Sometimes within a few notes of a recording you can identify polished, seasoned, talented professionals. That is the clearly the case with Anything Goes. Alpert—founder of the incredibly successful “Tijuana Brass” and A&M Records, and also a successful Broadway producer—and Lani Hall—former singer with “Sergio Mendes and Brazil ’66,” solo performer and Alpert’s wife—have not cooled off a bit. Alpert has said that despite his early career in pop music he is really a jazz musician at heart and it shows on this CD featuring jazz standards by Berlin, Gershwin, Lerner & Loewe, Mercer and Porter. There are also a couple of Brazilian classics and a couple of originals by band member, Bill Cantos (piano, keyboards, vocals) thrown in, adding up to an admirable 14-track work of traditional and Latin jazz.
The recordings were actually culled from live performances at eight East and West Coast jazz clubs. The CD title, Anything Goes is taken from the Cole Porter standard and track 12 on the CD. The CD begins with George and Ira Gershwin’s “Fascinating Rhythm.” Hall needs a warm up like this to lead into the Portuguese tongue twisting second track, “Para-Raio,” during the course of which she somehow manages to find a breath in which to tease the audience to sing along with her. They laugh in realization of that impossibility. She gets a much needed break for the third track, an instrumental version of “The Trolley Song” (“Clang, clang, clang went the trolley”). In total, Hall sings on nine of the 14 tracks. One of the best is the aforementioned “Para-Raio,” but another contrasting beauty is Irving Berlin’s “Let’s Face the Music & Dance,” a plaintive ballad about the Great Depression (“There may be trouble ahead but…Let’s face the music and dance”). Cantos simple but moody and inventive fills help make it a very interesting interpretation. Cantos also composed two tracks, “Who Are You?,” on which he sings backing vocals, and “Morning Coffee,” a caffeinated number with a very fast walking bass (Hussain Jiffry) and rapid fire vocals. The tile track, “Anything Goes,” is beautifully done with a uniquely pensive approach. The CD closes out with an upbeat instrumental Latin jazz version of David Raskin’s “Laura.” Alpert is unobtrusive but resolutely present throughout. His trumpet (occasionally muted) has a clear, distinct voice and he uses it to great effect in a seemingly effortless style.
The flawless performances, amazing recording sound quality, song selections and track layout give this collection of live recordings the essence of a studio production. Herb Alpert is inventive yet concise, Lani Hall’s voice is still strong and ranging and the rest of the band fits together tightly to form an impressive whole. Traditional jazz and Latin jazz lovers will find Anything Goes to be a good addition to their collections.
February 2, 2010
