"Warm"..It's 40 this June!

[Captaindave]

Back at that time, Brazilian music the likes of Stan Getz/Astrud Gilberto was very popular.

Their rendition of Girl From Ipanema was a Top 40 hit on AM radio in 1964.

 

[audiofile]

And he also did "The Girl from Ipanema" on SOUTH OF THE BORDER. Maybe he was influenced by Brazilian music without even thinking about it!

He does the B-sections as a bossa, but Herb used a tango form for the A-sections. The odd juxtaposition is amazingly attractive -- some early insight into Herb's arranging genius.

Yes Jo! I always listened to Herb's version of Girl From Ipanema when I was younger. I never realized just how great this arrangement is!

 

[JOv2]

And he also did "The Girl from Ipanema" on SOUTH OF THE BORDER. Maybe he was influenced by Brazilian music without even thinking about it!

He does the B-sections as a bossa, but Herb used a tango form for the A-sections. The odd juxtaposition is amazingly attractive -- some early insight into Herb's arranging genius.

Yes Jo! I always listened to Herb's version of Girl From Ipanema when I was younger. I never realized just how great this arrangement is!

Audiofile --

What strikes me most about it is how, as a soloist, he approaches each section with completely different articulation and dynamics -- as though two different players are on hand: The A-section, is very up-front and brassy -- nearly forced with its tight, rigid tango; the B-section, on the other hand, is sedate and passive...his tone genuinely sweet and soulful. What a guy, eh? ...and this selection follows South Of The Border with its robust fender bass and gorgeously soaring trumpet/trombone harmonies...hell of a way to kick of a great LP! Based on the playing of these two tunes alone, it's clear Herb (as both a soloist and an arranger) had progressed a few orders of magnitude from the first two LPs.

 

[audiofile]

My feelings exactly. I also love how the reverb gets cranked up on Herb's trumpet for the B sections. Herb also uses this effect during What Now My Love. Say what you want about Herb as a trumpet player.....this man was/is truely an artist.

 

[manifan]

When I purchased it I remember being a bit disappointed in Warm because it didn't sound like the rest of the TJB LPs. After listening to it, the difference grew on me. Today it is by far my favorite of all of them. I can honestly say I love every song, and it never gets old.

 

[Steven J. Gross]

When I purchased it I remember being a bit disappointed in Warm because it didn't sound like the rest of the TJB LPs. After listening to it, the difference grew on me. Today it is by far my favorite of all of them. I can honestly say I love every song, and it never gets old.

I felt the same as you!!![align=left:72588ee192][/align:72588ee192]

 

[DAN BOLTON]

When I purchased it I remember being a bit disappointed in Warm because it didn't sound like the rest of the TJB LPs. After listening to it, the difference grew on me. Today it is by far my favorite of all of them. I can honestly say I love every song, and it never gets old.

I felt the same as you!!![align=left:c408202519][/align:c408202519]

I remember hearing the promo spot that played on WLS-Chicago( THE radio station we listened to here in central Indiana until Larry Lujack went to WCFL...) and thinking, "This is great music, but it's too sophisticated for the typical listener...it'll never sell..."; and, sadly...it didn't. It's obvious that Herb poured his heart and soul into this album, and it must have been devastating when it was obvious that WARM wasn't going to be a chart-topper.

By the time I finally got a chance to buy the album, it had already been out for a year or so, and I'd already played all the singles to death; but the orchestration on the tunes I hadn't heard previously really floored me. I was amazed at the variety of styles, the texture of the arrangements...it was wonderful, but it was different than any TJB album that went before it. You really had to be a fan of Herb Alpert and have an appreciation for quality music to appreciate this album. If you were just a casual listener, it went over your head. This is a sit-down, put-the-headphones-on-and-shut-everything-else-out album.

And, after 40 years, it still feels good to do just that. This music really IS timeless, more so than any other TJB album.


Dan

 

[Rudy]

I was amazed at the variety of styles, the texture of the arrangements...it was wonderful, but it was different than any TJB album that went before it.

I've said in the past that Warm could almost be considered his first "solo" album, as it is such a stylistic leap, and I'm betting that not many of the TJB's personnel played together on many of these tracks.

 

[Steven J. Gross]

The word "masterpiece" comes to mind...

 

[audiofile]

I was amazed at the variety of styles, the texture of the arrangements...it was wonderful, but it was different than any TJB album that went before it.

I've said in the past that Warm could almost be considered his first "solo" album, as it is such a stylistic leap, and I'm betting that not many of the TJB's personnel played together on many of these tracks.

I'm betting that at least Nick Ceroli, John Pisano, Julius Wechter, and Pat Senatore are on most if not all of the tracks. It's not doubt that that's Nick Ceroli's drumming on Sea Is My Soil, The Continental, Zazuiera, Warm, Sandbox, Majorine. And of course that's Pisano's 12 string on Sandbox....and Julius Wechter's vibes on Continental.... There's really no reason to call this a Herb Alpert solo album. Yes there was a stylistic turn for this release, but solo........? I don't think so.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Well it's a solo album in terms of not being part of the "official" Tijuana Brass "sound." Compared to the album that came before it, it's a complete change of direction whereas up to now, there had been more subtle shifts of style from one record to the next. This one hits you over the head that it's very different right from the beginning of the first song. Add in all the vocals, and this seems more like a "Herb Alpert" album than a "Tijuana Brass" album, regardless of who is playing the instruments.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

A very underrated classic in my opinion. The Sea Is My Soil alone is worth the cost of purchasing one and a fine turntable. Zazuiera and Without Her are icing on the cake. I have 2 minty copies of this classic LP and my own superb needledrop of a mint LP I own. If you've never heard it, grab a copy.

 

[Captaindave]

Well it's a solo album in terms of not being part of the "official" Tijuana Brass "sound." Compared to the album that came before it, it's a complete change of direction whereas up to now, there had been more subtle shifts of style from one record to the next. This one hits you over the head that it's very different right from the beginning of the first song. Add in all the vocals, and this seems more like a "Herb Alpert" album than a "Tijuana Brass" album, regardless of who is playing the instruments.

This is the way I have learned to regard the WARM album, and since adopting this view, I have learned to appreciate it much more on its own merits.

I grew up listening to the Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass sound and gradually evolving style in the 1960s; from the Lonely Bull through BOTB. That was the so called "conditioning period" for my listening, enjoyment, and appreciation of this music.

When WARM first appeared I sort of went... "What?" "Is this really Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass?" "How come it sounds so different?" "Where is the sound I am used to hearing...where is the bright and resonant trumpet...?" "What is all this flugelhorn sound?" "What's up with all this orchestration which tends to rise up every so often and overwhelm and bury everything else?" "What kinds of songs are these?"

I thought that Herb was trying to create more vocals since he had recently experienced vocal success with This Guy's In Love...on BOTB. OK... but I wanted to hear trumpet more than vocals...just my preference; especially being a trumpet player myself and doing a lot of modeling of my own playing style on Herb. I was looking for more songs and sounds like those to which I had grown accustomed.

So, I was looking for WARM to sound like all the rest of the previous seven years of sound and style...when it didn't I was somewhat disappointed.

However...over time I have changed my view of all this and the above post reflects my current view quite well. I do enjoy WARM now as an album of its own kind, sound, and style. I now listen to WARM as a Herb Alpert album pretty much divested of the Tijuana Brass and transitioning to Herb Alpert - soloist. Not long after WARM, Herb did officially disband the TJB and abandon public performing for the subsequent period of time.

 

[Captaindave]

I now listen to WARM as a Herb Alpert album pretty much divested of the Tijuana Brass and transitioning to Herb Alpert - soloist. Not long after WARM, Herb did officially disband the TJB and abandon public performing for the subsequent period of time.

So, in retrospect, it all kind of fits together.

 

[Rudy]

Well it's a solo album in terms of not being part of the "official" Tijuana Brass "sound." Compared to the album that came before it, it's a complete change of direction whereas up to now, there had been more subtle shifts of style from one record to the next. This one hits you over the head that it's very different right from the beginning of the first song. Add in all the vocals, and this seems more like a "Herb Alpert" album than a "Tijuana Brass" album, regardless of who is playing the instruments.

That's my view of it. This album was a change in the stream.

I don't know if I mentioned it earlier, but I think the TJB name had to do more with marketing the album than its actual contents (performers, production, sound, etc.). Back then, TJB was a known, marketable entity--would people accept a solo Herb Alpert album back then? Maybe not. Having TJB on the cover would fetch more sales. Hate to be blunt, but this has happened in the past with other bands as well. Ray Parker Jr. went by the name Raydio even though he performed much of the music himself, as group names were more in fashion back then. After a few albums and some chart success he finally dropped the Raydio name. Even Herb phased out the "Tijuana Brass" name, calling it the "TJB" on the 70s albums, then dropping it altogether with his first album under his name alone.

As for the side musicians on the album, they're just filling a need. Sorry to be blunt again, but when someone like Herb Alpert needs a certain sound or certain touch, he goes with the person who gives it to him. Maybe he needs an electric bass with a different touch? No slight against the great Pat Senatore, but it could be that he just needed something different on a track.

Another parallel I can draw using this idea is with Pat Metheny's Secret Story album, which is one of my desert island discs. It is under Pat's name alone, and he has a huge cast of musicians on this one (even a full orchestra). And yet, you still see various Pat Metheny Group musicians on the album. Pat switched musicians in and out to get the sound he wanted. If it was the Lyle Mays piano sound he needed, that's who he used. And what about "Sunlight"? No drummer, not even Steve Ferrone or the Group's Paul Wertico, had the touch he wanted...so he actually had a drum programmer come in and create exactly what he wanted. Pat himself plays piano on one of the tracks as well--his take just had a certain feel to it. He easily could have used Lyle Mays or Gil Goldstein.

So no, I don't doubt that some musicians from the TJB played on Warm and Summertime...but the whole stylistic ideas of both were far from the TJB sound in most cases. That's where I can make an argument for calling these "solo" albums, despite the band name on the cover.