• In 1990, Alpert was the bellwether again, floating his restrained trumpet sound atop hip-hop and dance grooves on the album North on South St. in a style that a few years later was dubbed “acid jazz.” He was 56 at the time, working with producers half his age. It was an intuitive move that brings to mind Miles Davis, whose ballad trumpet style Alpert conjured on these tracks, and whose affinity for working with young talent helped keep the music fresh.

Looking back over the last twenty years of Alpert’s career, there’s a full-circle feeling in the way he eventually returned to the cool, restrained ethos of his youth.

In the ’80s, he had become tight with the tenor saxophone giant Stan Getz, who signed with A&M. He produced Getz’s last two recordings. When the saxman passed away in 1991, Alpert recorded Midnight Sun, a tribute album to his friend – and his last for A&M – filled with ballads and laced with a pronounced, late-night feel.

Alpert sold A&M that same year. Though he soon started another label – ALMO Sounds – recent years have seen him focus increasingly on his trumpet playing, and less on big name productions and similar projects. He has lately come to prefer the familiar comfort of playing live in more intimate settings – like his Bel Air dinner club Vibrato – often backing his wife, singer Lani Hall.

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