You might be surprised to hear about two concerts that I attended this spring.
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Concert Number One:
This concert was a sentimental blast from the past. While I’m usually sporting my Rock n Rock air guitar, this time I put it down and threw up my Jazz Hands. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Ye who don’t know: Herb Alpert was a trumpet playing jazz master, who, with his band the Tijuana Brass, helped define instrumental modern jazz with Latino-infused sound in the 1960s and 70s. Music from his band was integrated into all aspects of pop culture while I was growing up. Which we were reminded during the concert as they showed vintage video of Herb and his pals yuckin’ it up on commercials; guest appearing on TV shows; creating 1960s versions of music videos; and hobnobbing with dignitaries, presidents, queens, and all manner of celebrities. Great footage of a rascally group of musicians living the good life. Very nostalgic, indeed.
For a deep dive into Herb Alpert trivia, he is of Eastern European heritage—Ukrainian and Romanian. Not a lick of Latino or Hispanic blood. But, he ushered in a new jazz sound with mariachi style influences that resonated with people. In 1969, his album Whipped Cream and Other Delights, was the number-one album in the US, outselling The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, and the Rolling Stones. While he stepped away from concerts performances decades ago, he remained active in the music industry as founder of A&M records, producing many top tier musical artists. According to Wikipedia, Herb Alpert is the richest trumpet player in the world. Sounds impressive, but, then again, who is his competition? I don’t know that many world-famous trumpet players these days.
Regardless of all that…For me, it began with my dad. My dad was a huge fan of jazz music. His record collection was extensive and impressive. I have but a small portion of it now, yet I cherish many of the albums. Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass was one of his favorite bands. Everything about that music reminds me of my dad.
This year, after 50 years absence from performing, Herb announced a tour with a reworked version of Tijuana Brass band members. My sister and I bought tickets right away. How could we not? So, Rob and I, my sister and a friend went to the Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass concert, on the eve of Herb’s 91st birthday.
How would you expect a (mostly) advanced-age audience to behave at the concert of a jazz legend who was entering his 10th decade of life? Respectful appreciation? Mellow, but polite golf-tournament-observer applause? Subdued tennis-audience reactions of admiration for his crafty performance? Not even close. Dude, the audience went wild. Everybody was jacked up. Hands in the air, fists pumps, cheering and carrying on. FIFA World Cup voracity. We had an absolute blast. Herb was spry and spirited and masterful on his trumpet. He was funny and energetic. He knocked it out of the park. The music was upbeat, happ’nin’, and precise in the unique way that jazz music meanders from here to there. It was one groovy night. So so so much fun. Our Herb Alpert experience was entertaining and hugely satisfying. The music was superb. It gave me all the feels, and brought a tear to my eye more than once.
Here's a little part of the song Tijuana Taxi (if it works). And, then a short clip of Herb exiting the stage. Isn't he adorable?!
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Concert Number Two:
When my sister asked me to go with her, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. But, being a team player, I said, sure, why not? I’ll go along. That’s how I found myself in Atlantic City, New Jersey, listening to Anna Lapwood, who is often considered the best organist in the world, playing on Atlantic City’s Midmer-Losh Organ, which is the biggest organ in the world. Yep, that’s right. The historic organ in Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, built in the 1930s, is the largest and loudest musical instrument ever built, featuring officially 33,112 pipes, seven keyboards, and an ear-splitting volume six times louder than a train whistle (per Wikipedia). It is undergoing massive restoration, but in its current state is still an incredibly impressive instrument, filling the 41,000 seat auditorium with reverberating sound and rumbling frequency.
So, who’s Anna Lapwood? I had the same question. Anna is the most darling thing. She is the Official Organist of the British Royal Albert Hall, the Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and a regular broadcaster for the BBC and Classic FM. She also has a massive social media following on her account as the “TikTok Organist”, bringing organ music to the people. I fell in love with her instantly. A tiny little gal, she stood centerstage bouncing on her feet as she enthusiastically described the upcoming music, then she sprinted across the stage to take her seat in front of the enormous organ. She was perfectly gleeful at the opportunity to come stateside and play on that magnificent instrument.
She tickled the ivories and pulled out all the stops on the pipe organ. She played a few classical pieces, such as Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, better known as the prologue of Phantom of the Opera. da...duh...daaaaaah..........duh..duh..duh...duh...duuuuuuuh. Then she leaned into her specialty-- personalized arrangements of grandiose modern film scores. She slayed impressive renderings of Pirates of the Caribbean, Interstellar, The Lion King, Star Wars, and How To Train Your Dragon, with dramatic music filling the hall in swirling sound and booming bass. With pounding precision, the thundering strains reached deep into our attentive bones. The crème de la crème was, that very night, when she launched into the World Premiere of her newly transcribed Lord of the Rings Organ Symphony Suite. She could hardly contain her excitement as she described the characterizations and nuances of her composition, and as she played the masterpiece with precision and enthusiasm. The music swelled majestically around the auditorium. Tears were shed.
It was, frankly, AMAZING. It's hard to really describe what the concert was like. I don't have a good recording that captures the splendor of the music as it flooded the arena. It's all up here (points to head), and here (points to heart).
All in all, Anna did a remarkable job highlighting the features of the organ and showing her talent. With gusto. Every Music Aficionado, Organist, Melophile, Choir Director, Band Geek, Movie Buff, cosplay Pirate, Jedi, Dragon Rider, and Hobbit in the audience concurred. I'll admit, it is not a music style that I will continue to follow, but that night was pretty spectacular. My sister and I enjoyed ourselves immensely.
Here are pics in the Boardwalk Hall with Anna Lockwood on the Jumbotron display. And, a pic of us sissys cavorting around Atlantic City, at the top of the Absecon Lighthouse. How was Atlantic City? That's a whole other thing we'll talk about another day.
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Bet you weren't expecting to read about two concerts like that, were you? But, that’s the thing. You never know what I’ll be getting up to next. I'm game for a lot of surprising things. Thanks for reading, and check back in for more adventures to come!