Having enjoyed a career resurgence since returning to regular touring and recording in 2007, trumpeter and pop icon
Herb Alpert
celebrates his ten-year run with 2017's vibrant
Music, Vol. 1
. As with his more recent releases,
finds him reworking a set of well-curated standards and 20th century pop classics in an electronic-tinged, often dance-oriented style. Included are songs by
Irving Berlin
,
George Gershwin
the Beatles
, and others. The difference this time out is that rather than working with any of his longtime collaborators, here
Alpert
recorded with veteran Dutch producer
Jochem van der Saag
(
Andrea Bocelli
Barbra Streisand
Michael Buble
). The result is an album of kinetic, highly animated arrangements reminiscent of the trumpeter's classic '60s easy listening tracks, but with a modern twist. For fans of
's albums since 2009's comeback
Anything Goes
, there is plenty to enjoy here, including his Parisian-chanson-meets-midtempo-ska rendition of
' "Michelle" and his similarly genre-bending swing-meets-electro-reggae take on the standard "Strike Up the Band." We also get similarly effective transmutations like the hip-hop-infused "Unforgettable" (which also features
's boyish vocals), a '90s-style new jack swing version of "You Stepped Out of a Dream," and a jaunty, lounge-ready version of "C'est Si Bon." While the album has a generally lighter emotional tone than
's Grammy-nominated 2016 effort
Human Nature
, we do get his lovingly rendered, orchestral-synth accented take on
John Lennon
's "Imagine." Ultimately, with
having entered his octogenarian decade, it's life-affirming to hear him continue to deliver such buoyant and creatively engaged albums as this. ~ Matt Collar