Herb Alpert & Hugh Masekela - Herb Alpert & Hugh Masekela

A mustachioed Herb Alpert breaks out of his '70s blue funk to fuse himself with fellow horn player Hugh Masekela and producer/pianist Caiphus Semenya in a magnificent CD of South African/American pop/jazz.

From the joyous opening strains of the South African oldie "Skokiaan," to the haunting groove of "Moonza," Alpert wholeheartedly melts into Masekela's distinctive idiom, his trumpet a relaxed foil for the South African exile's blazing flügelhorn. But Masekela can also lean the other way, joining Alpert in TJB-like dual harmony on "Ring Bell."

The band is mostly a coterie of L.A. sessionmen, but they can swing along to the township jive pretty well, and they have some excellent musical material (mostly by Semenya) to work with. Alpert sounds like he's having more fun making music than he has in a long time.