Coney Island (album)

This article is about the music album by Herb Alpert. For other uses, see Coney Island (disambiguation).

Coney Island
Studio album by Herb Alpert and The T.J.B.
Released	Spring 1975
Studio	Gold Star Studios, Hollywood
Genre	Pop, Easy Listening
Length	40:39
Label	A&M
Producer	Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert and The T.J.B. chronology
You Smile – The Song Begins (1974) Coney Island (1975) Just You And Me (1976)

Coney Island is a 1975 studio album by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, the second release that was billed as "Herb Alpert & The T.J.B." It followed the 1974 release of You Smile – The Song Begins. Both albums reflected personnel changes from the Brass that was disbanded after 1969's The Brass Are Comin'.^[1]

The T.J.B.

The album was said to be "a brave, nearly complete departure from the old Tijuana Brass, where the jazzers were given carte blanche and the rhythm section encouraged to do more complex things."^[2]

Legendary audio engineer Larry Levine, who engineered nearly all of the Tijuana Brass albums including Coney Island, observed that the album contained more off-beat or original tracks, that cast the band in a new and more adventurous light. He noted in particular that "'Carmine', 'Vento Bravo' and Chick Corea's 'Señor Mouse' allow the band to stretch more than the TJB of old, and emphasizing more improvisation by the group members."^[3]

In September 1974, music from Coney Island was featured in a television special with Jim Henson's Muppets.^[3] Alpert & The T.J.B. also made an appearance to promote the album on the late night musical variety series "Midnight Special." The broadcast was essentially an A&M Records special, with additional appearances by label artists Captain & Tennille, Billy Preston, and Supertramp.^[4]

Reception

Coney Island spent ten weeks on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, reaching number 88 for the week ending June 14, 1975.^[5] It spent eight weeks on the Billboard Top 50 Easy Listening chart, where it peaked at number 19. ^[6]

Personnel

• Herb Alpert: trumpet^[1]
• Bob Edmondson: trombone
• Bob Findley: trumpet
• Dave Frishberg: piano
• Julius Wechter: marimba
• Vince Charles: steel drum/percussion
• Lani Hall: vocals
• Steve Schaeffer: drums
• Peter Woodford: guitar
• Papito Hernandez: bass

Track listing

Track	Title	Composers	Time
1	"Coney Island"	Julius Wechter	2:13
2	" I Have Dreamed"	Oscar Hammerstein II - Richard Rodgers	2:35
3	"Señor Mouse "	Chick Corea	4:28
4	"Mickey”	Michael Colombier	4:02
5	"Sweet Georgia Brown	Ben Bernie, Kenneth Casey, Maceo Pinkard	2:29
6	"Ratatouille (Rata Too Ee)”	Clovis Mello, Moacir Santos	3:07
7	"Catfish”	Bob Findley	2:37
8	"This Masquerade”	Leon Russell	2:18
9	"Carmine”	Herb Alpert	5:33
10	"The Crave”	Jelly Roll Morton	1:52
11	"Vento Bravo”	Edu Lobo	3:47
12	"I Belong”	Goran Fristorp, Hal David	4:25

References

1. "FAQ". The Herb Alpert Tijuana Brass Discography and Collector Resource Site. 8 February 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
2. "Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass / Coney Island". AllMusic.com. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
3. "Coney Island". LarryLevineRecordingEngineer.com. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
4. O'Rourke, Steve (2008). The Herb Alpert File. Stephen Vincent O'Rourke. p. 69.
5. "Billboard Top LPs & Tape". Billboard. New York, NY. 14 June 1975. p. 54.
6. "Billboard Top 50 Easy Listening". Billboard. New York, NY. 14 June 1975. p. 25.