Herb Alpert’s music is alive and well and coming to Jazz at Crofton Sunday, Nov. 1.
Jake Masri’s Tijuana Brass tribute band from the Comox Valley will bring that bold, brassy, South-of-the-Border sound to the Crofton Hotel starting at 2 p.m.
Masri, who plays lead trumpet, was a fan of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass at age 11, even before he took up playing the trumpet.
A graduate of the jazz programs at the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia, Masri has played with a variety of bands in the Comox Valley since he moved there in 2002, including Quintessence Brass, Georgia Strait and Arrowsmith.
Alpert, one of the most successful performing artists of the 20th century, was inspired to co-write his first of many hit singles, The Lonely Bull, in 1962. The brassy yet sophisticated sound really took off.
He formed The Tijuana Brass two years later, with the best session musicians in Los Angeles. They soon became one of the highest paid acts in show business.
The band’s awards and honours included five No. 1 hits, 28 albums on the Billboard charts, eight Grammys, 14 Platinum albums, 15 Gold albums and, as of 1996, a total of 72 million albums sold.
The group also holds a Guinness world record for producing five top-20 albums in one year, outselling the Beatles in 1966. It’s just great music to listen to.
Other tribute band members include trumpeter Jay Havelaar, guitarist Rick Husband, keyboardist Michael Eddy, bassist Grahame Edwards and drummer Neil Clark.
The pub is located at 1534 Joan Ave. and admission is $10 per person.