It was fifty-five years ago that a Tijuana, Mexico touch was presented to what is Christmas music in North America. Christmas Album by Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass was released in November 1968. What follows is a sampling of the music and my encouragement to purchase the album, especially if you agree with me that this is something worth being heard. The album stylings include easy listening, jazz, pop/rock, holiday, holidays, AM Pop, instrumental pop and jazz-pop.
Winter Wonderland is presented as the opening song with vocalizations to support the instrumentation, minus specific lyrics for the song. Two primary lyrical bents do exist for the song, which we’ll not address in detail here given the presentation of the song as an instrumental.
Vocalization as an interlude to begin Jingle Bells. Presented as an instrumental like Winter Wonderland, the arrangement offers a strong influence for a Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass sound that characterizes the album.
My Favorite Things continues the vocalization introduction of the preceding songs, taking the Rodgers and Hammerstein creation of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II in a direction that offers both upbeat and slow musicality. The full result provides an interesting take to an unexpected song for this collection.
The Christmas Song, sometimes referred to as Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire or simply Merry Christmas to You, was written by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. With soft singing accompanying softly strummed stringed instruments through much of the song, horns roll in for a brief point about two-thirds of the way through the song.
Written by composer Alfonso Esparza Oteo, Las Mañanitas is a traditional Mexican birthday song. The inclusion on the Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass Christmas Album, beyond being culturally on-point, feels like it can be a reference to the birth of Jesus Christ.
Sleigh Ride was composed by Leroy Anderson for light orchestras. The tempo changes beginning a bit past the 90-second mark and continued through the song present an original and appreciated instrumental take on the song that I find highly appealing.
The Bell That Couldn’t Jingle is an original song written by Burt Bacharach and Larry Kusik. Begun with a chorus singing the song almost as a chant, the almost playful arrangement slightly more than 30-seconds into the song has charm. The singing for The Bell That Couldn’t Jingle returns to a convention present in The Christmas Song.
Written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow begins with soft horns from the start. A cautious amount of singing is presented in a lovely song that needed the vocals not at all. Stated another way, the instrumentation carries this song of its own accord.
Jingle Bell Rock was first released by Bobby Helms with writing credits resting with Joe Beal and Jim Boothe. The Christmas Album version by Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass takes an instrumental approach that inspires clear excitement among the performing musicians; the occasional vocalization that trickles in gives the recording character.
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring as composed by Johann Sebastian Bach brings a beautiful rendition to a beautiful song to close the album. The harmonizing vocals accompanying the performance brings a choir feel present with many songs for the album. The horns offer the best part of the song for me.
Contributing artists to this album include Herb Alpert on trumpet, Nick Ceroli on drums and percussion, Bob Edmondson on trombone, Tonni Kalash on trumpet, Lou Pagani on keyboards, John Pisano on guitars and mandolin, Pat Senatore on bass and Julius Wechter on marimba and percussion. Neither adding nor removing my appreciation for the music, Herb Alpert is Jewish rather than Christian.
Matt – Saturday, November 25, 2023
Matt Lynn Digital 
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