I Feel You

by Lani Hall, Herb Alpert

Overview

Trumpeter Herb Alpert and vocalist and wife Lani Hall teamed as a duo for the critically acclaimed live recording Anything Goes in 2009. I Feel You is the studio follow-up to that fine recording, and the contrasts between the two are marked. While the former album reflected new takes on the jazz canon, this one delves into rock, pop, jazz, and Brazilian tunes and interprets them with a contemporary international feel, without leaving jazz behind. Backed by their touring group -- pianist/keyboardist Bill Cantos, drummer/percussionist Michael Shapiro, and bassist Hussain Jiffry -- Alpert and Hall commence with a reading of Van Morrison's "Moondance" that is as influenced by Arabic modalism as it is the nocturnal bop-noir inherent in its melody. Led by a fretless bassline and shakers, Alpert runs through the lyric on muted trumpet. The pair begins singing together, over a minute in as the piano enters the fray and shakers are complemented by hand drums. "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" is a showcase for Hall's trademark phrasing and Alpert's jazz-wise improvisation on a Caribbean-based rhythm. It's languid, lovely, and, in its gentle way, it pops thanks to the rhythm section. Other highlights here include the Brazilian-flavored tunes: "There Will Never Be Another You" (even with Alpert's reedy vocals), "Berimbau," "The Corner (Clube' de Esquina)," and "Viola." Hall's vocals -- which are still in top form -- and Alpert's playing complement one another symbiotically (especially on the latter tune). The reading of "Here Comes the Sun" is radical. It's double-timed by Shapiro's snare and painted by Cantos' Rhodes piano with an alternate melody played by Jiffry's electric bass while Alpert and Hall hold down the original melody (trumpet and vocal) in the quiet storm. Likewise, "Blackbird" is performed as a funky modern jazz number with smooth samba overtones. The African drumming on "What Now My Love," with Alpert's clipped (and slightly reverbed) phrasing on the melody transforms the tune. The reading of "Call Me" (which he produced for Chris Montez in 1965) is reinvented here as a lithe, syncopated romantic groover. Less successful is "Fever," because its center isn't in the vocal or trumpet but in the rhythm section's interplay. That quibble aside, I Feel You is an excellent contemporary jazz recording by a veteran duo whose intuition is nearly flawless. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	09/09/2016
Label:	HERB ALPERT PRESENTS
UPC:	0814647021522

Tracks

1. Moondance
2. Cast Your Fate to the Wind
3. There Will Never Be Another You
4. Fever
5. Viola (Viola Fora de Moda)
6. Something Cool
7. What Now My Love
8. Here Comes the Sun
9. Blackbird
10. Clube Esquina (Clube Da Esquina)
11. Berimbau
12. I Feel You
13. Call Me
14. 'Til There Was You

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lani Hall   Primary Artist,Vocals
Herb Alpert   Primary Artist,Vocals,Trumpet
Bill Cantos   Organ,Piano,Keyboards,Fender Rhodes,Synthesizer Strings,Vocals (Background)
Michael Shapiro   Drums,Loops,Kalimba,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Hussain Jiffry   Bass,Fretless Bass,Vocals (Background),Electric Upright Bass

Technical Credits

Tony Hatch   Composer,Lyricist
Paul McCartney   Composer,Lyricist
Bill Cantos   Arranger,Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Billy Barnes   Composer,Lyricist
Edu Lobo   Composer,Lyricist
Mack Gordon   Composer,Lyricist
Lani Hall Alpert   Liner Notes
Lo Borges   Composer,Lyricist
Mike Harrison   Engineer
Robert Hadley   Mastering
Harry Warren   Composer,Lyricist
Lani Hall   Arranger,Producer
Carel Werber   Composer,Lyricist
Eddie Cooley   Composer,Lyricist
Doug Sax   Mastering
Vince Guaraldi   Composer,Lyricist
George Harrison   Composer,Lyricist
John Davenport   Composer,Lyricist
Vinicius de Moraes   Composer,Lyricist
John Lennon   Composer,Lyricist
Van Morrison   Composer,Lyricist
Michael Shapiro   Effects,Arranger,Producer
Milton Nascimento   Composer,Lyricist
Gilbert Becaud   Composer,Lyricist
Herb Alpert   Mixing,Arranger,Producer
Meredith Willson   Composer,Lyricist
Marcio Borges   Composer,Lyricist
Carl Sigman   Composer,Lyricist
Bobby Scott   Composer
Baden Powell   Composer,Lyricist
Jose Carlos Capinam   Composer,Lyricist
Pierre Delanoe   Composer,Lyricist
Ric Marlow   Composer
David Kemp   Producer
Hussain Jiffry   Arranger,Producer
Andreas Neumann   Photography,Art Direction
Baden Powell De Aquino   Composer
Benjamin McAllister   Artwork
Khadija Donatelli Neumann   Make-Up,Hair Stylist
Lizette Pena   Stylist