Over the Rainbow

by Herb Alpert

Overview

Pop trumpet icon Herb Alpert returned to regular activity after an extended hiatus with 2009's Anything Goes. Since then, he has averaged an album a year, even picking up his eighth Grammy award for 2013's Steppin' Out and a Grammy nomination for 2016's Human Nature. 2019's warmly produced Over the Rainbow keeps this latter-career streak moving as Alpert offers another set of beloved pop standards reworked in his distinctive contemporary style. Once again joining Alpert is Grammy-winning producer Jochem van der Saag, who previously helmed the trumpeter's 2017 album, Music, Vol. 1, and 2018 effort Music, Vol. 3: Herb Alpert Reimagines the Tijuana Brass. As with those productions, Over the Rainbow finds Alpert putting his bright instrumental stamp on some of his favorite songs. Here, we get a dusky, flamenco-tinged interpretation of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine," a sultry rendition of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Fantasy," and a jaunty, reggae-pop reinvention of the Willie Nelson classic "Always on My Mind." Elsewhere, there is a moody, synth-backed version of Eden Abaz's "Nature Boy" and a Brazilian carnival-meets-Mexican fiesta take on "South of the Border." Particularly successful is his Latin reading of Barry Manilow's "Copacabana," featuring warm vocals by Hussain Jiffry and Alpert's wife Lani Hall. Also pleasing is Alpert's burnished take on the title track standard, played here with lyrical simplicity following Michael Shapiro's sung verse. We also get one original in the infectious album-opener "Skinny Dip," a buoyant Latin anthem that, as with much of Over the Rainbow, evokes the feel-good, cross-border mood music of his classic work. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	09/20/2019
Label:	HERB ALPERT PRESENTS
UPC:	0814647022079

Tracks

1. Skinny Dip
2. Ain¿¿¿t No Sunshine
3. All Love
4. Fantasy
5. Over the Rainbow
6. Copacabana
7. With You I¿¿¿m Born Again
8. You Are So Beautiful
9. Nature Boy
10. Always on My Mind
11. South of the Border
12. What a Wonderful World

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Herb Alpert   Primary Artist,Vocals,Spoken Word,Vocals (Background)
Pedro Eustache   Shakuhachi,Pan Flute
Jamieson Trotter   Wurlitzer
Einstein Brown   Drums (Steel)
Andre De Santanna   Bass
Dylan Chambers   Guitar (Electric)
Leo Costa   Percussion
Nathan Harkless   Vocals
Ruben Harutyunyan   Duduk
Cruz Martin   Vocals
Josh McCrary   Vocals
Dalia Puchalt   Vocals
Jo McCrary   Vocals
Mila   Vocals
Noah Semsen   Vocals
Rajib Karmakar   Sitar
Zola Vilshenker   Vocals
Bill Cantos   Piano,Vocals (Background)
Lani Hall   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Eduardo del Barrio   Keyboards
Jochem van der Saag   Keyboards,Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Naser Mousa   Oud
Hussain Jiffry   Bass,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Karen Han   Erhu
Claira Titman   Vocals
Michael Shapiro   Drums,Bongos,Vocals,Keyboards,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Marcel Camargo   Guitar,Cavaquinho

Technical Credits

Herb Alpert   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Liner Notes
Carol Connors   Composer
Jack Feldman   Composer
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg   Composer
Verdine White   Composer
Bruce Fisher   Composer
Edie Lehmann Boddicker   Vocal Contractor
Andre De Santanna   Engineer
Dylan Chambers   Composer
Leo Costa   Engineer
John Christopher, Jr.   Composer
George Weiss   Composer
Jochem van der Saag   Mixing,Arranger,Producer,Sound Design,Rhythm Programming,String Arrangements,Keyboard Programming,Orchestral Arrangements
Richard Furth   Engineer
Bernie Grundman   Mastering
Bob Thiele   Composer
Bill Withers   Composer
James Kennedy   Composer,Lyricist
Eddie Del Barrio   Composer
Eduardo del Barrio   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Orchestration,Keyboard Programming
David Shire   Composer
Louis Armstrong   Voice Engineer
Mark James   Composer
Maurice White   Composer
Jean Reinhardt   Composer
Michael Carr   Composer,Lyricist
Robert Thiele   Composer
Brian Porizek   Design,Art Direction
Dewey Nicks   Photography
Hussain Jiffry   Engineer
Joe Fisher   Composer
Wayne Thompson   Composer
Barry Manilow   Composer
Eden Ahbez   Composer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Michael Shapiro   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Billy Preston   Composer
Bruce Sussman   Composer
George David Weiss   Composer