Meanwhile, Alpert was learning the recording trade, hustling work as a producer and composer, and working with future music industry legends like Sam Cooke and Lou Adler. A staff position with the independent Keen Records (famous for releasing Cooke’s earliest hits) allowed him to add his maturing trumpet sound to pop singles by a number of local artists. By 1959, Alpert was on his own again when he recorded the first single under his name for another L.A.-based indie label. “It was called ‘Hully Gully’ by the Herbie Alpert Sextet on Andex Records, and that was the genesis of that Tijuana Brass sound. It didn’t multitrack the trumpets like I later did, but if you hear it you’d say it sounds like the TJB. And the quality was good.”
Fast forward to 1962: with the benefit of persistence, good timing and a hummable melody composed by a pianist friend, Alpert hit upon a formula for success. “The Lonely Bull” forged the musical elements he had been developing: a round, warm tone and laid-back phrasing on his trumpet. A penchant for recording techniques like overdubbing, and a liberal use of sound effects. A jazzman’s appreciation for the role of spontaneity – of not having too much nailed down before a session.
