Gesa Power House Theatre presents Herb Alpert & Lani Hall in concert on Sunday, July 30 at 7:00 p.m.
Herb Alpert — the iconic trumpeter, composer, record label executive, artist and philanthropist — has had five #1 hits, released fifteen Gold albums, fourteen Platinum albums and has sold over 72 million records. After more than 50 years of ground-breaking accomplishments, he continues to be a prolific musician. He recently released a Grammy-nominated album of new material, inspired by electronic and dance music, called "Human Nature" - his fourth album of new music in just three years. It features five new original compositions and Alpert’s signature re–imagining of classics like Michael Jackson's “Human Nature,” Burt Bacharach’s “Alfie” and “Don't Go Breaking My Heart,” and Bacharach and Elvis Costello’s “Look Up Again.”
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass propelled Alpert's sound into the pop music limelight, at one point outselling the Beatles two to one. In 1966, they achieved the since-unmatched feat of simultaneously having four albums in the Top 10-- and five in the Top 20. Alpert also has the distinction of being the only artist who has had a #1 instrumental and vocal single.
To honor this landmark year, 24 of his classic albums were remastered from the original analog tapes and reissued for the first time, several of which have been out of print for a number of years. On the heels of the reissues, 13 of Herb’s albums returned to the Billboard Top 50 Catalog Jazz albums chart. 11 of his titles are currently in the Top 100 Jazz albums on Amazon. Billboard also listed Herb at #7 on their Greatest Of All Time Billboard 200 Artists list this year. Summer, 2017, Herb releases two new albums, “Music Volume 1” and “The Christmas Wish,” recorded with symphony and chorus.
A 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Alpert has also dedicated his life to philanthropy, funding programs that include arts education, jazz and support to professional artists. Through the Herb Alpert Foundation, he has endowed the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts and most recently the Music Department at Los Angeles City College. This gift to LACC provides free attendance, additional private lessons and further financial aid to music majors. Herb has also established the Herb Alpert Scholarships for Emerging Young Artists at California State Summer School for the Arts, and the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts administered by Cal Arts for the past 22 years.
Grammy Award-winning vocalist and producer Lani Hall joins her husband, Herb Alpert, on the current concert tour.
Lani Hall started her singing career in 1966, as the lead singer of Sergio Mendes’s break through group, Brasil ’66. She has the distinction of recording more than 22 albums in three different languages (English, Portuguese and Spanish, and in 1983, she sang the title song for the James Bond film, Never Say Never Again. In 1986 Hall won her first Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance for her album, "Es Facil Amar". Hall picked up her second Grammy Award as producer on Herb Alpert’s 2013 album, "Steppin’ Out".
While her singing career took her on the road, Hall also focused on her writing—committing to the page her personal impressions of the world around her. Sergio Mendes further expanded her writing career by asking Lani to write the English lyrics for many of the band’s Brazilian songs. Her debut book, "Emotional Memoirs & Short Stories", compiles 10 short stories from 30 years of writing short fiction and true stories from her life—all woven together by a connecting personal narrative, with the city of Chicago as the backdrop. Her characters are intelligent, modern women struggling to navigate the uncertain waters of adultery, therapy, cosmetic surgery, postpartum depression and their own sexuality.
And now, with the release of her audio book, "Emotional Memoirs & Short Stories", Hall has mixed her two creative expressions to make one total experience. With her emotional narration at the forefront, she has placed a unique, musically scored soundtrack, creating an emotional landscape of music, to all 10 stories, making each chosen scene come to vivid life.
Since 2006, Herb Alpert and Lani Hall have been touring with their band to sell out performances.