Did you know that as a young man, Herb Alpert was a member of the USC Trojan Marching Band, and appeared in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 epic The Ten Commandments (in the uncredited role of ‘Drummer on Mt. Sinai’)?  A lot has happened in the half-century since then, including a career as one of the most respected trumpeters in music history, the co-founding (with Jerry Moss) of A&M Records, and being the only recording artist in history to hold the #1 spot on Billboard’s “Hot 100” chart as both an instrumentalist and a vocalist.

Now, the man who brought us the Tijuana Brass has released his newest single, a fresh take on Irving Berlin’s 1929 classic “Puttin’ On the Ritz” that’s been sung by such greats as Fred Astaire, Ella Fitzgerald, and Judy Garland (who included it on her multiple Grammy Award-winning album, Judy at Carnegie Hall); not to mention Clark Gable, who sang it, in the 1939 comedy, Idiot’s Delight; and of course, Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle, who performed it as a duet, in Mel Brooks’ hilarious 1974 horror-spoof, Young Frankenstein.

A collaboration with his wife, the great Lani Hall (who lent her voice to so many of the songs of Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66), the song is absolutely infectious; and is so guaranteed to put a spring in the listener’s step, that former MTV-exec, Kerith Lemon, was given the producing reigns.  She brought-in two of the partners behind CON-APP (aka Conceptual Application – the artist-driven boutique studio-based producer and project incubator cum footwear designer), multi-media artist Glenn Kaino and photographer/cinematographer Afshin Shahidi, as directors.  They, in turn, looked to choreographers Tabitha and Napoleon D’umo of So You Think You Can Dance, whose moves are so admired by Hall and Alpert.  And round-and-round it goes.

Vincent Noiseux, who made the top 20 on the first season of So You Think You Can Dance, is the lead dancer; and he performs in concert with a crew that includes contestants and performers from So You Think You Can Dance, America's Best Dance Crew, Dancing with the Stars, This is It, and Step Up, amongst others.  Not coincidentally, Noiseux and a number of the other dancers are seen sporting CON-APP footwear.  Also, if you look closely, Alpert makes a few cameos in the video – as the bus-driver, as the barber, and as the bartender who lovingly pours a drink for his customer (played by Hall).

In addition to “Puttin’ On the Ritz” being the most recent single to drop from Alpert’s upcoming album, Steppin’ Out (scheduled for release, later this summer); the song, as well as the choreography seen in the video, will be featured in the video game, Zumba Fitness World Party (scheduled for release, in October 2013).

“Puttin’ On the Ritz”
Herb Alpert feat. Lani Hall
Click HERE to listen/buy in iTunes

Get into it!

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