''Coney Island'' is a 1975 studio album by

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

, the second release that was billed as "Herb Alpert & The T.J.B." It followed the 1974 release of ''

You Smile – The Song Begins ''You Smile – The Song Begins'' is a 1974 studio album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, though billed as "Herb Alpert and the T.J.B." It was the group's first regular studio album since 1969's '' The Brass Are Comin, and was arranged by Qu ...

''. Both albums reflected personnel changes from the Brass that was disbanded after 1969's '' The Brass Are Comin'''.

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." Legendary audio engineer

Larry Levine Larry Levine (May 8, 1928 – May 8, 2008) was an American audio engineer, known for his collaboration with Phil Spector on the Wall of Sound recording technique. Biography Levine received the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording ...

, 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 Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

's 'Señor Mouse' allow the band to stretch more than the TJB of old, and emphasizing more improvisation by the group members." In September 1974, music from ''Coney Island'' was featured in a television special with

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's Muppets. 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 A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

special, with additional appearances by label artists

Captain & Tennille Captain & Tennille were American recording artists whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinum ...

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

, and

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Reception

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

Personnel

* Herb Alpert: trumpet * 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

References

{{Herb Alpert 1975 albums Herb Alpert albums A&M Records albums