Herb Appeal

Jazz legend Herb Alpert swings into Scottsdale

If you’re thinking we wrote this story mostly as an excuse to run this classic record cover, you’re correct. But we did some research and it turns out trumpeter Herb Alpert —who’s performing in Scottsdale on Saturday—is a pretty cool cat.

His 1960s stuff with the Tijuana Brass band is hokey but crazy catchy—just ask Homer Simpson. Meanwhile, Alpert’s 1979 hit “Rise” provided the jangling synthesizer sound for rapper Notorious B.I.G.’s song “Hypnotize.” More important, Alpert co-founded the record label that introduced the world to everyone from The Police to Cheech and Chong.

Alongside his wife and Grammy-winning vocalist, Lani Hall, Alpert will be performing American and Brazilian jazz standards on Saturday at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (480-994-2787).