Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights at Lincoln Center: April 1 show April 5, 2025

NOTE: This recap will lead with photos at the venue; before, during, and after the concert. That will be followed by photos on the way to and from there: at Rockville Centre‘s LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) station, aboard the train to Grand Central Terminal, inside GCT itself, the long walk through Manhattan to Columbus Circle (including stops at Rockefeller Center and Serafina restaurant, entering 59th Street-Columbus Circle Station to take the 1 train to 34th Street-Penn Station, and watching the Babylon-bound train arrive on track 20 of Penn Station’s LIRR terminal.

Tuesday night, thanks to my friend Lori Downing, I finally got the opportunity to see Herb Alpert live in concert. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights played two sold out shows in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. The show I attended – along with Lori, Lori’s son Zach, and my mother Lisa (a mutual friend of Lori) – was the second of the two, one day after Herb’s 90th birthday.

I have been a fan of Herb Alpert since CD 101.9 played “Rise” and “Rotation” on a regular basis in the 1990s. I inherited my fandom from my mom and her dad (my grandpa) Artie. In the summer of 1999, I bought a compilation CD called Classics Volume 20 with some of my high school graduation money. It only covered 1979 to ’87, meaning no Tijuana Brass. I wouldn’t discover that portion of Herb’s catalog until getting another compilation called Definitive Hits. (Yes, I’d heard TJB songs in episodes of The Simpsons and on The Dating Game. I just didn’t have them in my collection.) In 2010, I began buying CD remasters of whole albums, from The Lonely Bull (1962) to North on South St (1991). Outside of Second Wind (1996) and Colors (1999), there’s a 22-year gap in my collection that ends with Steppin’ Out (2013). From there, I’m only missing The Christmas Wish (2017).

When Lori Downing and I attended Dave Koz’s 20th Anniversary Christmas Tour at Tilles Center in December 2017, I quipped that we were in the Bob Uecker seats since we were so high up (but not in the last row). It’s a nod to the infamous 1984 Lite Beer from Miller ad where Bob is at a baseball game and settles into a field level seat. An usher intervenes, telling him he’s in the wrong seat, and Bob says, “Oh, I must be in the front row.” After the ad’s tag, we transition to Ueck in the upper deck (of Dodger Stadium). He shouts to his friend, “Good seats, eh, buddy?,” and to an umpire, “He missed the tag! He missed the tag!”

Life somewhat imitated art on Tuesday. When we presented our tickets to an usher, she escorted us to seats at stage level, a handful of rows from the stage. Seconds after I settled into what I thought was my seat, the usher realized her mistake and referred us to another usher. When I got up, I acknowledged the similarity to the ad and repeated the “front row” line. The second usher had us go up two floors in an elevator to our true location. We were in the last row of the center balcony. Unlike with Dave Koz, we really were in the Bob Uecker seats. However, there wasn’t a bad seat in the house. The rows are arranged in a way that your view won’t be blocked by the person in front of you.

Before we see photos from the show itself, along with the complete set list and background info, let’s backtrack.

Lori, Zach, my mom Lisa, and I reached Jazz at Lincoln Center, one of many portions of the vast Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, just after 7PM.

Using the clear backpack my dad bought for when we went to a Mets game in June 2022, a security guard cleared me in mere seconds. After riding an elevator to the 5th floor, we waited in the lobby until the Rose Hall doors were to open at 7:30.

Zach invited me to look at the view of Columbus Circle from a window at the lobby’s edge.

Then, I took a selfie with my mom.

There was even a WCWP connection to all this. (FM 60th anniversary/2024 Hall of Fame Ceremony recap) Jeff Kroll is an equally big Herb Alpert fan, and he and his wife Pat attended Monday’s 90th birthday performance. Jeff and Pat’s seats were at stage level.

On Tuesday, fellow alumnus Bobby Guthenberg, a.k.a. Bobby G., was among the attendees! Here he is talking to Lisa and Lori:

Zach took a photo of Bobby G. and me:

Bobby treated me to the David Benoit concert at My Father’s Place on December 4.

On the way to the Rose Hall entrance, I saw this poster for an upcoming Bobby McFerrin concert series (with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra):

Jazz legends photo exhibit:

That brings us back to my last row balcony seat. I can’t show every photo I took, and would rather keep videos to myself (and to some the Discord chat servers I’m part of). What I will show are the photos where my phone could make out faces with its AI enhancement.

The lights went down at 8:05 and the monitor showed Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass as the Mystery Guests on a circa 1965 episode of What’s My Line?

The stage lights came up, the new Tijuana Brass assembled, and Herb made his entrance.

The band was made up of:

• Herb Alpert – lead trumpet
• Kris Bergh – trumpet and percussion
• Ryan Dragon – trombone and percussion
• Bill Cantos – piano, synthesizer, marimba
• Kerry Marx – acoustic and electric guitars
• Hussain Jiffry – bass
• Ray Brinker – drums

It was nice to finally put faces to the names (Bill, Hussain) I’d seen in the credits to Herb’s solo albums since 2013. I’m connected with Ray Brinker on Facebook, and knew of him through his work with Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. So, he was the only Tijuana Brass member I knew by name until Herb’s introduction toward the end of the first encore (spoiler).

Bill, Hussain, Ryan, and Kris provided background vocals on songs that called for them.

Here is the full set list (original album and release year in parentheses):

1. The Lonely Bull (El Solo Toro) (The Lonely Bull, 1962) – Original composition by Sol Lake
2. The Work Song (S.R.O., 1966) – While writing this post, I finally learned “Work Song” was by Nat Adderley, not Cannonball
3. Memories of Madrid (What Now My Love, 1966) – Another original TJB composition by Sol Lake
4. Whipped Cream (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – One of two music cues used on The Dating Game
5. Spanish Flea (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – The other Dating Game cue – Original composition by TJB member Julius Wechter (also leader of the Baja Marimba Band) – Wechter’s original title was “Spanish Fly,” which wouldn’t fly in 1965
6. Ladyfingers (audience member request) (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965)
7. Lollipops and Roses (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965)
8. Bittersweet Samba (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – Still another Sol Lake composition for TJB – Serves as the theme to All Night Nippon, a Japanese radio show
9. Mexican Shuffle (South of the Border, 1964) – If you’re keeping score, that’s four Sol Lake compositions in the set – I had no idea this was used in TV ads for Clark’s Teaberry gum (one such ad shown on the monitor), or that it was referred to as “The Teaberry Shuffle”
10. Tangerine (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – See notes below set list for more info
11. I’m Getting Sentimental Over You (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – Preceded by Ray Brinker drum solo
12. Love Potion No. 9 (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – The album’s requisite striptease song
13. Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 (hits medley sung by the group’s lead vocalist Lani Hall (Herb’s wife; he considers Sergio “Cupid” for bring them together): Tim Dom Dom (Chim Dome Dome), One Note Samba, The Fool on the Hill, Mas que nada – Songs 1, 2, and 4 are from Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66, 1966; “The Fool on the Hill” was a 1968 title track, minus the “the”
14. Rise (Rise, 1979) (solo album) – Rap fans may recognize one part from its sampling in “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G.
15. A Taste of Honey (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – Ray Brinker perfectly matched The Wrecking Crew player Hal Blaine‘s drumming from the original, right down to the bass drum taps to note the 4/4 time signature
16. Zorba the Greek (Zorba’s Dance) (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – A clip of the titular film‘s dance scene (with Anthony Quinn as Zorba) was shown during the slow middle
17. Encore 1-1: This Guy’s in Love with You (The Beat of the Brass, 1968) – Herb’s lone vocal song of the set – Contrary to popular belief, the song was later reworked as “This Girl’s in Love with You” for Dionne Warwick and other female singers, not the other way around for Herb
18. Encore 1-2: Smile (Midnight Sun, 1992; Catch the Wind, 2021) (solo albums) – Requiem for departed friends, including Sergio Mendes, Karen Carpenter, Burt Bacharach (co-writer of “This Guy’s in Love with You”), and A&M Records co-founder Jerry Moss – “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin is not to be confused with “Sweet, Sweet Smile,” which was introduced/popularized by The Carpenters
19. Encore 1-3: What Now My Love (What Now My Love, 1966)
20. Encore 1-4: A Banda (Herb Alpert’s Ninth, 1967) – Fittingly preceded by band introduction (“a banda” literally means “the band”)
21. Encore 2-1: Tijuana Taxi (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – original composition by TJB guitarist Ervan “Bud” Coleman
22. Encore 2-2 (True Finale): On the Sunny Side of the Street (Come Fly with Me, 2015; Sunny Side of the Street, 2022) (solo albums)

I knew the title of most songs the instant they began. There were a few exceptions. I had to ask my mom about “Smile,” Zach confirmed “Tangerine” on the train ride back to Rockville Centre (via a set list for one of the Buffalo shows), and I confirmed “Tim Dom Dom (Chim Dome Dome)” on Wednesday morning via the Herb Alpert Presents… Wikipedia entry.

It’s understandable that I wouldn’t recognize “Tangerine.” I gravitated toward the more popular tracks on Whipped Cream & Other Delights. I didn’t really develop awareness and appreciate of the song until hearing it on She Was Too Good to Me, trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker‘s 1974 comeback album.

Throughout the set, relevant video clips or still photos were shown on a monitor above the stage.

The best of the photos:

In conclusion, there were 22 songs, 6 of the encores (4 in the first encore, 2 in the second). It was a night I’ll never forget, and I owe it all to Lori Downing. Crying happy tears, I hugged her and thanked her as we got up from our seats and walked back to the lobby.

There were no accessible stairs. So, we had to take an escalator from the lobby to a set of elevators. We and several other attendees boarded the first elevator to open and rode it down to ground level. From there, we exited back out to Columbus Circle.

The experience wasn’t all “Lollipops and Roses,” so to speak. I neglected to disable my iPhone camera’s flash and the flash light was on as I recorded “Memories of Madrid.” An usher had to come to our row and tell me to turn it off. I did as he instructed, and I deleted the video from my phone, but was quite embarrassed and miffed. I gathered my wits within a minute or two. I made sure the flash was off in photo and video mode the rest of the night, and there was no further trouble. I recorded 12 more videos (on top of “The Lonely Bull” before the intervention). Again, I’m opting to withhold them from this post.

Now, let’s turn our attention to the other photos, taken going to and from Jazz at Lincoln Center.

This train was an M9.

By this time, my iPhone’s battery state of charge was down 10%. So, I didn’t take anymore photos, but I had taken 154 photos and 13 videos on my phone, in addition to the two photos provided to me by Zach, which I cropped and upscaled for this post.

I don’t know what more I can say. Thank you again to Lori Downing for inviting me and my mom to see Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights on Tuesday night. And thank you for reading this recap. Check back in mid-May for recaps of this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars. Bye until then.