Why did the TJB disband?

[lounge lizard]

Does anybody know why the original TJB dissolved around 1970? It seemed to me with great LPs like Warm and Summertime that the band was entering a new phase, and then it just ended. Did the TJB's popularity drop off around that time, or was Herb just burnt out? When was their final tour?

Also, how many surviving original TJB members are there, and are they still making music?

One final note: Doesn't Brad Garrett (Robert) from "Everybody Loves Raymond" look just like Bob Edmundson from the TJB?

This is a great site!

 

[seashorepiano]

The members of TJB, like any other musical group, probably started to realize that their individual interests weren't being satisfied by the music Alpert wanted to play (let's be real, his influence on what cuts they made was immense). I'm sure that they also weren't willing to go electric as so many other jazz artists were in the early seventies. Market sales, if they kept up their original signature style of the mid-sixties, would have probably dropped because the jazz audience was developing an ear for electrified jazz (some would say this was foisted on them).

One quick side note... whether or not TJB's music is "easy listening" is debatable. It was certainly laid-back music, but let's also look at the time it was recorded. This was pretty remarkable stuff for its time, and wasn't really easy to listen to (at least if you weren't just turning the dial when you were stuck on the freeway in the afternoon), by any means. Herb and his group were capable of turning out subtle harmonies that you can detect on a close listening. There's a lot more intricate aspects of this music that the lounge movement of the 1990s had sadly overlooked. Hopefully this decade will see a change.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

The TJB did not "break up." The band was basically a group of employees of Herb; they were simply let go when Herb decided to disband the touring group. His growing dissatisfaction with the assembly-line grind of the music biz around that time is well known; in fact he even gave up playing the trumpet for a short time.

I agree also that the TJB music is definitely NOT in the easy-listening category. I prefer to think of it as "instrumental pop." Easy listening is stuff you can put on in the background and not notice it...where the TJB music pretty much demands to be noticed.

 

[Captaindave]

Does anybody know why the original TJB dissolved around 1970? It seemed to me with great LPs like Warm and Summertime that the band was entering a new phase, and then it just ended. Did the TJB's popularity drop off around that time, or was Herb just burnt out? When was their final tour?

Also, how many surviving original TJB members are there, and are they still making music?

One final note: Doesn't Brad Garrett (Robert) from "Everybody Loves Raymond" look just like Bob Edmundson from the TJB?

This is a great site!

The band did not disband... Herb disbanded it for them. It was his group, and the other players were hired sidemen.

The TJB had run its course in popular music, so to speak, from 1962 till 1969, when the popularity of the sound was in serious decline. Herb did not wish to pursue the sound any longer, had become "burned out," and called it quits in terms of that particular chapter of the story of Herb Alpert.

The members of the TJB that are pictured on album covers that are still living are John Pisano, Pat Senatore, Bob Edmondson, and of course Herb Alpert. Deceased are Nick Ceroli, Lou Pagani, and Tonni Kalash. Julius Wechter, who was not officially a "member" of the TJB, but the leader of the Baja Marimba band, is also deceased. He played marimba on many of the albums.

Maybe someone who knows how to post a link can lead you to search the site, as this topic has had quite a bit of discussion in the past...

 

[Captaindave]

The TJB did not "break up." The band was basically a group of employees of Herb; they were simply let go when Herb decided to disband the touring group. His growing dissatisfaction with the assembly-line grind of the music biz around that time is well known; in fact he even gave up playing the trumpet for a short time.

I agree also that the TJB music is definitely NOT in the easy-listening category. I prefer to think of it as "instrumental pop." Easy listening is stuff you can put on in the background and not notice it...where the TJB music pretty much demands to be noticed.

I agree. Instrumental pop is a very good term for TJB music.

I do remember hearing "Mae" played on easy listening radio back in the sixties when the easy listening format was heard.

 

[seashorepiano]

The TJB did not "break up." The band was basically a group of employees of Herb; they were simply let go when Herb decided to disband the touring group. His growing dissatisfaction with the assembly-line grind of the music biz around that time is well known; in fact he even gave up playing the trumpet for a short time.

I agree also that the TJB music is definitely NOT in the easy-listening category. I prefer to think of it as "instrumental pop." Easy listening is stuff you can put on in the background and not notice it...where the TJB music pretty much demands to be noticed.

I agree. Instrumental pop is a very good term for TJB music.

I do remember hearing "Mae" played on easy listening radio back in the sixties when the easy listening format was heard.

I second the agreement with Mike's term for TJB music: instrumental pop. We can't forget what actually made up the music itself: trombones, trumpets, guitars, marimbas, and so forth.

 

[lgarvin]

Getting back to the original question, Herb originally stated when announcing the breakup that the popularity of the group had waned, with empty seats at the concert halls instead of the prior "SRO" crowds. But years later, when he reincarnated the group, he revealed that he had suffered the kind of psychological breakdown that happens to many celebrities. At some point the fast paced high esteem lifestyle just got to him and he couldn't take it anymore. He had also divorced his first wife, which surely added to his personal crisis. But he then got involved with Lani Hall, who would become his new wife, and apparently she helped him get through the rough times, so he was able to make a comeback, albeit at a slower pace.

The sequel question is: Has Herb quit making music again? We hear about the coming reissues and about his restaurant and philanthropy work, but does anyone know if he plans to make any new music? Yes, I'm one of those TJB fans mentioned on the Passion Dance cover, who always asks "When are you gonna make another record?"

 

[Captain Bacardi]

The sequel question is: Has Herb quit making music again?

I would answer this as "no" for right now. He hasn't quit playing, as demonstrated on all of the guest appearances on other artists albums. He's obviously been busy with his art work, as well as the reissues, philanthropy and restaurant.

My guess is that he's not all that excited about making a new album right now. The music scene has been in a funk for quite some time, and maybe he's not sure where he would fit in right now. This is all guesswork, obviously. It could be that he's just waiting for that right song(s) to give him that spark again. Then again he could just be sick and tired of the whole music biz these days. Only Herb knows for sure.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captaindave]

The sequel question is: Has Herb quit making music again?

I would answer this as "no" for right now. He hasn't quit playing, as demonstrated on all of the guest appearances on other artists albums. He's obviously been busy with his art work, as well as the reissues, philanthropy and restaurant.

My guess is that he's not all that excited about making a new album right now. The music scene has been in a funk for quite some time, and maybe he's not sure where he would fit in right now. This is all guesswork, obviously. It could be that he's just waiting for that right song(s) to give him that spark again. Then again he could just be sick and tired of the whole music biz these days. Only Herb knows for sure.



Capt. Bacardi

I'm obviously only speaking for myself, and not trying to put any words in anyone's mouth, but I know that as I look around the so-called music scene today, as a TJB and related artists fan, I would not "fit in" anywhere. Nothing today or even in recent years, resembles anything I grew up listening to, and even remotely suits my likes and tastes.

Had I been Herb Alpert, and had the musical experiences he has had behind me, I would find today's music totally without any redeeming merit, and would be very glad to avoid the pop music scene completely. I would be quite content to stay out of the music business, and let my contribution stand on its own merits.

 

[thetijuanataxi]

I disagree. If artists like Herb Alpert give up and put away their horns then the music scene is definitely doomed. There has to be someone to remind us what good music sounds like. Besides, wouldn't the unreleased TJB songs that Herb is adding fresh trumpets to count as a "new" release? I know I am extremely looking forward to never before heard tracks with Herb and all the original TJB members. I'd love something completely new from Herb as well. Something with strong latin flavor as that is what he does best. But, Herb has always done his best work when inspired by something, so I guess we'll have to wait until the next time that happens.

David,
anxiously awaiting ANYTHING new from Herb with or without the TJB

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Captaindave: You must remember that the "music scene" is a vast landscape, and FAR more wide-reaching than the current "top 40" charts would have us believe. There's still room for all kinds of music out there, including Herb Alpert music (old and new).