billboard
by Gary Graff
Herb Alpert wants it known that his new instrumental version of Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" and its video -- premiering exclusively below -- is "not a commercial venture," nor is it intended as political commentary. But the times have moved Alpert to make a musical statement.
"I'm not a politician, but there's a lot of things going on I'd like to respond to," Alpert tells Billboard. "I wouldn't in my wildest dreams think of covering such an iconic record, but I've always been taken by what Louis said, and there's a lot of things going on I'd like to respond to. It's a simple statement. It's a true statement. It's apolitical, and I'm sure a lot of people believe it. So I'm just trying to put some feelings out there I think deserve to be out there."
Proceeds from Alpert's "What A Wonderful World" will be going to the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. His treatment of the song, meanwhile, takes a more upbeat, world music approach, blending Alpert's trumpet with a variety of international instruments including the Chinese erhu, the Turkish Oud, the Japanese shakuhachi, the Armenian duduk and the steel pan from Trinidad.
Replies
When are we going to STEP UP and PROMOTE PAN MUSIC OURSELVES.
All dem MUSICAL GENIUSES we have down in TRINIDAD should be able to PUT OUT something like this for the WORLD TO HEAR!!!