Legendary trumpet player Herb Alpert and his wife, internationally renowned GRAMMY-winning singer Lani Hall, have signed with the Boston, MA-based booking agency Ted Kurland Associates (TKA) for worldwide representation. TKA will exclusively represent Alpert and Hall both for their performances as a duo. The move to TKA comes after Alpert and Hall's rare tour together this spring, where their legendary chemistry was spotlighted at intimate evenings of American and Brazilian jazz and American popular standards at sold-out shows for the entire tour cities. Stops on their itinerary, with engagements on the east and west coasts, included: Los Angeles' REDCAT, the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater in the Walt Disney Concert Hall; Joe's Pub in NYC; Yoshi's in San Francisco; Blues Alley in Washington, DC; Seattle, WA's Jazz Alley; and Sculler's Jazz Club in Boston, MA.
"Herb Alpert is truly one of the great musical icons performing today. Our agency is extremely honored to have the privilege of serving him as a new client," said Ted Kurland. Alpert and Hall were accompanied on the road by a trio of top-flight musicians: Bill Cantos (piano), Michael Shapiro (drums) and Hussain Jiffry (bass). As they embarked on tour, Alpert commented, "My love for jazz is rooted in its spontaneity and its never ending search for personal truth and creative freedom. It is with that freedom that we're doing this tour, playing original arrangements of classic American standards with the color of Brazilian music scattered throughout, hopefully creating an exciting and unique musical blend without ever closing the space for spontaneity.""Ted Kurland is a class act himself," Alpert added. "We are excited about our new relationship."
The tour showcased Hall's elegant, stirring vocals entwined with Alpert's warm, expressive trumpet lines on classics of the American popular songbook including "Let's Face The Music And Dance" (Irving Berlin), "Night And Day" and "I've Got You Under My Skin" (Cole Porter), "That Old Black Magic" (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer) and -- rightly featuring Alpert's one lead vocal of the set -- "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" (Lerner & Lowe). On a contemporary note, Alpert and Hall blended the 2006 Corinne Bailey Rae hit "Like A Star" into a set-piece with "A Taste Of Honey" (Bobby Scott/Ric Marlow), a song that netted Alpert three GRAMMYs in 1965. Also featured were two compositions by the combo's pianist, Bill Cantos --"Morning Coffee" and "Who Are You?"In addition to considering future live performance options, Herb Alpert and Lani Hall are in discussions regarding a future album and DVD project.
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