Pop trumpet legend
Herb Alpert
marks his 50th album and updates his classic '60s
Tijuana Brass
sound on 2024's aptly titled
50
. It's a contemporary lounge music aesthetic he's been cultivating for over a decade and one that has garnered him yet more accolades, including a Grammy award for 2013's
Steppin' Out
and a Grammy nomination for 2016's
Human Nature
. As with those albums and its predecessor, 2023's
Wish Upon a Star
,
finds the 89-year-old
Alpert
reworking a mix of beloved jazz and pop standards along with several original songs. Prominently featured is the Broadway standard "Baubles, Bangles and Beads," which strike a familiar cocktail party jazz vibe. Yet more unexpected is his jaunty rendition of
the Chords
classic 1954 doo wop hit "Sh-Boom," which fits surprisingly well into the
style. We also get a smoky take on the
Elvis Presley
ballad "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and a sparkling electronic jazz reimagining of pianist
Duke Pearson
's hard bop number "Jeanine," made famous by
Cannonball Adderley
in 1960. Elsewhere, he revisits his passion for bossa nova on
Antonio Carlos Jobim
's "Corcovado" and even takes on the surf classic "Sleep Walk," his warm tone framed in a nostalgic sea of orchestral strings. Of the originals, both the upbeat "Dancing Down 50th Street" and the romantic, vocal harmony-tinged "Morning Mist" evoke the best trumpet-led mood music of
's long and influential career. ~ Matt Collar