In the history of modern music, there are few people that have had the impact of trumpeter Herb Alpert. If all he had was a string of hits with his immortal band, The Tijuana Brass, he would still be one of the most influential performers of the 1960s. Indeed, Billboard Magazine lists Alpert as the seventh biggest chart-artist of all time. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Not only has Alpert continued to make hit recordings through the decades, but as co-founder of A&M Records, he was instrumental in the careers of such music legends as The Carpenters, The Police, Janet Jackson, Supertramp and many more. Additionally, alongside his wife, singer Lani Hall, he has created the Herb Alpert Foundation, funding programs including jazz education, while 2019 is also the 25th anniversary of the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, which has over 125 awardees since its inception. All of this only touches on Alpert’s activities, with recording and touring still a priority. On Sept. 20, Alpert will release his latest album, “Over the Rainbow,” with an appearance from Alpert and Hall at Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay on Sept. 22. Alpert has been no stranger to San Diego over the past six decades, including an appearance at Super Bowl XXII in 1988. However it was a 2009 show at Anthology (now the Music Box) that inspired him to return to touring. “I was reluctant to get a group together because I thought, ‘Oh man,’ they’re just going to want to hear Tijuana Brass songs, and I just can’t do that night after night, so I decided not to play those songs at this particular concert. But the reaction was great and people loved what we were doing. That was a big moment for me, thinking I can do what I like.” While the Humphrey’s show will spotlight the new album, longtime fans can rest assured all musical bases past and present are covered. “I do a Tijuana Brass medley, and Lani does a Brasil 66 medley that’s pretty spontaneous. A lot of the things we do, we have a form to it, but I tell the guys to play whatever you like and that’s what I get to do within the structure of what we’re doing. It’s a lot of fun for me to do this. We play 50 concerts a year and it’s not a cookie cutter set, we have a lot of fun and experiment every night.” Meanwhile, Alpert is particularly happy to be playing this venue. “We’ve heard so much about Humphrey’s that it was on my bucket list,” Alpert said. While Alpert has been a regular visitor to the area, one of his most celebrated shows was just across the border, when he shot an acclaimed 1967 CBS-TV special, in Tijuana, making use of such locations as the Agua Caliente Racetrack and the bull ring at Playas de Tijuana. “That was the first (special) we did,” he recalled. “A true confession, I was a little embarrassed by it, it was all that attention, it took a while to settle in for me. I’m an introvert. It was a little uncomfortable, but as I look back, I’m glad I did it.” “Over the Rainbow,” includes one new original, “Skinny Bop,” with 11 standards, ranging from Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Fantasy” to Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World.” According to Alpert, the basic album theme is simply good music. “I used to play weddings and parties and all that, so I have a couple of thousand songs in my head,” he said. “I just try to do them in a way that people haven’t heard quite that way before. That’s always my pursuit. My feeling is, about all the arts, whether it’s music, sculpting, painting, acting, writing or poetry, is that its all about feel,” Alpert continued. “That’s all that people listen for. If the feel is there, if the feel is honest, if the feel is authentic, that works, that’s the end.” Alpert recently recorded a version of Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” for his album, “Music Vol. 1,” that’s included in his current stage show. “That was my wife,” he said of the selection. “Lani said, why don’t you try that song. I had been struggling with it, until we found a way to do it. It’s been very popular, we do it in concert with visuals. I’m into that song at the moment.” For his part, creativity is a key to happiness. “You get to be in the exact moment of your life, I’m not thinking about anything else, I’m just doing what I’m doing and I’m absorbed in it,” he said. “It’s a seductive feeling, especially when I’m doing concerts. I’m just there, I’m not trying to sell anybody anything, I just feel if it s real and authentic people will get it.” It’s clear that Alpert maintains the same outlook and enthusiasm for art as when he began making music. “I’m doing this out of passion and that’s the way I started,” he said. “I didn’t try to make a hit record. Well, one time I tried to make a hit record, and that failed. But for the most part in my career, I just tried to make good records, records that were fun to play and fun to listen to and recorded with integrity. And left it at that,” he said good naturedly. Herb Alpert & Lani Hall
When: 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22 Where: Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay, 2241 Shelter Island Drive.
Info: humphreysbackstagelive.com.