All language subtitles for Herb.Alpert.Is.2020.1080p.WEB.H264-HYMN

[catchy trumpet music]

[lighthearted trumpet music]

- Herb Alpert is
a cultural icon.

- Herb Alpert is funky.

- Herb Alpert is who I'd
like to be when I grow up.

- So now, ladies and gentlemen.

Direct from the border
by Tijuana taxi,

the number one recording
group in the world,

Herb Alpert and
the Tijuana Brass.

[clapping]

[catchy trumpet music]

- [Man] Tijuana Brass
became that universal sound

that everybody loved.

That sound was very unique.

[catchy trumpet music]

- [Man] It was an
incredibly popular sound.

It just made you happy.

[catchy trumpet music]

- [Man] Tijuana
Brass was everywhere,

you couldn't get away from it.

It's very inspiring, it was
very upbeat and very cool.

[catchy trumpet music]

- No musician ever had a year

like Herb had in 1965 and 6.

5 songs in the top 20,
4 of them in the top 10.

Sold more records
than the Beatles.

[catchy trumpet music]

Herb Alpert is butter.

[catchy trumpet music]

- [Man] No matter
who else is there,

Herb Alpert is always the
coolest person in the room.

[catchy trumpet music]

- [Herb] All of a
sudden, I was catapulted

into this thing
from one hit record

into many hit records.

It was pretty crazy.

I mean, we were selling
out these huge arenas

in three minutes.

And at that point
I realized, man,

I have the American
dream come true.

I'm famous, I'm rich,
but I'm miserable.

[catchy trumpet music]

[dramatic trumpet music]

- Herb Alpert is a
creative life force.

- She's done.

If you promise not
to tell anyone,

I'm going to cheat a little bit,

a little maple syrup.

But don't tell anyone.

Mm.

That's good stuff.

This is why I look like
I'm 82 and I'm really 83.

[laughing]

- Herb doesn't work creatively,
he lives creatively.

- I started sculpting,
I think around 1980.

Here's where I heat the wax,

and I pull it out, and
start fiddling some pieces.

I don't have a plan,
I'm just feeling my way,

hoping I can land on something
that makes me feel good.

It's like jazz.

You just play it, do
it, don't judge it.

And if you come back tomorrow,

this might change shape again.

You never know.

'Cause I leave it on
the counter there,

and then I'm having
lunch or dinner,

I'm looking at it, and I
might make some changes on it.

What I do is, I make
these small maquettes,

and then if they
qualify in my head,

that could turn
into a larger piece.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

My wife hates this
move, but here goes.

[torch blowing]

- Herb has always said

that when he came
to the trumpet,

it opened up a whole
area of his life

that he hadn't had
access to before.

But it's not just that,
he's found a similar outlet

in paint and sculpture.

So he's a person who's
found all kinds of ways

in which he can identify,
develop, and express

his own creative perceptionS.

And in that respect,

he's shaped a whole
life for himself.

[trumpet music]

- The most important
thing you can do

as a musician is practice.

That's how you get
to Carnegie Hall.

[jazzy trumpet music]

There's no shortcut.

You can think about wanting
to play an instrument

and it's not gonna do any good.

You have to really
get in there every day

and try to inch forward.

You never really get
to the end product.

You never get there.

That's the seductive
part of being an artist.

[jazzy trumpet music]

I don't know how to
describe what I do

other than I'm not affecting it,

it's just coming out.

It goes back to what
I seriously feel

is the whole essence of
making music, is the feel.

[somber piano music]

It has to feel good.

I think that's the ingredient.

If it touches me emotionally,
I'm in, that's all I need.

I use that process for
painting and sculpting.

If something touches you,

it touches you on
a very deep level.

I don't think people
listen with their ears.

I think they listen
with their soul.

[dramatic piano music]

This is Herbie Alpert
singing "Oh Johnny".

# Oh Johnny #

# Oh Johnny #

# Please tell me true #

# What makes me love you so #

# You're not
handsome, it's true #

# But when I look at you #

# Oh Johnny, Oh
Johnny, oh, oh, oh #

[lighthearted trumpet music]

Melrose Elementary School,
Los Angeles, California.

It doesn't look
anything like it looked

when I was going here,

but I have a lot of
memories about this place.

Some good, some not great.

I have this experience here,

the teacher in my
second grade unit,

she wasn't sure whether to
give me an A or a B in reading.

So she called in another teacher

and I was on the spot.

I had to read for this other
teacher and I panicked.

I was trembling and
didn't feel good.

I read part of a book,
and then she looked

at my original
teacher and she said,

"I don't think he's an A reader,

I think he's a B
reader at best."

And from that point on Herb
Alpert became an introvert.

[chuckles] I don't know,
I just became mute.

I just, I don't know it
just really affected me.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

When I was in the third grade,

there was a music appreciation
class and they had a table

filled with instruments.

They had French
horns, trombones,

clarinets, oboes, tubas,

everything you can
imagine, and a trumpet.

I happened to pick up
the trumpet because

it kind of fit in my hand,

and I tried to make
a sound out of it,

but I couldn't.

When I finally did make
some sense out of it,

it took a while.

The trumpet was talking for me.

So this guy who was an introvert

all of a sudden had a voice.

[dramatic trumpet music]

I was born in Boyle
Heights, east of LA.

And we moved to a house
in the Fairfax District

when I was about two years old,

I was the youngest
of the three kids.

My sister Mimi's the
oldest, she played piano.

My brother Dave was second,

was a professional drummer.

Although I wasn't as
close to my father

as I would've liked to have
been, he was a real hero.

He came to this country
when he was 16 years old.

Couldn't speak the language,
on a boat by himself,

and made a great life.

Certainly provided
a great life for me.

[lighthearted music]

Well, I come back here
about every 53 years.

[chuckling]

I haven't been here
since I was 19 years old

when I got drafted in the army.

Oh, well, so this is the room

where a lot of
action took place.

I used to practice right
in that area right there.

I used to practice just
about every day of my life,

and then one day I was playing

and one of the
neighbors yelled out,

"Hold it down!"

More like "Shut up!"

You know?

And my mom opened the
window and she said,

"Oh, he's gonna play louder."

You know, so. [chuckles]

She was in my
corner all the way.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

I was very lucky.

My parents supported
me with the lessons,

I had some wonderful teachers.

One particular
teacher, Ben Claskin,

who was lead trumpet player

in the San Francisco
Symphony Orchestra.

He really had an
impact on my life.

This one time, I
think I might've been
12 or 13 years old,

I played this etude for him

that was in the Arban's book,

which is a famous book that
most trumpet players study.

And I finished playing it
and I looked over to him

and he was like tearing up,

you know, I touched him.

You know?

So at that point I thought, hm,

maybe I do have something
on this instrument.

'Cause he was moved, you know?

And he wasn't that easily moved.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

In high school we
had a little trio

and we're in a period
when television

was first getting
started in Los Angeles,

and there was a show
called High Talent Battle.

So we entered the show
and we won like six,

seven weeks in a row.

Through that, we started
playing, you know,

parties and bar
mitzvahs and weddings.

After graduation, I was
drafted in the army.

I was sent to band school
in Fort Knox, Kentucky,

and I learned a
big lesson there.

You know, I was
kind of a hot shot

trumpet player from Los Angeles.

When I got to band school,

there were like 12
trumpet players there

that were all pretty
much better than me.

At that period I
was trying to play

a little bit like
Louis Armstrong,

a little bit like Harry James,

a little bit like Miles Davis.

And I came to the realization
like, who wants to hear that?

They've already done it.

I realized at that point,

if I was ever gonna be
a professional musician,

that I would have to
find my own voice.

- Herb Alpert is an artist
whose legacy will endure.

[trumpet music]

- Music and sculpting
and painting

takes me into a mysterious world

where I just get lost in it.

[catchy jazzy music]

I just use my instincts.

My instincts are
painting for me.

What I'm looking for
is something that
appeals to my senses

in terms of the
shape, the color.

Is it too busy, is
it not busy enough?

But it's also personal.

There's no one way to do it.

What might look good to me

might look terrible
to the next person,

but it's okay because I'm
not doing it for anyone else,

I'm doing it for my
own personal need.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

- People ask me often, how
do you define good art?

Or how do you define
successful art?

For me, I have a
pretty simple criteria.

Does it move me?

With Herb, I can honestly say

that there's an
emotional component

that when you see
the sculptures,

when you see the paintings,

it's really an
emotional experience.

When I say Herb
Alpert is an artist,

I mean something very specific.

Herb is compelled like
breathing and eating

to make music and
make sculptures

and to make paintings
every single day.

So, the true sense of an artist.

[dramatic trumpet music]

- Herb Alpert is my
dearest and oldest friend,

and that's what's important.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

- When I left the army,
I was making a living

playing with pickup bands.

$30 here, $40 here, $20 here.

But it wasn't gonna
lead any place,

it was just, you
know, I was surviving.

I met Lou Adler and we
hit it off immediately.

Something about our
energies just mesh.

We became friends.

Little by little, Lou
was showing me you
could write poetry,

which he wrote some
really nice poetry.

So I took the poetry
and I played piano,

and I started writing
songs to his poetry.

- He didn't speak much, which,
for me who didn't speak much,

when I realized I was
going to be the spokesman

for this duo, it was
sort of challenging.

I mean, I could go
all day with Herbie,

and the only reason
I knew he was there

was he was practicing trumpet.

The first thing that we
did, we wrote four songs,

cut four demos.

- We knocked on all the doors.

We went to publishers
all around Los Angeles,

we went to this
one record company,

Specialty Records, where Sonny
Bono was the head A&R man.

So he listened to all
these songs and he said,

"You know, to tell you
the truth, you guys,

I think you ought to
get out of the business,

and you don't have it."

So we didn't take his advice.

And we kept going,

and we landed a contract with
Keen Records as staff writers.

And their big artists
was Sam Cooke.

# Whoa, whoa #

# You, you send me #

# I know you send me #

# I know you send me #

# Honest you do #

- [Lou] Sam Cooke was
a tremendous individual

as far as his soul
and his heart.

- Sam Cooke was a
brilliant artist.

He was very natural, authentic,
he could write songs.

He would keep this notebook
with a bunch of poetry

and lyrics in it,

and one day he came
up to me and he said,

"Herbie, what do you
think of this song?"

He was showing me the
notebook and I looked at it,

and I was thinking to
myself, man oh man,

this is the corniest
thing I've ever seen.

I didn't say that to him,
but I said, holy moly,

what are you going to
do with that, you know?

I said, what does
the song sound like?

So he picked up his guitar
and started singing this song,

and all of a sudden I realized,
man, it ain't what you do,

it's the way how you do it.

He transformed this corny
lyric into something

that was magical.

His intent, his authenticity,

his energy was
just so beautiful.

And that's when I realized,
man, it's not about perfection,

it's not about technical
wonder, you know,

not about anything
that's other than

it's all about a feel.

That's all it is.

["Wonderful World" by Sam Cooke]

# Don't know much
about history #

# Don't know much biology #

- Herbie and I were working
on a song that basically

was you didn't
have to read a book

to be a lover, that these
things came natural.

# And I know that
if you love me too #

# What a wonderful
world this would be #

- The bridge we had, it's a
wonderful world, you know,

and Sam loved the concept,
and he took that concept,

and the three of us adapted
it to "Wonderful World"

which Sam recorded.

Which is a whole other story,

because he recorded
it as a demo,

he was just wanting to see
if the song was gonna work.

Keen Records shelved it,
they put it in their vault.

And so after Sam left, and
he was recording for RCA,

and you know, things
started clicking for him,

Keen Records decided
to release that record

that was in the vault,

and it became one of the
biggest records Sam ever had,

you know, which
was pretty amazing.

I mean, the moral of that story

is nobody knows what a
hit record sounds like.

I mean, it's the
public that'll tell ya.

# Yeah #

# But I do know
that I love you #

# And I know that
if you love me too #

# What a wonderful
world this would be #

["Baby Talk" by Jan and Dean]

# I am only five years
old and my baby's three #

# But I know that she's the
girl, just you wait and see #

# When I say I love my
girl, she replies to me #

# Yeah #

# Which means to say she
loves me in baby talk #

- I think Lou
found Jan and Dean,

but I found that
song, "Baby Talk".

- That's the first thing
that Herbie and I produced.

We had produced the other demos,

but that was the first
record we had produced.

We were one of the
first independent
duo record producers.

He had my back musically,
and I had his back as far as

what it took to get in
there and get it done.

[catchy music]

Herbie at some point we wanted
to strike out as an artist.

He didn't want to manage,

he didn't want to
produce Jan and Dean,

he wanted her to be an artist.

So it was very amicable.

We sat down and we
looked at our assets,

which was fairly simple,

we had Jan and Dean
and the tape recorder.

I took Jan and Dean, he
took the tape recorder.

- So I wrote this song for one
of the artists that RCA had.

I called the head of A&R,
he recognized my name.

So I had a meeting
with him the next day,

I sat down at the piano,
started playing these songs,

he says, "Why don't we do
that with you, you know?"

And it caught me off guard,

I wasn't even
thinking about that.

I never thought of
myself as a singer,

so I was signed to RCA Victor.

["Gonna Get a Girl"
by Dore Alpert]

# I'm gonna get a girl, yep #

# Because I ought
to have a girl #

# Well, you know I
never had a girl #

# That's why I've
got to have a girl #

- At RCA he had two singles
under the name Dore Alpert.

They didn't do very much,

but it got him a chance to sing,

to be an artist on a big label.

- I felt really
uncomfortable there.

I didn't know exactly what it
was, I couldn't identify it,

but really the environment
was not very creative.

I was treated like a number,

it wasn't Herb Alpert,
it was like 38254,

take five, take two, it was
like that type of thing.

And in their studio it
was very cold, stark,

you know, very medicinal.

And so I recorded the song...

It came out pretty
good, actually,

I was listening to the
playback in the studio.

I thought it needed a
little more bass, you know?

So I walked over to the console,

I lifted the bass,
and all of a sudden

the engineer there
slapped my hand,

he said, "Don't ever
touch that again."

He said "This is a union board
and I can get in big trouble,

so please don't ever do that."

So I felt this doesn't
add up, you know?

Shouldn't a record company
revolve around the artist,

you know, and that's
when I thought

if ever I had my
own record company

that's what I would
do first and foremost.

It would be the artist first.

[catchy music]

- Herb Alpert is a musician
first and foremost.

That's where his genius lies.

- Did you say that you
wanted a table, sir?

Well, you get more than a table,

because Herb Alpert,
this is your life!

[cheering]

In 1961, Herb met Jerry Moss.

I'll tell you the story
as I've got it here.

Herb sang under the name of
Dore Alpert in those days,

and he made a moderate hit
called "Tell It To The Birds",

and it sounded like this.

[birds chirping]

Fantastic.

[catchy music]

# You turn me on then
you put me down #

# Get you running
all over town #

# If you love me #

# Aw, tell it to the birds #

- With me as his promotion man,

"Tell It To The
Birds" sold about

seven or 8,000 records
in Los Angeles.

It swelled our bank roll to
about three or 4,000 bucks,

so we had a little more
money to operate with.

And that was the
start of A&M Records.

# Around with someone new #

# Do you really think
that that's the #

# Proper thing to do #

- So, my partner Jerry Moss's
office was right there,

and we were partners
on a handshake.

We started in 1962,

and to tell you the truth,

I don't think my career would
have happened without him.

He knew how to take what
I had to the next level.

[lighthearted music]
[birds chirping]

# Aw, tell it to the birds #

[crowd chanting]

- He goes on a little
vacation to Tijuana.

He goes to the bullfight.

He hears the crowd
roaring, cheering,

on their feet shouting.

He sees the picador and the
matador, he sees it all.

And he goes home and
he brings every sound,

every inflection, every
nuance into "The Lonely Bull".

- Well, it all started in
my garage back in 1962.

And it was this song that
got us off the ground.

[melancholic piano music]

That's The Lonely Bull,
and it wasn't written

like that at all, it was
written like a minuet.

Less very light
and airy up there,

but when I saw my
first bull fight...

[piano music]

I felt like it wanted
to have trumpets.

And one of the thoughts
was to, in that day,

the pop singers used to
overdub their own voice

on top of their voice.

So I tried doing that
with the trumpet,

and I was experimenting with
that sound on this machine.

Hm, interesting sound.

That was the sound.

And I got a little, you know,

I got the goosebumps when
I heard it and I said,

you know, I think
this could be good.

[catchy trumpet music]

- [Man] 1962 was a year Herb
broke the sound barrier.

Move over folk singers,
move over jazz,

move over country,
move over everyone.

Here's a new sound in town.

[catchy trumpet music]

- The record was in the
top 10 in the country,

and I received a letter from
a lady in Germany who said,

"Dear Mr. Alpert, thank
you for sending me

on this vicarious
trip to Tijuana."

And so I thought holy moly,
man, that was amazing.

Because I mean, she
was 7,000 miles away

from Tijuana and
it transported her.

So I thought about, you
know, making visual music,

that's the music I
really want to make.

[catchy music]

I had a choice.

I could either play The
Lonely Bull sideways

and come up with something
that was Lonely Bull-ish,

or just take that sound of mine

and see if I can move
it forward, you know,

just move it in
different directions.

And that's what I decided to do.

I never tried to
make a hit record.

I always tried to make a
good record, a fun record,

something that's interesting
to listen to for me,

not for anyone else.

- So many people are
trying to be something

other than themselves, or
do what other people do,

and what they hear
other people do.

Herb just does Herb.

[catchy music]

- So we did a second
Tijuana Brass album

that didn't do quite as
well as the first album,

but it was enough
to keep us going.

And we kept reinvesting
the money into the company.

The third album was an album

that really started
the ball rolling.

[catchy music]

"Mexican Shuffle" was on there.

And so that Mexican
Shuffle was the catalyst.

It is kind of got us going again

because the Clark Teaberry
gum company picked it up.

- [Presenter] Clark's
Teaberry Gum presents

the Teaberry Shuffle.

[catchy music]

- The record itself
wasn't a big hit,

but the fact that
it was an up record

and it made people feel good,

and the Teaberry people
took it over as a gum thing,

made it more successful.

So it made us sound like
we're never off the radio.

And that was good.

[catchy music]

- [Presenter] Have a little
fun, try Clark's Teaberry Gum.

- It was Jerry's idea,
my partner's idea

to come up with an
album of food titles.

Whipped Cream & Other Delights.

You know, so we had Lemon
Tree, we had Taste of Honey,

we had Green Peppers,

we had all sorts of songs
that had food titles.

[catchy trumpet music]

- I suppose like
most adolescent boys,

I was obsessed with that
woman covered in whipped cream

on the album cover.

[chuckling]

It was quite quite a cover.

- I actually had guilt,

like I would sneak
into my mom's room

and look at the
cover of that album

when she was like in
the kitchen or whatever.

You'd think you hear
her and you put it back.

- Well, I don't feel I can talk
about that anymore honestly.

It was a very important
point in my life.

- Other Delights
is a great phrase.

And a lot of us would
like to put whipped cream

all over somebody.

- This guy comes up to
me a month and a half

after the album was
released, and he said,

"You know, Mr. Alpert,

that whipped cream
album cover, I love it.

I love the girl, I love the
idea of the whipped cream."

You thought it was
whipped cream, it wasn't.

It was shaving cream.

He says, "I think it's
the best album cover

I have ever seen period."

I said, well, thank you so much.

What about the music?

[laughing]

He said, "Well, I
haven't had a chance

to listen to that yet."
[audience laughing]

I mean, this was a month and
a half after it was released.

True story, true story.

- Down through the
18 years, we present

a lot of bands on our stage,

but here's one of the
most exciting bands

we've ever presented.

Herb Alpert and
the Tijuana Brass.

So let's have a fine welcome.

[audience clapping]

[dramatic band music]

- [Jerry] Everything
came together.

If you wanted to write a book
about promotion and marketing

and the right product
at the right time,

the point is that Herb
had a base of interest

from around the country

based on the three albums
we'd already put out.

All we needed was a
really good sized hit

that got everybody
else involved.

And this record just
touched so many people,

the Taste of Honey, and it
just took everything with it.

So that at the end of the year,

we'd sold maybe 5
or 6 million albums

of whipped cream album,
but not only that,

it took all the rest of them
right on the charts with it.

[dramatic music]

[catchy band music]

[scattered trumpet music]

- I think Herb's trumpet style
is totally revolutionary.

- People like the human
voice in pop music.

It's rare that an
instrumentalist can do the same.

You need a unique
signature to do that.

It's not just any trumpet,

it's the way it's played,

and it's a fingerprint,
oh, that's Herb Albert.

- Two, one, two, three.

[catchy band music]

- Miles Davis said it.

You gotta love it, man.

He said, "You hear
three notes and you know

it's Herb Alpert."

I can kiss him for
that line, you know.

But he said it.

- He has such a distinct tone
with his trumpet playing.

I think to any instrumentalist,

that's probably a compliment
in the highest order.

The fact that you can
identify the sound

and the tone of
their instrument.

And it never changes.

Like, his tone is just the
same now today as we speak,

as it was in the 60s
when he made his debut.

- Whenever you're playing
maracas right there

get into the thing.

[catchy band music]

- Okay, listen,
same time tomorrow.

- Yeah.

[catchy band music]

- They always wore the Mexican

little short jackets and stuff,

and it was called
the Tijuana Brass.

Well, why the hell would
we not think he's Mexican?

So I grew up thinking
that his real name

was probably like
Alberto Martinez,

and he just changed it
to Herb Alpert, you know?

And so I thought,
this is so cool.

This Mexican cat and he
lives in LA, you know,

but he brought his music
here kind of thing.

- Everybody knew about
Herbie, you know.

'Cause we associated with him

because he had a
jazz propensity.

But it was influenced
by the mariachis.

[catchy band music]

It was big, man.

- No musician ever had a year

like Herb had in 1965 and 6,

5 songs in the top 20,
4 of them in the top 10.

Sold more records
than the Beatles.

[catchy band music]

- It's the happiest
music in existence.

If I feel down or whatever

I have a Herb Alpert mix,

and that sort of brightens...

I feel so silly saying that.

[laughing]

No, but you know, it's
literally feel good music,

and not a cliche way.

Like, it makes me happy.

[catchy band music]

- I was raised pretty
poor in the south.

I always put his records on

when I needed to
forget everything else,

like it could transport
me into a world

where I wasn't thinking
about all the horrible stuff.

[catchy band music]

- I love the harmony
and the melodies.

And all of us can
sing "Tijuana Taxi".

[laughing]

You know, the mark
of a good pop song,

it stays in your head
from the day you hear it

until the day you die.

[laughing]

In a good way, you know?

[catchy band music]

[audience clapping]

- It's amazing that
a friend of yours

just becomes this great
performer all of a sudden,

just out of nowhere.

But that's what happened.

Herbie was basically playing
his heart out on his horn

and people could feel it.

- Ladies and gentlemen,

this is Zorba's Dance
from Zorba the Greek.

[catchy band music]

- It was a blur of activity,

and it was very exciting.

- [Herb] The Tijuana Brass
was screamingly hot, you know,

we were selling out
arenas in 2, 3 minutes,

20,000 people, it was amazing.

We played this one concert,

they were selling
seats behind pillars,

and people knew they were
gonna be behind a pillar,

they wouldn't be able to see us,

and they were buying the seats,

and they wanted
to hear the sound.

- I remember, you know,

we'd try to sneak
out the back way,

get in the limo,

and there would be
like mobs of people,

and they'd start shaking
the car and stuff

like we were rock and
roll stars, you know?

[laughing]

[catchy band music]

- I thought it was fun,

and I thought it was different.

And it was at a
time when actually

there were instrumental
records on the radio,

and they were
actually hit records.

You know, without any
lyrics or anything.

And Herb had an amazing
run of those records.

- I would say it's
almost a not gonna happen

when you're an instrumentalist.

So the fact that he was able
to have that much success

tells me he may be supernatural.

- You know, having
someone like Herb

who has been so
successful at it,

not just like moderately
successful, but
like so successful,

it gives all of us like
instrumentalist hope.

[laughing]

Like, yeah, I can do that too.

[laughing]

Maybe.

[laughing]

[catchy band music]

- I can't explain it other than

I was caught totally off guard.

I mean, it was like I
came from playing weddings

and parties and bar mitzvahs,
you know what I mean?

[catchy band music]

[audience cheering]

[yelling]

- That was everywhere.

Tijuana Brass was everywhere,

you couldn't get away from it.

[chuckling]

[rocket blasting off]

- [Astronaut] This is
Power Control, Houston.

Now the crew seems
to be pretty well

settled down in there,

and they're getting
some time on the window.

[catchy band music]

This is a Apollo
Control, Houston,

at four hours, 21
minutes into the flight.

In the course of the
last 20 to 25 minutes,

we have been playing music
by VHF out of California,

and the crew reports
Herb Alpert sounds great.

[lighthearted band music]

- We spent whole evenings
talking about his musical career

and the people he met and
the people he worked with,

and it turns out
to be everybody.

He's one of those people

whose musical life
stretched through

the whole fabric
of a generation.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

- One never got the idea
that as big a star as he was

that he may have
been full of himself,

that's the opposite
of what Herb is.

- Humble.

And gracious with his
success, he always was.

- Other artists,
successful artists,

successful businessmen,

maybe at some point it shows.

It never shows with Herb.

He was always just
Herbie, you know?

[lighthearted trumpet music]

- It got a little
crazy, you know.

I try to shield
myself from that.

I don't want to get
caught up in that.

I was a little afraid that...

I didn't want it to affect me.

All of a sudden, you know,

I was catapulted into this
thing from one hit record

into many hit records, and
I wanted to keep my sanity.

You know, I heard
a lot of stories,

and I just wanted
to make sure that

I wouldn't go off the deep end.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

- Herb Alpert is one of the
most creative people I know.

[calming jazzy music]

- I had no idea that
Herb had a 40 year career

as a painter and a sculptor,

I only knew him
through his music.

When I saw these works
for the first time,

it really floored me
because this is the work

of a mature artist.

[calming jazzy music]

I could see that this
was just another way

of him giving voice
or instantiating

the kind of free spirit
that his music represents.

- What if we have to take
off some of this length,

and had this, whatever
that shape is right here.

And I know what it is,

but I'm not going
to tell anyone.

What if that thing was looking
at this piece right here?

- Just cut the clay right off.
- Yeah.

[catchy jazzy music]

- And move the head
so it's looking.

- Yeah.

So far I'm loving this idea.

[catchy jazzy music]

- [Kristan] I'm liking that.

- A little dip right here.
- Okay.

Might have to wait for this
to firm up a little bit,

but I think it's good.

- Man, I like it.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

Thank you for appearing.

You know, I wasn't
planning on it just saw it.

I think this is a nice
improvement on the piece

that was already pretty good.

You know, I do my art
until my body feels relaxed

and nice and comfortable,

and that's what happened.

As soon as that piece came in,

and all of a sudden this
eye, it was just there.

You know?

I think this piece is finished.

What I like to do is,

when I get that feeling of
satisfaction, I like to stop.

There's no need to
analyze it anymore.

Stop, done.

[intense drum music]

Great.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

So around 1966, we were
looking for some new quarters.

At that time, we had an
office on Sunset Boulevard

in this Saul Yurok building,

and we were running
out of space there,

and so we caught wind that
this property was for sale.

Jerry and I took a goosey
gander at it and like, wow,

it's like beautiful.

But we only had like 32 people,

and this was like three acres.

And so we just fell
in love with it,

and we thought that
just a matter of time

that if we got lucky
and sold some records,

we'd be able to fill it up.

[catchy band music]

I think all the artists
that recorded for us

really appreciate
it and look forward

to being on this particular
lot because there's that vibe.

We got the vibe of
Charlie Chaplin,

who created so many
memorable movies here.

And that vibe is still here.

[catchy band music]

This is my office and...

Through that door over
there is a bathroom.

I used to practice
in that bathroom

a good part of the time.

And right beyond the bathroom

was my partner's
office, Jerry Moss.

He'd hear me practicing
because we were doing

a lot of concerts and
had to stay in shape,

and it was also a way for me

to just get away from everything

and just try to create
something that might

eventually work their
way onto an album.

[lighthearted band music]

Okay, well, this is Studio A.

We wanted to have
our own studios,

and we were spending
a lot of money

just recording in other studios,

and I thought it'd
be nice to have it.

We had this monster sound stage

that was completely empty
when we bought the property.

This is the result,

this is one of the
most beautiful studios.

It's very flexible because
you can record small groups,

rock and roll groups,
symphony orchestras.

- The A&M studios were different

than any other studios
that I ever wrote songs in.

They kind of created
a womb like sensation.

It was sort of like you were
just in this environment

that felt very warm,

and like you could do anything
that you thought about.

- It was like a
paradise for creativity.

[catchy band music]

- I helped the moving trucks
unpack in November of 1966,

I was 11 years old,

and my father David,
Herb's brother,

had come on board as Herb
and Jerry's business manager,

and to oversee and
run the A&M lot.

There was no other place.

Every other music place
in the world were offices.

They were cubicles and
they were, you know,

straight little square offices.

This was a lot.

There was a sound stage
where bands were rehearsing,

there was film rooms, there
was recording studios,

there was an art department,
there was photo studio.

There was all of these things.

The artists are there,
publishing people,

songwriters are coming in.

You're on the lot with
Cat Stevens or Joe Cocker

or the Carpenters,

and it was a place where
people intermingle.

- The A&M lot was really
like a college actually.

And the personality
and the character

came from Herbie and Jerry.

- The A&M secret is, well,
I can't tell you now.

[catchy band music]

- You can actually say
hello to Mr. A and Mr. M.

Most other acronyms,
there's no Mr. C,

and Mr.B, and Mr. S,

but Mr. A and Mr.
M actually existed.

In many ways it was
a human enterprise

and not a faceless corporation.

So I think we were very
fortunate to have been

taken on by this company,

and the ethos of the
company was about artists.

They were artists and
they treated artists

in a very human way, not just
as resources, but as people.

And I think all of the
artists at A&M felt

they were part of a family.

- It had Gil Friesen,
and it had Herbie,

and it had Jerry Moss,

just beautiful people now,
really beautiful people.

And A&M was on that
path, you know,

of breaking down boundaries.

I was with them 12 years.

Amazing history at A&M.

- Herb empowered so
many others, you know.

What people don't know
about A&M Records is that

it was behind some
of the least known

and soon to be best
known performers

in the country, in the world.

[catchy music]

- One of the most
impressive things

I think about Herb Alpert

is that his creativity
knows no box to live in.

You know, whether it's jazz,

whether it's developing
other artists,

or what he's doing with
a paintbrush in his hand,

or sculpting.

His artistic expression
is like breath.

And the great thing is,

is part of that breath
is the breath of life

for those of us who have
benefited from A&M Records.

- Well, who would you
say you sing like?

- Um, Beethoven.

[audience laughing]

- Beethoven?
- Yeah.

- Wait a minute, Burt,
Beethoven wasn't a singer.

- That's right.

[audience laughing]

- So we had this album,
and I saw Herb on the lot,

and I recorded the night before,

and he said, "How'd
it go last night?"

I don't think we got
what the world needs now.

Right.

And he said, "Why don't you
go back and do it again?"

And I was stunned, you
know, coming from the

"Hey man, gotta
watch the budget."

Now to have somebody like
Herb say "Do it again."

That's a big orchestra,
Herb, I mean,

get that size orchestra back in,

"Yeah, get it right."

He walked away.

And that says something
about the record company.

It says a lot to me.

It said a lot to me at the
time, it says a lot to me now.

- When I think about
Herb, I have nothing

but great memories, great
feelings, lots of joy.

- So many people
are always asking me

how I got the idea
for the Brass,

and how we got organized,

and I'm sure plenty of
people are wondering the same

about Brasil '66 and
how you got the idea

for the sound of the group.

[speaking in Portuguese]

- Well, what Sergio's
saying, excuse me,

is that he got the idea
while he was watching

this bull fight in
Tijuana, you know.

He got the idea to combine
the sounds of Mexico,

the mariachi sounds,
with the traditional

South American ancient sounds.

- I'm sorry, but
that's not true.

- No?
[audience laughing]

- In 1966, Jerry
and I auditioned

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66.

Even before we
got into the room,

I remember hearing
this sound man,

that was like interesting.

It was a hybrid sound
between Brazilian music,

Brazilian jazz, American jazz,
classical music, African,

and add all these elements,

and then to top it off,

Lani was singing and she was
giving me goosebumps too.

# There's so many
people who can talk #

# And talk and talk
and just say nothing #

# Or nearly nothing #

# I have used up all
the scale I know #

# And at the end I've
come to nothing #

# Or nearly nothing #

# So I come back
to my first note #

# As I must come back to you #

# I will pour into
that one note #

# All the love I feel for you #

- [Herb] Sergio's a
brilliant musician,

and his instincts are terrific.

When I produced
that first album,

Herb Alpert Presents Sergio
Mendes and Brasil '66,

I just try to stay out of
the way of the artists,

give them honest feedback.

- He had a lot of experience
in the studio, I had none.

Herb was so knowledgeable
of the recording process.

You know, he really helped me.

He would be like a producer,
but at the same time,

allowing me to do my thing.

But he would give some
incredible suggestions.

[catchy bossa nova music]

- Herb decided that he wanted
Brasil '66 to open his shows

for the next couple of months,

and he was the biggest
star, pop star,

in the world at the time.

So Brasil '66 went from
playing small nightclubs

to playing for 20,000
people overnight.

- Everywhere they go in,
mass applause and big sales.

People buying records left
and right from both artists,

and it was just fantastic.

For a new company to have
this kind of a success,

this is just incredible.

[catchy bossa nova music]

- So we played everywhere.

I mean, in the United States
and Canada, and for me,

it was an incredible chance

to be exposed to
an audience here.

And it was great, it was
like a wonderful thing.

Because of Herb, all
the places was packed,

and filled arenas.

A lot of laughs in the
bus and in the plane.

It's a wonderful time.

[lighthearted bossa nova music]

- Well, I was calling
Herb "Mr. Alpert"...

[laughing]

A lot. [laughing]

And I remember
looking out the window

and he was talking to somebody.

We were in the airplane
that he had chartered,

and I turned around
and I looked outside,

and he was talking to somebody
and he started laughing.

And I'd never seen
him laugh before.

And he has the most
beautiful smile,

and he's got these
dimples, so there it was.

You know, I turned around,
I am in big trouble.

[laughing]

- [Presenter] Now, a special
program in living color on NBC.

- And in living black and white,

for those of us who
don't have color sets.

Good evening, I'm Herb Alpert,

and welcome to the
Beat of the Brass.

[catchy theme music]

- Herb was very, very hot, about
to do this television show,

and they were
looking for a song,

as Herb could record.

- Well, he sent me "This
Girl's in Love with You"

that he recorded
with Dionne Warwick.

Liked the song,
I liked it a lot.

- I had never heard Herb sing.

I didn't know he could sing.

# You see this guy #

# This guy's in love with you #

# Yes, I'm in love #

# Who looks at
you the way I do #

- And my attitude was like hey,

I don't know whether
he can sing or not,

but they're my friends,

and they put albums out on me,

and they've supported me
going out on the road.

I'd do anything for them.

So it's almost like
I went in the studio,

doing your friends a favor.

I wrote the orchestration,
conducted the band.

Jerry Moss stayed in the
booth, and we made this record.

- They set up a mic,
I sang the song,

went back into the control
room where some of the singers

and Burt was there,

and some of the musicians
were hanging out.

As I walked in the door,
they said, "Don't touch it."

I said, what do you
mean don't touch it?

He said "Don't touch
it, it sounds great,

leave it, don't improve
on it, don't touch it."

So that was my demo recording.

It was the first take, I
didn't struggle over it.

I tried to communicate
the feeling.

# My hands are shaking #

# Don't let my heart
keep breaking #

# 'Cause I need your love #

# I want your love #

- I love the way he sings.

I mean, and it's so
effortless and casual,

and yet it's got
this melancholy.

# If not, I'll just die #

- I'd rather hear
him sing that song

than anybody in the world.

[melancholic music]

- Because of the
amount of people that
watched that TV show,

it was number one in
the country in 2 weeks.

[melancholic music]

- Herb Alpert is a visionary.

[catchy music]

- Herb's a risk taker.

I mean, just A&M, the artists
that they chose to sign,

you know, people
would always say,

"What's on the radio,
what's on the radio,

like, let's do
what's on the radio."

And Herb would always say,

"What's not on the radio?"

Even the Carpenters, you
know, they got rejected

from every record company
that they went to until A&M.

- Well, because we had
no board of directors

it was easy to make decisions.

You know, I heard the
Carpenters, and I signed them.

[laughing]

I didn't have to ask anybody.

I just popped into
Jerry's office,

I said, I found a group I'd
like to sign, he says "Great."

You know, that was it.

- And Herb said "Let's
hope we have some hits."

Is how he put it.

And you know, of course,
let's hope we have some hits.

And then we were pretty
much allowed to go in

and make the record
we wanted to make.

- A lot of people
in show business

got a break from somebody
at one time or another.

Somebody who believed in them
and helped them get started.

- We're very proud
to have the gentlemen

who gave us our first
break in show business.

And our second break.

He not only signed us
to his record label,

but several months later
also brought the tune

"Close To You" to our attention.

- Ladies and gentlemen, our
good friend, Herb Alpert.

[audience clapping]

[catchy music]

# Why do birds suddenly appear #

# Every time you are near #

# Just like me,
they long to be #

# Close to you #

- I thought I had
a pretty darn good

recording of it, actually.

It felt good to me, but
I was in the control room

listening to the playback
with our head engineer

at A&M, who was a dear
friend of mine, Larry Levine.

And I said, Larry,
tell me the truth.

How do I sound
singing this song?

He said, "Man, you sound
terrible singing this song."

[laughing]

So I put the song away,
and luck be have it,

I gave it to the Carpenters.

- He wasn't happy with an
arrangement he'd done of it,

but take the lead
sheet, and he said,

"Do whatever you like
with it arrangement wise."

So, first thing I'd do is put
it, it was not Karen's key,

put it in her key,

and then I felt it
needed an intro.

And I heard it as a slow
shuffle, so instead of...

[singing]

So...

[melancholic piano music]

The vibraphone.

And Karen.

# Why do birds suddenly appear #

# Every time you are near #

# Just like me,
they long to be #

# Close to you #

# Why do stars fall
down from the sky #

- Every year A&M would bring in

all the field staff from
all around the country,

and Jerry would play all
the new records coming out.

And this was 1970s,
so it was, you know,

it was the rock and roll era.

And Jerry is up there and he's
playing the new Free record,

"All Right Now", he's playing
a Joe Cocker "Delta Lady".

He played a new
Humble Pie record,

and I'm in the back
shooting photographs,

and I hear all the salespeople.

They're all excited,
love those things.

Then Jerry plays a new record
that just came out called

"Close To You".

# Eyes of blue #

- And I can hear these
guys, they're quietly saying

"How the fuck are we gonna
get this shit played?"

So, you know, long story
short, "Close To You"

blows up, the Carpenters
become a phenomenon,

and Herb looks like a genius.

Up until then they're thinking

"What's the shit
that Herb's signing?"

- I marvel at the fact,
because I knew anyway

that Herb's not only a pretty
damn talented trumpeter,

he's a born A&R man, and
you can't be taught that.

He can hear a
potential of this song

with this arranger,
with that artist.

This was a perfect example
of that talent of his.

["Close to You"
by The Carpenters]

[catchy music]

- After, you know,
the Tijuana Brass hit

and we were successful and
money started rolling in,

I bought a home
in Beverly Hills.

I was married to my first wife.

We were having an
anniversary party

and invited all our friends,
including Sergio in the group.

- He had talked about
this house for, you know,

as long as it was being done,

it was decorated and all that.

And he would talk
to me about it.

So all of a sudden there I am,

invited to the house
for this party,

and I was really excited to
see, you know, to see it.

[laughing]

- I was sitting in
the living room area

and I had this great painting,

and I remember seeing Lani

standing in front of this
painting looking at it.

And I was thinking
to myself, man,

she's probably really
impressed with this piece.

- He kept asking me, "What
do you think of the house?

What do you think of the house?"

I, you know, I did, Oh, you
know, try to get around it.

I, you know, I did, "Oh..."

[laughing]

Trying to get around it.

I said "I don't think it
looks anything like you."

- Boy, did she see
through me. [chuckling]

I knew she was 100% right.

I was faking it.

You know, I was living a
life that wasn't real to me.

And she saw it.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

If I wasn't a
professional musician,

I'd probably be sitting
here by the beach,

wondering what I'd like
to be when I grow up.

[laughing]

[lighthearted trumpet music]

I got married in the army at
the Presidio in San Francisco.

I was going with this
girl that, you know,

she was a high
school sweetheart,

and I think one of
my motivations was

I wanted to get
out of the house,

I didn't want to live
with my parents anymore.

I wanted to be on my own,

I wanted to be independent.

And I was only 21 at the
time, but I wasn't mature.

I didn't know who I was,
you know, I was too young

and I probably got married
for the wrong reasons.

Not probably,
strike the probably,

I got married for
the wrong reasons.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

Herb Alpert is kind of
a funny word to me now.

I hear the name on the radio
and I've seen, you know,

the TV shows that he's been on,

and sometimes I feel like it's
somebody that I don't know.

It's somebody whose music I
like now and then, you know.

[dramatic trumpet music]

Did I enjoy being a dad?

I did, I did enjoy it.

You know, I wasn't a soccer mom,

I didn't do the stuff
that fathers usually do.

I was on the road a
good part of the time

and I was playing, and I
was probably more consumed

with my stuff than my
kids' stuff, you know.

My views on life...

Have changed quite a bit
in the last three years.

And I don't really attribute
it to the success I've had.

But I think with
age, you kind of...

Grow into the...

I can't talk anymore.

[dramatic music]

I was having trouble
playing the trumpet.

In 1969 I was going
through a divorce,

and the horn was my best
friend for a long time,

all of a sudden
turned into an enemy.

I couldn't get a
sound out of it.

And I had this obligation
to play in Europe

that was prearranged prior
to this problem happening,

and I honored it.

[lighthearted string music]

I was on stage in Germany and

I had this out of
body experience.

All of a sudden I
was in the third row

looking at me playing the horn,

and I was saying
now why is this guy

so comfortable on stage,

but really not that comfortable

as a walking, talking person.

[dramatic band music]

- It was hard for us to perform

because he was affected
by that, at that time,

all of the, you know, the
negative stuff that he had.

I remember telling him
that he was letting us down

'cause we wanted to support him,

but we didn't have the
person to support there.

He wasn't giving us 100%.

Maybe 50%, 60, and
that just didn't work.

- After I honored this tour
and came back to Los Angeles,

I disbanded the group.

That was it for me.

I was willing to sell
my half of A&M Records,

throw my trumpet into the ocean,

and just find out who
in the heck I was.

[dramatic trumpet music]

I remember the night I left
my ex wife in the home there

and I was driving
on the freeway,

and I like let out this scream
like I was free, you know?

And I drove to Lani's place.

- He walked in the
house and he said to me,

"I can't live without you."

[laughing]

Whoa.

What do you mean?

What does this mean?

[somber piano music]

# Just like a star
across the sky #

# Just like an
angel off the page #

# You appeared in my life #

# And I have never
been the same #

# Just like a song in my heart #

# Just like like
oil on my hands #

# I'm honored to love you #

Herb Alpert is

the most beautiful human
being I've ever met.

- I always had a buzz on Lani,

you know, the minute I met her.

Her voice is extraordinary,
she's a terrific artist,

and she's an angel.

[melancholic trumpet music]

# Oh, I've come to
understand all your ways #

# And more #

# No secrets behind doors #

# No, no #

My feeling about Herb initially

was how kind he was.

I had never been around
that kind of kindness.

And at first, I didn't trust it.

So I waited 'til,
one of these days,

his true colors
are gonna pop out.

We'll see.

I'm still waiting.

[laughing]

[dramatic trumpet music]

# Just like a song in my heart #

# Just like oil on my hands #

# I'm honored to love you #

[dramatic trumpet music]

- I remember with Herb and Lani

just feeling like that's
the kind of relationship

I want to have.

- She brought him everything.

Everything that he needed
and everything he didn't have

at that particular time.

- You know, when
somebody comes to you

with the feeling like
you're home, finally home,

it's immense.

# Safe from all the storms #

# You know true love can bring #

# But I'm not a bird #

- And wishes can just fly away

# And wishes can just fly away #

# My love #

- What it felt like watching,
the two of them was,

there's a certain
holiness to that

when it's the love
of a lifetime.

# All in all, I've had the
best of the good and the bad #

# Times spent in love were
the best that I've had #

You know, that's
one of the songs

that I wrote the lyrics
to from the album "Wings".

I think that song, well, no,

I know what that song is about.

That song is about what I
sensed from Herb and Lani.

# Shining in your eyes #

# Of the stars, my love #

# Now we'll never be afraid #

# Of who we are #

# And who we're not #

# Come what may #

# Of who we are #

# And who we're not #

# Come what may #

# Of who we are #

# And who we're not #

# Come what may #

[dramatic trumpet music]

- In '69 when he had
trouble playing the horn,

this was a really, really
emotional time for him.

This was like, you know, a
dancer cutting off her legs.

When I was in the
kitchen doing the dishes,

and he was in his studio
trying to play, I would cry.

It was painful.

I saw struggle, I
saw a frustration,

anger, confusion.

How is he gonna fix this?

- Every time I tried to make
a sound out of the trumpet,

it would be something like...

I couldn't get the
first note out right.

It just wouldn't come.

My emotions just
got the best of me.

And it took a while to
get back on the track

with playing the instrument.

It really took a
couple of years.

- He saw this trumpet teacher

who was like a troubleshooter.

He lived in New York,
and we went to visit him,

and he was just a wonderful
man, Carmine Caruso.

He lifted up the trumpet
and he said to Herb,

"This is just a
piece of plumbing,

that's all this is.

You're the instrument."

[dramatic music]

He gave Herb a different
perspective on playing,

and Herb started
getting results.

Thank God.

[dramatic music]

- Here's the deal.

Herb's last big hit was "This
Guy's In Love With You".

It was in the summer of 1968.

From the summer of
'68 to early '79,

there were no hit records.

Herb had quit music
for a couple of years.

He was producing
some other people,

but I know that
Herb missed playing.

He came back into doing
music around '73, '74,

somewhere around there.

He tried by getting Tijuana
Brass thing back together...

I don't think that
was working for him.

It was tough, you know,

when you leave the public.

Music changes, things
change and people forget.

[lighthearted music]

- I met Hugh Masekela,

we started talking
about songs and ideas,

and we hit it off.

He told me that the music that
I was making instinctively

with the Tijuana
Brass was pretty close

to what the music was
like in South Africa.

So we started talking about
possibly recording together.

[catchy music]

- He made great records
with Hugh Masekela.

They sold moderate amounts.

They weren't off the charts
or anything like that,

but that didn't stop him

from enjoying playing
with Hugh Masekela,

I mean, he really
liked to play with him.

- Oh, that was great,
that was really great.

Hugh was such a great artist.

Herb learned a lot
playing with him.

- There's one song that we did,

I think it was one of the
best songs I've ever done,

and it was with Hugh,
it's called "Skokiaan".

And I think it was
an extraordinary,
exciting recording.

[catchy trumpet music]

What a beautiful morning.

- [Hugh] Oh, this is
a gorgeous sunrise.

- [Herb] This is a
real Rise morning.

- First time I heard "Rise",
I had no idea who it was,

I just knew that it was funky

and thought it had a great beat.

[funky music]

- [Herb] Rise came to be
from my nephew, Randy.

And he wrote it with
this friend, Andy Armor.

- I knew we had to
make something good,

and we had to make
something different.

Rise was not the Tijuana Brass.

- Herb actually told
me that initially

Rise was intended to
be a faster paced song.

- They want to do a
disco version of Rise,

I said, no, I can't do that,

let's play this as a
ballad, slow this baby down.

[catchy trumpet music]

- It's the same 4 and a 4 pace,

but instead of a faster
cocaine-laced pace

of what disco was
in the mid 70s,

suddenly it slowed
down to a funk.

- I recorded it live
in Studio D at A&M,

I think it was one take.

Listening to it back
in the control room,

I got that feeling on my
neck, listening to it.

I said, man, that's good.

- Those drums, that bass
was up in your face,

and we laid down
some funk that day.

Yeah.

[catchy trumpet music]

- The baseline is just
so it, it's so hot.

Like, you can hear
that song right now,

and I was like, uh, oh yeah.

You would dance
to that right now.

- I'll tell you, give
you a little context.

Since Rise, there's
only been one other

number one instrumental
on Billboard charts.

That's it.

Two records in
the last 40 years.

So it's just like,
wow, thank you.

[catchy trumpet music]

- [Presenter] We
asked Marilyn Fream

to take the Fandango Challenge.

- This is the other cola here,

and this is the Fandango,
I'm pretty sure.

- [Presenter] No, Fandango
is the new Herb Alpert album.

[catchy trumpet music]

- I don't think
anyone was prepared

for Herb Alpert to hit
as hard as he did in '87.

I remember hearing, you
know, super producer

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

are gonna produce Herb
Alpert's next record.

Me and my friends looked
at each other like,

yo, what's that
gonna sound like?

[catchy music]

- One of the things
I always say is like,

a barber can't cut the
back of his own head,

everybody needs a barber.

You need someone that can
see you from all sides

and give you a
different perspective.

And at that point,

I think Herb needed a new
perspective in his career.

- I was excited to record
with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

'cause they did this
miraculous album,

this album with Janet
Jackson called "Control".

And it was like really
pushing it forward.

They just had a very unique
way of producing and recording.

- So, "Keep Your Eye On Me"

was really the first
song that we came up with

working with Herb.

In our minds, we were just
trying to think of something

that was a catchy
instrumental hook,

and we wanted to kind of
take it back to the days

of the Tijuana Brass,
kind of that sound.

So we just kind of came
up with this little lick,

which was...

[singing]

[catchy music]

# Keep your eyes on me #

# Keep your eyes on me #

# Look out #

- What we were able to do
with Herb was just allow him

to just relax and just be.

Just be.

And all he had to do
was be a trumpet player.

- When he would go in and
we'd say "Do a solo.",

it was like, he'd wait
for a little space

that he liked, and he'd go...

[singing]

And he'd be like "Yeah!"

[singing]

It was like, yeah!

There's something about that.

There's a, I don't
know, it's just like

a natural feel that he
has that's very unique.

- It was the first time
I really recorded with

all computer type sounds,
you know, keyboards,

drum machine, all the
things that were being used

at that particular time,

and it was different for me
and I fell right into it.

I mean, I feel like I'm the
type of musician that can,

you know, I could
play with anything.

If it touches me,
I can get into it.

- I will say that in a year

in which a lot of banner albums
came out for black music,

that was the sucker
punch of 1987.

The fact that Herb
Alpert yet again,

like reintroduced
himself to Black America

eight years after "Rise".

[catchy trumpet music]

# Keep your eyes on me #

# Watch me #

[ominous trumpet music]

- I guess it was
strange to me at first

because of course we
all turned it into

the most successful independent
in the business, A&M.

I guess I never pictured
Herb and Jerry selling it.

- I was a little sad
because, you know,

obviously being a
member of the family

when the whole
thing was broken up,

we were all split up like
the kids after a divorce.

So, yeah...

I still think of myself as
a part of the A&M family.

[melancholic trumpet music]

- Well, we left the lot.

"We" meaning I left
the lot in 1990,

pulled out the gate,
and I never looked back.

It was a memorable and fantastic
moment in my life, A&M,

but that was then, and I wanted
to always push it forward.

I had things to do.

[dramatic trumpet music]

- Herb Alpert is compassionate.

[catchy music]

- There are many talented kids
here in this community that

don't really have any
place to really come out

and express themselves.

And I think here, the
Harlem School of the Arts

brings that out of them.

[catchy music]

- How you doin', man?

- There's Herb reading
the Sunday paper,

seeing an article that says
the Harlem School of the Arts

is closing because they
don't have the funds,

they don't have the support.

That's it, it's gone.

And he just said,
"This can't happen."

- I had this reaction
because I remember

when I was eight years old

and I had this opportunity
in my grammar school,

and the arts changed my life.

And I believe so
strongly in the arts.

Is it fun to play?

- Yes.

- For you too, you too?

Fun, that's what it's all about.

Having fun.

Teaching is not about
teaching the subject.

The teaching is about
teaching the student,

and that's a big difference.

Everyone's an individual,

and that's what I love
about this school.

- Having a community
that's built around culture

and built around
creativity and the arts

just doesn't happen enough.

To see that here at HSA day
after day and week after week,

is a very, very powerful
thing to be a part of.

[catchy music]

- One, two!

[singing]

[clapping]

Hit, hit!

Hit, hit!

[singing]

And!

[cheering]

- Fantastic.

I love the way you teach
with all that energy.

- Thank you.
- That's beautiful, thank you.

- When I look at Dorothy Maynor

and her founding
this school in 1964,

and feeling that the arts
were pivotal in creating

the next generation of
citizens of these young,

black and Brown
children here in Harlem.

Her vision, her legacy
would not have lived on

if it weren't for
Herb's generosity.

- That's just part of my DNA.

I just feel like
I have to do it.

I've been blessed way,
way beyond my dreams.

- I really applaud
that because music

is really inspiration and
about touching people.

And he has built his
career on touching people,

not just through songs, but
through his philanthropy.

- Herb Alpert is a man
who truly puts his money

where his mouth is.

That's like... [laughs]

I mean, that's too crude,

I wouldn't want to use that,

but it's something
I think about a lot,

because he's
unusual in that way.

For example, last year,

the Herb Alpert Foundation
provided support

to 99 organizations,
and that's a lot.

'Cause we're, you know,

a relatively small
family foundation, a
private foundation.

Nonetheless, I like to say
we're small, but mighty.

[catchy music]

- The Herb Alpert Award is
five prizes given annually

in the fields of
dance, film video,

music, theater, and visual arts.

And one of the things
Herb said to me was,

he had such deep
respect for the artists

who went their own way.

- And now with Lani
and Rona, and the team

at the Herb Alpert Foundation

investing millions upon
millions of dollars

in education and the
arts and young people.

- When I read about
Herb donating so much

to the music education
programs, I was just so moved.

And I mean, it's
something that I've been

begging for in different areas.

And so to have one person
donate 150 million to something

that you really care about
makes me want to cry.

- I think the young folks
deserve and should have

a creative experience
at an early age.

I mean, whether it's
painting, sculpting, music,

whatever that happens to be.

Something that just
gives them a feeling of

yeah, I can do it.

And if they do it, and they
feel good about themselves

with fingers crossed,
hopefully they will

appreciate the
uniqueness in themselves

and appreciate the
uniqueness in others.

[audience clapping]

[lighthearted trumpet music]

- Herb had a little problem
with atrial fibrillation

for about four years,

and he finally got it fixed.

I said to him, what
do you want to do?

And he said, "Well, I want
to do what I've always done.

You know, I want to do
music and art and do that."

I said, do you want to go out
and play music for people?

And he said, "I was
thinking about that."

And I said, well,
if not now, when?

[lighthearted music]

- The fact that Herb
is still making records

and performing in
concert is remarkable.

Of course, I think he's a
person who is young at heart,

and that combined with a
love of music and his art

keeps him going as if he's a
40 years younger than he is.

- He's 84?

God damn.

[laughing]

In my mind I was like,
oh, he's 62 or something.

With that tone?

That's crazy.

[lighthearted trumpet music]

- He's still on stage,
still traveling,

still loving to be out there,

maybe more than he ever did.

- The whole band.

They are a family.

And I can't imagine any
other band playing with them.

I mean, I think
they've been doing this

over 12 years now together.

They're playful,
they're having fun.

- Herb, he's always
kind of listening

for something that
tweaks his ear,

and he loves what everybody
brings to the table,

and what they do.

So he's always searching
for some little thing

that one of us does,
that then sparks

some other idea for him
to do something else.

- Herb kind of lets us do
our thing and be ourselves,

and he wants a lot of what
we do to be spontaneous

and fun and different.

- Herb always says, you know,

"When I played with
the Tijuana Brass,

we did the same show every
night, exactly like the record,

you know, it was always like
just repeating the same script.

And when we started to
do this, it was like,

let's see if we can have
fun playing these songs

and see how many different
ways we can do the same thing.

Herb and Lani are very
connected in that way.

They both walk on
stage every night

knowing that basically you're
starting with a blank canvas.

- When you see them
on stage together,

it illuminates all
over the stage.

Everyone in the room can feel

the way they look at each other,

the way she looks at him,
they're magical together.

- They're so each other's muses.

They're so intertwined,

and they are both
inspiring each other

on a level that I
never experienced

when I was younger.

It's pretty amazing to see.

[lighthearted music]

- If you look at
the work of people

who achieved a lot
in their own lives,

like Herb, this didn't
happen accidentally,

it didn't happen casually.

He didn't wake up
one day and think,

I think what I'll do is maybe
sell 72 million records,

we'll see how that goes.

This is a lifetime of
practice, of passion,

of commitment, of
engagement, of learning.

Someone asked me recently,

if I could answer
in one sentence

the question, who
is Herb Alpert?

Easily I said...

He's the man with a golden horn,

and a golden touch, who
has a heart of gold.

And with those gifts,

you bring joy into our world.

[lighthearted music]

- Well, I'm not totally
unprepared for this question

because I knew at some point

you were gonna ask me that.

Herb Alpert is, well,

at the risk of sounding
like Mr. Humble,

Herb Alpert's very grateful.

[lighthearted music]

- Herb Alpert is inspiration.

- Herb Alpert is a life saver.

- Herb Alpert is a
remover of obstacles.

[people talking]

[lighthearted music]

# What a wonderful world #

# What a wonderful world #

# What a what a what
a wonderful world #

[dramatic trumpet music]

[lighthearted trumpet music]

[catchy trumpet music]

[lighthearted trumpet music]