Herb Alpert&Lani Hall@The Broad Stage 05.19.11
By George W. Harris

Whether or not you grew up in the 60s and had the music of Herb
Alpert’s Tijuana Brass or Sergio Mendes’ Brazil 66 as the soundtrack to
your life, you would have come away from the 2 hour set by trumpeter
Albert and vocalist Lani Hall amazed at how certain styles of music can
endure and last through almost 50 years and still sound as fresh and
vibrant as a…dare we say, a summer rain.

Supported by an intuitive band comprised of Bill Cantos/p, Hussain
Jiffry/b, and Mike Shapiro/dr, Alpert got things rolling by displaying
a gorgeously hip tone on instrumentals such as “Besame Mucho” showing
a world of musicians that style is just as important as substance when
delivering a melody and solo. Wife of 40+ years Lani, who, like
everything Latin, looks better ever year, stunned the audience with a
sizzling, passionate and earthy delivery, mixing Brazilian sambas with
opera seria on tunes like “Let’s Face The Music And Dance” and “Cast
Your Fate To The Wind.” Her perfectly percussive diction on the tongue
twisting “The Duck” was as spellbinding as her slinking take of
“Anything Goes,” which included the band making hairpin turns at every
curve.

The medley of TJB hits such as “Rise,” “A Taste Of Honey,”“Whipped
Cream” and “Lonely Bull” as well as Brazil 66 beauts like “One Note
Samba” sounded more vibrant and exciting than 90% of what is being on
today’s airwaves, while Alpert’s closing treatment of “Laura” makes
you wonder why this guy, who’s literally done it all in the music
business, doesn’t feature himself more often at his own jazz club. A
night of truly timeless and classy music.

The Broad Stage is rapidly becoming one of my favorite jaunts, with
upcoming gigs by Metheny and Mehldau and others. Check them out at
www.thebroadstage.com