Herb Alpert says he’s returned to holiday music as another thing to do — and for all the right reasons.
“I just like making music,” says the iconic trumpeter, composer and record company executive, who delivered Christmas Time Is Here, his third holiday set, on Nov. 7. “That’s what I do to stay healthy. I like to record, and if I can find a song that haunts me for some reason and do it in a way that’s different, that people haven’t heard before…that’s what I like to do. I picked out a bunch of songs, and even though I’ve recorded a couple of these songs before I felt I could put another spin on them.”
Holiday albums have certainly been good for Alpert during his 67-year recording career, which has put him in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and earned him a National Medal of Arts. Alpert’s first seasonal effort, 1968’s Christmas Album, went gold, per the RIAA, and went No. 1 on Billboard‘s then-titled Christmas LP’s chart; 2017’s The Christmas Wish hit No. 2 on the Jazz Albums chart and No. 5 on the Top Holiday Albums chart.
“They sell every year,” Alpert notes. “You put ’em to rest for 11 months and they come back like they’re almost fresh. They’re good songs, and when you pick good songs, I think people appreciate that.”
Alpert tried a few different things with some of the 12 tracks on Christmas Time Is Here. Particularly notable is his new cover version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein standard “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music, which Alpert kept melodically faithful within a revamped arrangement. “I always liked that melody,” he explains. “It’s written in 3/4, like in a waltz time. I found a way to do in 4/4 that seemed like it fit the song. There’s been so many recordings of (the song), but this one certainly doesn’t sound like something that’s been overplayed.” Alpert, who’s joined by keyboardist Jeff Lorber on several of the songs, also lent a New Orleans flavor to the staple “Jingle Bells” and incorporates some vocals into the mostly instrumental set on tracks such as “Sleigh Ride” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
“It takes relaxation and not thinking too hard,” he says of the process. “I’m not trying to make a hit record that’s going to sell a zillion copies. I’m just trying to make something that feels good to me. I’m always looking for that. That’s my goal, to make music that feels good. So when I hit on a type of arrangement just felt right, felt interesting, that’s when I felt like (the songs) deserved to be done again.”
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the most contemporary selection on the set but one that’s certainly been on Alpert’s radar since its 1994 release. “I always thought it was a really good song, good melody, nice lyric — it didn’t surprise me that record of hers did so well,” he says of the perennial Billboard Hot 100 topper. “It’s always melody first; like Quincy Jones once said, you can take the greatest singer in the world, and if the song’s not there the record won’t be any good.”
Christmas Time Is Here comes in the midst of a variety of celebrations for Alpert during the past year-plus. During September of 2024 he released 50, his — wait for it — 50th studio album. This year, meanwhile, he turned 90 (on March 31) and has been commemorating the 60th anniversary of his breakthrough Whipped Cream & Other Delights — his first of five No. 1s on the Billboard 200 — by touring with a reconstituted Tijuana Brass, which hit the road again Nov. 9 with dates booked into next summer.
“It’s this new renaissance; I can’t believe what’s happening,” Alpert says. “I’m 90 years old and I’ve got this audience that wants to hear music that I did 60 years ago. I’m doing it for the right reasons; it’s something I have to do. It gives me energy; It gives me a reason to be. I like it, and I get a chance to make a lot of people happy. That seems like a good deal. I didn’t expect this to be happening at my present age.”
There’s more to come, he says. Alpert is planning to release a live album from the tour, though no release date has been determined. Meanwhile, he adds, “I’ve got a whole bunch of songs that are ready to be released,” again without a firm plan yet, and he’s confident there will be even more after that.
“That’s what I love to do,” he says. “I love to record. I love to work. I have a Logic (recording) system, and it keeps my brain working. I play the horn just about every day of my life. I’m a right-brain guy — I paint and sculpt and blow the horn. I’ve got this gift, and I love that I get to share it with people.”
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