North on South St. (1991)

About this title: Ever attuned to what is happening out there in recordland, Herb Alpert tried to graft his trumpet onto the rhythms and textures of hip-hop and techno-dance music in North On South St., hoping again to crash the R&B charts. He used four young black co-producers (Greg Smith, Robert Jerald, Jimmy B and Troy Staton) and they get some festively percolating grooves going on tracks like "Passion Lady" and "Paradise 25." Clearly Alpert's early jazz leanings were beckoning more strongly, and his Miles Davis-like musings over the dance tumult actually anticipated the acid-jazz movement later in the ... read more

Tracks:

1. Jump Street [Alpert/Smith]
2. It's the Last Dance [Alpert/Smith]
3. Passion Lady [Alpert/Goodman/Schl]
4. North on South St. [Alpert/Smith]
5. Paradise 25 [Alpert/Jerald]
6. Na Na Na [Alpert/Smith]
7. Funky Reggae [Alpert/Jimmy B.]
8. Where's Tommy [Alpert/Jimmy B./Del]
9. City Terrace [Alpert/Smith]
10. I Can't Stop Thinking About You [Alpert]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.