the right and had a better opportunity to watch Michael Shapiro work. He is simply amazing! Hussain Jiffry not only plays his bass with great vigor, but he smiles ALL the time! We have been fans of Bill Cantos for some time, in fact, I first met him years back, when he was on tour with Sergio. It's quite clear that they are all having a lot of fun playing for Herb & Lani and appreciate so very much the opportunity to perform together with them. A guilty pleasure for me is to watch the glances and exchanges between them as they play. With the free-form style of play, Herb also smiles a lot when he hears each band member come up with a new and slightly different way to play each night.
Set List:
Besame Mucho
Para-Raio
Moondance
Fever
Viola Fora De Moda
Medley: Rise, The Lonely Bull, Tijuana Taxi, A Taste Of Honey
Let's Face The Music And Dance
Morning Coffee
I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
Blackbird
'Til There Was You
That Old Black Magic / Anything Goes
I've Got You Under My Skin
Laura
Encore
Jobim Medly - Agua De Beber, Corcovado, One Note Samba / Spanish Flea
What Now My Love
Night And Day
To wrap up, here's some "inside baseball" info. Jerry Moss was in the audience. A fan asked about Lani's back-catalog - Herb said that her first two albums are being digitized for an expected next year release. Some of their tour schedule was adjusted, so that Hussain and Michael could play some dates for Sergio Mendes. Bill Cantos is hoping that his new CD will be released next summer. There are some potential tunes for bonus tracks on the Japanese release, but not definite. Oh, almost forgot - they were doing something on Monday at Sirius XM Radio - don't know if they were playing or just doing an interview.
Backstage At Lincoln Center
(L to R: Steve Sidoruk, Herb Alpert, Stephen Vakil, Andrea Sidoruk & Lani Hall)
