The Herb Alpert Sound
Essay by Ashley Kahn
It’s been more than fifty years since Herb Alpert first broke into music,
playing parties, talent shows and bar mitzvahs with a trumpet and a high
school trio in his native Los Angeles.
Since then, with consistent impact and success, Alpert has pursued the
roles of trumpeter and bandleader, as well as producer, composer,
arranger, and record company executive. Musically, he moved forward
and drew inspiration from a dizzying range of musical styles. Often, he
shifted course, taking on new challenges and pursuing new musical
flavors and ideas. There’s little argument that along the way, Alpert
crafted a musical identity – a sound – that stands as his own. Fellow
trumpeters Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis have both praised the
singularity of his musical stamp.