Fairfax High School, home of the Lions, may be located near West Hollywood, but it has a habit of producing famous musicians. Among its distinguished alums are Red Hot Chili Peppers’ founding members Anthony Kiedis, Michael “Flea” Balzary and Jack Irons, and Rami Jaffee of the Wallflowers, all of whom, incidentally, call Malibu their home, as well as legendary guitarist Slash from Guns ‘n’ Roses.
But predating all those leading lights is the old school, embodied by Fairfax alum (and Malibu resident) Herb Alpert.
The trumpet player supreme, who first rose to fame in the mid-1960s with his group the Tijuana Brass when their signature song, “The Lonely Bull,” topped Billboard’s charts, was honored at his alma mater last Saturday night.
Friends of Fairfax successfully mounted its first annual Legacy Gala and Hall of Fame Induction at the elegant Wilshire Ebell Theatre, where the alumni club inducted the musician alongside fellow alumni and philanthropists Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer, Annette Shapiro and Broadcom founder Henry Samueli. About 500 people attended the classy fundraiser, which also included tables busy with yearbooks, apparel and other mementos from Fairfax’s storied past, triggering a blast of nostalgia for the myriad alumni in attendance, including L.A. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky with wife Barbara.
Proud of its diversity, the evening featured cheerleading, singing and dancing performances by members of Fairfax’s multicultural student body.
“Dear Herb Alpert,” began the Asian male teen band student introducing Herb to the stage to receive his honor. “I am a student of music and you are music itself.”
Alpert, who as a jazz musician has scored 15 gold albums and 14 platinum albums, and has moved 75 million units worldwide, was raised in West Hollywood by a father who played the mandolin and a mother who took up the violin. Alpert is the only recording artist in the history of recorded music to reach number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 pop chart as both a vocalist, with 1968’s “This Guy’s in Love With You,” and as an instrumentalist, with the track “Rise,” in 1979.
Alpert also co-founded A&M Records with partner Jerry Moss (A&M standing for Alpert & Moss) in 1962. The company would later carry such diverse artists as the Police, the Go-Gos, Liza Minnelli and Quincy Jones. The thriving label was bought by PolyGram in 1989 for about $500 million.
No sooner than he accepted his medal, Alpert was joined onstage by pianist Bill Cantos, drummer Michael Shapiro, bassist Hussain Jiffry of Sri Lanka, and his greatest musical collaborator of all, Alpert’s wife, singer Lani Hall. The pair performed a full concert that included such classics as “Fever” and Van Morrison’s “Moon Dance.”
“I was really happy,” Alpert, class of ‘53, told The Malibu Times as he greeted Fairfax friends and posed for pictures with current pupils after the concert. He also stressed the importance of giving back to school music programs at a time when state budget cuts are curtailing children’s chances of exploring their creative side.
It is a message Alpert takes seriously. In the late 1980s, he and Hall founded The Herb Alpert Foundation. Aimed primarily at fostering creativity in young people in the Los Angeles County area, the foundation has funded a wide array of youth music and arts programs, among other initiatives. Every year, the foundation gives scholarships, administered through the California State Summer School for the Arts, to six young artists toward institutions of their choosing. In 2007, the foundation gave a $30 million donation for an endowment to the UCLA School of Music, which now bears Alpert’s name.
Hall, who recently released the book “Emotional Memoirs and Short Stories,” has lived with her hubby in Malibu since 1972. She said she appreciates “Malibu’s natural beauty, which is inspiring. To be able to look at the ocean and that endless water.” Of Malibu, she continued, “It’s private. People don’t bother you. Artists need to be alone in order to create.”
Evidently, the Alperts are spending a lot of what fellow jazz man Dave Frishberg would call “quality time.” Her multitalented husband is currently working hard in the studio on a new album, on which Hall will also be featured, as well as a new batch of sculptures for an upcoming exhibit.