Herb Alpert reflects on fame, TikTok and turning 90 with the Tijuana Brass

Herb Alpert and wife, singer Lani Hall. Photo courtesy herbalpert.com

By Anthony Mason and Analisa Novak

Legendary trumpeter Herb Alpert celebrated his 90th birthday last month by taking the stage at Jazz atn Lincoln Centre with a new iteration of the Tijuana Brass, marking his return to the iconic group format for the first time in 40 years.

The milestone performance coincides with the 60th anniversary of his landmark album "Whipped Cream & Other Delights," which spent eight weeks at No. 1 after its 1965 release and helped define the sound of the era.

"It has been overwhelming. I didn't realize I'd get this much attention at 90," Alpert said.

Alpert's distinctive brass sound, inspired by bullfights in Tijuana, dominated the 1960s music landscape — appearing in television commercials, game shows like "The Dating Game," and films including "Casino Royale." At his commercial peak in 1966, Alpert had three albums in the top five simultaneously and outsold The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra.

"Sometimes I was even a little embarrassed by it all," Alpert admitted.

His classic hit "Ladyfingers" recently found new life on TikTok, generating what Alpert described as "three billion streams" on YouTube, a phenomenon he finds "strange, because I recorded it like 60 years ago."

The trumpet virtuoso's career hasn't been without challenges. By 1969, while going through a divorce, Alpert faced a personal crisis with his instrument. He described the trumpet as "my enemy" as he struggled with confidence and technique. A breakthrough came after consulting New York brass teacher Carmine Caruso, who reminded him that the trumpet was "just a piece of plumbing" and that "the instrument comes from deep inside you."

Alpert also co-founded A&M Records with the late Jerry Moss, operating on a handshake agreement from 1962 until they sold the company in 1990. The two never signed a formal contract, a fact that still moves Alpert to tears when he recalls their partnership.

Now touring with a newly assembled Tijuana Brass, Alpert says the music feels fresh again. Alpert continues to perform with his wife of 52 years, singer Lani Hall, whom he met when his label signed Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66.

"I try to be as authentic as I can when I play," he said. "I'm playing in the moment of my life. And it's a hard place to get to. But that's the place I'm always looking for."

First published at CBS News, April 25, 2025

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Lucille Ball’s Death, 36 Years Later: Inside the I Love Lucy Star’s Last Days

The legendary comedic actress died at age 77 on April 26, 1989

By Julie Tremaine

American actress and producer Lucille Ball. 
Credit: Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty

I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball was beloved around the world when she died unexpectedly.

Named one of TIME's most influential women of the 20th century, the actress' impact on the entertainment industry is still felt today. During its six-year run, I Love Lucy made history with its live audience and storylines. A trailblazer in comedy, Ball redefined the role of a television housewife as one who could be relatable and imperfect while still being the funniest person in the room.

Off-screen, she championed her husband, fellow actor Desi Arnez, refusing to accept I Love Lucy without him as her costar. Ball eventually took over Desilu Studios — her production company with Arnaz — after their divorce. She became the first woman to lead a Hollywood studio, producing the original Star Trek and Mission: Impossible television shows.

Speaking to PEOPLE in February 1980, Ball pondered her legacy. “I don’t think you should write a book until you tell the absolute truth,” she said. “You can’t do that until you’re 85, and I don’t want to live that long. I’ve always prided myself  on knowing when to get off and I hope it works out that way.”

Sadly, the actress died at age 77 on April 26, 1989, due to a ruptured abdominal aorta.

To mark the 36th anniversary of her passing, here’s everything to know about Lucille Ball’s death.

A studio portrait of Lucille Ball circa 1955. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty

Lucille Ball died after two cardiac events.

On April 18, 1989, she had a heart attack in her Beverly Hills home, suffering a ruptured aorta. The actress' second husband, Gary Morton, rushed her to the hospital after she started experiencing "terrible pain," according to the Los Angeles Times. When admitted, Ball was conscious and spoke to doctors, but appeared “very uncomfortable.”

Shortly after, she underwent a seven-hour open-heart surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and received heart tissue from a donor, per The New York Times.

''Lucille Ball spent an uneventful night, which is a very good sign,'' a hospital spokesman told the publication. ''The two surgeons who worked on her continue to be optimistic that she is moving toward a recovery.''

Although the hospital described her condition as “serious but stable,” she showed signs of improvement. The L.A. Times reported that Ball was eating and walking.

Unfortunately, a week after her open-heart surgery, Ball experienced another rupture of the aorta in the abdomen, and it was fatal.

“There was nothing to indicate this would happen,” a hospital spokesman explained to the outlet. “The heart itself apparently was not involved in Miss Ball’s sudden death.”

Lucille Ball died on April 26, 1989.

Lucille Ball in the late 1980s. Photo: Getty

Ball experienced her heart attack that led to the first aortic rupture at home in Beverly Hills, and she later died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. after being hospitalized for about a week.

Lucille Ball was 77 years old when she died.

Even before Ball died, the public outpouring of support was overwhelming.

“Since last week’s surgery, fans had flooded the hospital with thousands of get-well cards, sent via telegram and even facsimile machine,” the Los Angeles Times wrote in her obituary. “Hospital officials said it was the largest outpouring they had ever seen.”

Despite her immense popularity, Ball had told her family that she didn’t want a large memorial service. Her daughter Lucy Arnez, though, disagreed. “She didn’t want a big funeral or memorial service or any of that,” she told the The Los Angeles Times. “These services are my idea. I felt that the public needed some closure.”

There were three services, in Chicago, New York and L.A. Though the latter didn’t start until 8 p.m., 450 people lined up at 3 p.m. The church had a 1,000-person capacity, and there were about 300 people who remained outside during the service listening to loudspeakers.

One of those people standing outside, Helen Vella, told the Los Angeles Times she was there to express her gratitude to the performer.

“I’m here for Lucy,” she said. “It was worth standing and waiting all this time. I was sick once, and if it wasn’t for her on Monday nights, I never would have made it through. She made me forget a lot of pain.”

I Love Lucy is still airing in reruns around the world, nearly 75 years after its debut in 1951.

“I don’t feel sad because she left something to make people happy forever,” fan Elisa Maria de Llanos told the Los Angeles Times at Ball’s funeral.

Even the actress felt her worldwide impact. Because of the show’s syndication, she joked that she was “the world’s babysitter” for how many kids she kept entertained with I Love Lucy and her subsequent shows.

Later in 1989, Ball was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“Her face was seen by more people more often than the face of any human being who ever lived,” the citation read. “Who can forget Lucy? She was like everyone’s next-door neighbor, only funnier. Lucille Ball was a national treasure who brought laughter to us all. Love Lucy? Sure. This nation is grateful to her, and we will miss her dearly.”

Ball and Arnaz were the subject of a 2021 biopic, Beingthe Ricardos, starring Nikole Kidman and Javier Bardem. The following year, Amy Poehler directed the documentary Lucy and Desi about the couple.

Ball’s legacy has carried forward in the decades after her death. In naming her one of the most influential people of the 20th century, TIME wrote: “Three decades after her death, Hollywood’s most powerful women—from Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Reese Witherspoon—walk a path she cleared.”

First published at People, April 26, 2025

Philippe Entremont at 90: A Consideration of His Pedagogy and Artistic Legacy

Photo courtesy philippeentremont.com

By Teresa Davidian

The classical pianist and orchestra conductor Phillipe Entremont is a living legend, not just in France but also worldwide. He is in fact one of the most recorded artists in history, with hundreds of recordings to his name. Yet, there is more to know about Entremont. Offstage, he is an important teacher and mentor, one who has been inspiring generations of young musicians. His extensive teaching career, which dates back to the mid-70s, is hardly new information, but no one has paused to examine his pedagogy in any detail. This article will show the various ways he is communicating his musical and pianistic knowledge to his students, knowledge that is not only steeped in the French performance tradition, most directly from his teacher Marguerite Long, but also enhanced by his later experiences as a conductor. Thus, this article is situated at the intersection of music history, culture, and pedagogy.

Many of Entremont’s educational ideas and practices will hardly come as a surprise to a few scholars, but the efforts made by his students for this article offer a closer, more granular perspective of this great tradition as well as insights into his artistry. To the many American musicians of today who are less familiar with Entremont and the French style of piano playing, the techniques and interpretations accumulated here may open up new avenues of thought and practice.

Throughout his 75-year career, Philippe Entremont has performed on the international stage as both a pianist and as a conductor. Born in 1934, he was a piano prodigy who entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 12. He quickly rose to fame in the mid-1950s when he achieved an array of successes, all before the age of 25. Over the next few decades, he solidified his reputation as an outstanding pianist with performances and recordings that were often as exceptional as the musical achievements of his youth. Then, in the mid 1970s, he began a second career in conducting, joining a long list of pianists who have turned to the podium. Here too, in the role of orchestra conductor, he made his mark, touring extensively with various orchestras around the world and making even more recordings. From the 1970s onward, he has enjoyed two careers as conductor and pianist concurrently.

His contributions are considerable. By his own estimate, he has given approximately 7,000 performances across six continents, and he has secured his legacy with approximately 250 recordings.

The prolific quantity and variety of his output, while impressive, are perhaps beside the point. The true accomplishment is that the quality of his work is consistently excellent. Listen, for example, to any track from his complete solo recordings for CBS Masterworks, which Sony released as a 34-CD set in 2019.

Chances are, you will agree with the many critics who have praised Entremont for his refined yet sparkling sound, and for the way he executes the most complex passages with ease and finesse.

Yet there is more to know about Philippe Entremont. Offstage, he is an important teacher and mentor, one who has been inspiring generations of young musicians. His extensive teaching career, which dates back to the mid-1970s, is hardly new information, but no one has paused to examine his pedagogy in detail. This article will identify and discuss some of the key aspects of his piano teaching, which includes specific approaches to technique and interpretation. This information may not only be of interest to students, educators, scholars, and professional musicians, but also lead to a fuller understanding of Entremont’s legacy and his transmission of the centuries-old French piano tradition to 21st-century students.

* * * * * * * *

Photo courtesy Spotify

I first became aware of Entremont during the 1980s, when I was working on a dissertation on Debussy at the University of Chicago. Entremont’s recordings played a significant role in shaping and expanding my understanding of Debussy and his contemporaries’ music. The more immediate impetus for this article dates to 2019, when I studied piano with Entremont at a Summer Piano Residency in Fontainebleau, France. My week-long residency was a transformative experience that changed me. I have attended decades of great piano recitals and I have been fortunate to study with many wonderful piano teachers. At Fontainebleau, however, I could see and hear up close what great playing could be.

There is one moment that is especially memorable. Usually, my day began with a simple breakfast and conversation with Entremont in the kitchen of the mansion where the residency took place. But one day I overslept and missed the breakfast hour. As I slowly descended the stairs from my second-floor bedroom suite, I could hear perfect tones rolling out and filling the entire mansion. It was Entremont performing on the Steinway grand piano in the main living room. He was playing one of the fast movements of a Bach keyboard suite. Just a simple piece really, but in Entremont’s hands it was performed perfectly. I was struck by both his sound and technique. The sound was firm and clear. All the notes of the scalar passages were evenly matched with unerring precision, gliding smoothly into each other. There was nothing forced or jagged. I now understood more acutely what it means to be a professional pianist of the highest caliber.

My studies with Entremont prompted me to seek more information about his pedagogy. Thierry Vagne’s recent book, Philippe Entremont: 70 ans de carrière international [Philippe Entremont: 70 years of an international career], offers tips on Entremont’s working, listening, and playing habits, especially in the chapters entitled “The Recitalist,” “The Concertos,” and “Teaching.” But performance technique is not the sole focus of Vagne’s book; rather, it covers the many facets of Entremont’s career, his opinions on a wide range of topics (e.g., specific composers, pianos, other pianists, and other conductors), and his personal experiences in the world of music entrepreneurship.

But I wanted more information centering on Entremont’s craft and his thinking behind it. With Entremont’s permission, as well as assistance from his other students, I contacted a few of the many young pianists he has taught and helped over the years: Sayaka Kimura (Japan), Dmytro Sukhovienko (Ukraine), Tal Walker (Israel and Belgium), Gen Tomuro (Japan), Olga Chelova (Ukraine), and Siyue Kong (China). While I had taken just a week of daily lessons with Entremont, these six students studied with him for much longer periods of time. They were in an ideal position to provide more detailed information about his approach to technique, interpretation, and other matters that were revealed to them over time. I view their firsthand accounts of their time studying with Entremont as a primary source of information that offers a rare glimpse into the mind of an exceptional performer. Their respective essays are included in the Appendix; however, for the sake of convenience to the reader, I will provide relevant excerpts within the body of this article. For context, I will begin with a review of Entremont’s development as a pianist and teacher, with special references to his training and the tradition of piano pedagogy in France, his early career accomplishments, and the various teaching posts he has held throughout his life.

* * * * * * * *

Philippe Entremont was born in Reims, to parents who laid the foundations of his musical expertise.

His father was a violinist and conductor at the Strasbourg Opera while his mother was a noted pianist who taught at the Reims Conservatoire. She provided his initial lessons in piano, which took place after he spent a year learning solfège, a mixture of theory and ear training that included how to read music. Such an approach, which was common in France at the time, stands in contrast to the more popular kinds of music education methods today, whereby students initially learn by doing. In the United States, for instance, children generally learn how to sing or play an instrument first and their teachers gradually introduce music theory concepts into lessons. Decades later, Entremont would state that his parents had made the right decision:

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First published at College Music Symposium, April 11, 2025

Hollywood remembers 'wonderful' actor Val Kilmer

By Sofia Ferreira Santos (BBC News) and Ian Youngs (Culture reporter)

Directors including Ron Howard, Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Mann have paid tribute to actor Val Kilmer, following his death aged 65.

Kilmer starred in some of the biggest movies of the 1980s and 90s, including Top Gun and Batman Forever.

Coppola described Kilmer as "a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know", while Howard praised his "awesome range as an actor".

Singer Cher, a former girlfriend of Kilmer's, summed him up as "funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND" and "brave" during his illness.

Cher, who previously dated Kilmer, remembered him as a "great friend" who was "brave" during his illness

Kilmer died of pneumonia on Tuesday in Los Angeles, his daughter Mercedes told US media. She said her father had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered.

Tracheotomy surgery affected his voice and curtailed his acting career, but he returned to the screen to reprise his role as fighter pilot Iceman alongside Tom Cruise in 2022's Top Gun: Maverick.

Kilmer's other film credits included 1991's The Doors - playing the legendary band's frontman Jim Morrison - plus the Western Tombstone and crime drama Heat.

Paying tribute on Instagram, Heat director Mann said: "While working with Val I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val's possessing and expressing character.

"After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news," he said.

Coppola, who directed Kilmer in 2011's Twixt, said in a statement: "Val Kilmer was the most talented actor when in his High School, and that talent only grew greater throughout his life.

"He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know - I will always remember him."

Howard, who made 1988's Willow, remembered Kilmer’s “amazing” filmography and praised his "awesome range as an actor".

"His art extended to his poetry, artworks, filmmaking and simply the way he lived," he wrote. "Bon Voyage, Val and thank you."

'Smart, challenging, brave' "See ya, pal. I'm going to miss you," US actor Josh Brolin wrote alongside a picture of himself and Kilmer on Instagram.

"You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There's not a lot left of those", he added.

British actor David Thewlis, who worked with Kilmer on 1996's ill-fated The Island of Dr Moreau, posted: "He was one of the most extraordinary people I have ever met. Proud to have called him a friend and co-conspirator."

Fellow Brit Will Kemp, who appeared in 2004 film Mindhunters with Kilmer, wrote: "So many great memories of working with him. He was fun, unpredictable, generous and overall very kind to me when I was very new to the job."

Actor Josh Gad posted: ”RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon."

 James Woods wrote: ”His rendition of Doc Holliday in Tombstone was what every actor dreams of achieving. So many wonderful performances. Sad to lose him so soon."

Born Val Edward Kilmer on 31 December 1959, Kilmer grew up in a middle-class family in Los Angeles.

His parents were Christian Scientists, a movement to which Kilmer would adhere for the rest of his life.

Aged 17, he became the then-youngest pupil to enrol at the Julliard School, in New York, one of the world's most prestigious drama conservatories.

He made his name in the comedies Top Secret! in 1984 and Real Genius the following year, before cementing his acting credentials as Iceman, the nemesis to Cruise's character Maverick in 1986's Top Gun, one of the decade's defining movies.

Kilmer went on to star in fantasy Willow and crime thriller Kill Me Again - both alongside British actress Joanne Whalley, who he married in 1988. The couple had two children.

Kilmer played the Caped Crusader in 1995's Batman Forever

He further proved his dynamic and versatile talents when he convincingly portrayed rock frontman Morrison in The Doors, 20 years after the singer's death.

Tombstone, in which Kilmer played gunfighter Doc Holliday, and Heat, in which he appeared alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, were also hits.

He took over Batman's cape from Michael Keaton for Batman Forever in 1995, which achieved box office success but mixed reviews, and Kilmer pulled out of the next Batman movie.

In 1997, he appeared in The Saint as the master criminal and master of disguise - based on Leslie Charteris' books, which had also inspired the 1960s TV show starring Roger Moore.

Kilmer voiced both God and Moses in animated film The Prince of Egypt, and starred as Marlon Brando's crazed sidekick in The Island of Dr Moreau - but that film became one of Hollywood's most notorious flops.

Its director John Frankenheimer declared he would never work again with Kilmer, who had gained a reputation for being difficult on set.

He said that reputation was because "I care very much about telling the story well".

Kilmer reunited with his Heat co-star Al Pacino in 2019

He played a gay private detective who teamed up with Robert Downey Jr's petty thief in 2005's Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.

In 2021, Kilmer released a documentary chronicling the highs and lows of his life and career. Val, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, features 40 years of home recordings, including him speaking with a voice box post-cancer surgery.

He had continued acting, but his comeback with a cameo appearance as Iceman in the long-awaited Top Gun sequel was particularly poignant.

Cruise said at the time: "I've known Val for decades, and for him to come back and play that character... he's such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again."

Kilmer was also an artist, often creating paintings inspired by his film roles. 'You knew he was going to do something interesting'

Film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his role in The Doors summed up his appeal and persona.

"There was something sort of dark and troubling and sensual and kind of self-destructive about him," she said.

"It was a quality that meant he was never just the bland Hollywood pretty boy that led so many roles. There was something else going on underneath the surface."

US entertainment journalist KJ Matthews echoed that, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "He's your bad boy, he's edgy, good looking, definitely Hollywood star looks.

"And I like the way he played roles. He always played them in an unconventional, unpredictable way.

"When Val Kilmer was attached to a project, you just knew he was going to do something interesting with that character.”

First published at BBC News, April 3, 2025