On his 80th birthday, trumpet master Herb Alpert released a new album in 2017: “Human Nature”. No weak CD …
… and for such an elderly gentleman it sounds surprisingly fresh. Unfortunately also a bit too polished, too smooth and therefore a bit soulless – which doesn’t apply to the song “Look Up Again”. For good reasons. Finally, Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello wrote the sad piece, reminiscent of a soundtrack to a French film. Two masters of their trade. They invented an incredibly beautiful melody – which Alpert celebrates incredibly beautifully on his trumpet. It doesn’t really take much: a piano, a double bass, a spartan drumset, some violin decoration – that’s it! The “Alfie”, also presented on the CD, unfortunately long since worn out and bugged, also a Bacharach original, can’t keep up. Not to mention the other tracks of the CD. No, it’s song number five, “Look Up Again”, which touches and inspires. Oh yes, on the occasion of the CD release I had the honour to call the Grand Seigneur of soft Jazz-Pop. He speaks the way he plays: elegantly, thoughtfully, deliberately. Completely a gentleman.
