šŸ”Š Audio Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass with Johnny Mathis & Bill Dana (Hollywood Bowl, 9-11-65)

There is a comment in the section under the video about Art Mooshigian by his step son. Any truth to the rumor?

 
I never heard such a thing. Art played 2nd trumpet in several TJB TV appearances back when. I guessed that
perhaps after that, he didn't want to be on the road touring - don't know for sure.
 
This was great...although a little rough & less polished compared to shows later on (circa 1967). Thanks for posting.
 
Wow! Definitely late to this party, but am eternally glad the door was open, I heard the music and came on in (thanks, Harry)!

Hearing this historical artifact for the first time is truly excitingā€¦

Here are some takeaways:
  • We finally get to hear Lou. He swings!
  • Itā€™s great to hear Nic open up. He is a very melodic drummer and truly the musical backbone of the combo.
  • The group vocal harmonies (which were really decent) were a pleasant surprise.
  • Three trumpeters? I didnā€™t notice any 3-part harmony from the trumpets, so Tonni and Art must be doubling up ā€” (and quite well at that).
  • Herb doesnā€™t ever stretch out (neither does Tonnie or Art for that matter): zilcho improv.
  • !!Going Places!! was released MON/13SEP65.
  • Only 3 songs were performed from WC&OD.
  • The brass had a solid 4-year run as a major concert attraction.
  • Who in the brass asked about his new cufflinks?
  • Herb characterized the TjB as: "Tongue-in-cheek musicā€¦weā€™re not that seriousā€¦". I was unprepared for the overall the party band vibe, which is quite at odds with Mathis' heavier and emotive style. The brass also played very loose... If the brass always played like this I could see why no live concert recordings were issued. It's a night-and-day difference between what going on here and what Herb had in '75 on the The Midnight Special. (That said, most "live" 1960s LPs were either an amalgam of several dates and/or underwent serious post-production, or were in reality "live in studio" outings (like Cannonball Adderleyā€™s famous Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! LP from 1966.)
  • If this was a "reference recording" Iā€™d like to know for what ā€” how much distortion one can capture on tape??? For openers, Mathis often overmodulated and there were notable sonic issues with Pat's electric bass guitar...
I also thought it was humorous to hear Herb getting the "friendship award" or whatever it was from the Mexican government. Today if a bunch of Italian and Jewish guys played mock-Mariachi music and shouted "Ole" for an hour on stage, they'd probably be called racists instead.
iOle`! to that! šŸ˜‰
 
Sounds like Bobā€™s voice asking about the cuff links.

And, I would call Herbā€™s solo on the outro of Iā€™ve Grown Accustom to Her Face stretching out and totally improvised!

Thereā€™s also some more ā€œnoodlingā€ and ad-lib during the rubato sections of A Taste of Honey.
 
Point taken, TjbBmb...but I was thinking more like Herb taking a full chorus where we get a new off-the-cuff melody. (Bob and Julius have major jazz chops so the talent was there to open up some solo space if Herb wanted to go that route with the Brass in concert... John had a few brief solo spots and although he has jazz chops, that dang 12-string is no walk-in-the-park when it comes to nuance: the 2nd set of strings takes away all the agility that is a hallmark of melodic jazz guitar.)
 
Wow! Definitely late to this party, but am eternally glad the door was open, I heard the music and came on in (thanks, Harry)!

Hearing this historical artifact for the first time is truly excitingā€¦

Here are some takeaways:
  • We finally get to hear Lou. He swings!
  • Itā€™s great to hear Nic open up. He is a very melodic drummer and truly the musical backbone of the combo.
  • The group vocal harmonies (which were really decent) were a pleasant surprise.
  • Three trumpeters? I didnā€™t notice any 3-part harmony from the trumpets, so Tonni and Art must be doubling up ā€” (and quite well at that).
  • Herb doesnā€™t ever stretch out (neither does Tonnie or Art for that matter): zilcho improv.
  • !!Going Places!! was released MON/13SEP65.
  • Only 3 songs were performed from WC&OD.
  • The brass had a solid 4-year run as a major concert attraction.
  • Who in the brass asked about his new cufflinks?
  • Herb characterized the TjB as: "Tongue-in-cheek musicā€¦weā€™re not that seriousā€¦". I was unprepared for the overall the party band vibe, which is quite at odds with Mathis' heavier and emotive style. The brass also played very loose... If the brass always played like this I could see why no live concert recordings were issued. It's a night-and-day difference between what going on here and what Herb had in '75 on the The Midnight Special. (That said, most "live" 1960s LPs were either an amalgam of several dates and/or underwent serious post-production, or were in reality "live in studio" outings (like Cannonball Adderleyā€™s famous Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! LP from 1966.)
  • If this was a "reference recording" Iā€™d like to know for what ā€” how much distortion one can capture on tape??? For openers, Mathis often overmodulated and there were notable sonic issues with Pat's electric bass guitar...

iOle`! to that! šŸ˜‰
I would imagine a ā€œreference recordingā€œ in this case is simply an an audio document of the event, in case an incident occurs and the venue needs to prove or disprove something. If the event goes off without a hitch, it can be erased and recorded over, to prevent bootlegging. In this case, Iā€™m glad the order was ignored.
 
I would imagine a ā€œreference recordingā€œ in this case is simply an an audio document of the event
Got it! In my myopic audio world, I heretofore understood "reference recording" to mean a recording of superior quality (against which to sonically measure all others). I conjecture that many (if not "all") Hollywood Bowl performances were recorded... About ten-or-so years back one such recording of Bud & Travis (from 13AUG65) turned up first on their website as an mp3 download and then receiving a commercial release.
 
Got it! In my myopic audio world, I heretofore understood "reference recording" to mean a recording of superior quality (against which to sonically measure all others). I conjecture that many (if not "all") Hollywood Bowl performances were recorded... About ten-or-so years back one such recording of Bud & Travis (from 13AUG65) turned up first on their website as an mp3 download and then receiving a commercial release.
Both from ā€˜65. Iā€™m betting whoever was responsible that summer may have ā€œforgottenā€ to erase more.
 
Point taken, TjbBmb...but I was thinking more like Herb taking a full chorus where we get a new off-the-cuff melody. (Bob and Julius have major jazz chops so the talent was there to open up some solo space if Herb wanted to go that route with the Brass in concert


Thereā€™s an interesting quote off the back of one of those Chet Baker Mexican Brass albums where I believe itā€™s Leonard Feather interviewing Herb. He says ā€œone of these days Iā€™m going to put jazz into the Tijuana Brass.ā€

I guess we had to wait until the reformed TJB for that...
 
Both from ā€˜65. Iā€™m betting whoever was responsible that summer may have ā€œforgottenā€ to erase more.
I'm sure there are a few Ā¼" reels now lost to time that were board feeds from this and other venues. (Man, if I was anywhere near the board I'd bribe one of the recording engineers to split a mono feed off to my portable RtR!)
 
When Bob did his bit on Struttin' with Maria at the Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago, (just prior to the release of WNML) it was boasted that he could play the trombone and cymbals at the same time. As the song progressed, he became more out of breath and disheveled. Afterwards, he put the cymbals on his wrists and asked if his cuff links were "too much." As I remember it, he also held them up to the sides of his head and asked how everyone liked his new "Hollywood earrings." Some years later, they replaced that with another feature where Bob did an elongated "OK, everybody clap" bit with the audience. I saw this one at The Milwaukee State Fair.
 
Songs performed by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass:

The Lonely Bull
All My Loving
Hello Dolly
Winds Of Barcelona
Mae
The Girl From Ipanema
Bittersweet Samba
Never On Sunday
Tijuana Taxi
I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
Struttin' With Maria
Acapulco 1922
Mexican Shuffle
A Taste Of Honey
Third Man Theme
Up Cherry Street
Whipped Cream
South Of The Border

This should satisfy all of the many fans over the years here who have expressed a desire for a Tijuana Brass live concert recording. This one's from the soundboard, sounds really good, has audience noise at a minumum, and features all of the in-between banter and antics.

Makes a great live CD!
God, what a great line-up of tunes!!
 
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