Jazz player Herb Alpert exhibition opens at The Grandel

The mixed-media art show will feature sculptures, paintings, a concert, and even a souvenir for St. Louis.

Each morning, Herb Alpert wakes with three choices: He can sculpt, paint, or create music. In other words, the 83-year-old artist “oozes art,” as curator Chip Tom puts it.

This weekend, the multi-talented artist’s work will be showcased at The Grandel (3610 Grandel Square). Herb Alpert: A Visual Melody opens tonight at 6 p.m. and will be open to the public tomorrow from 11 a.m.–8 p.m. and Sunday from 6:30–7 p.m.

The exhibit will include six sculptures—many inspired by indigenous sculptural forms from the Pacific Northwest—and 15 gestural abstraction paintings. The paintings move like Alpert’s music, says Tom, who selected the pieces. Spectators can experience the correlation between the mediums firsthand during a concert on Sunday with Alpert and his wife, acclaimed singer Lani Hall.

When Alpert leaves St. Louis, a piece of him will stay: an 8-foot bronze trumpet player sculpture that’s a sort of self-portrait of the Grammy-winning jazz artist. The statue originally welcomed guests at the Heather James Fine Art in Palm Desert, California, where Tom serves as curator. When Ken and Nancy Kranzberg visited the gallery, they thought the sculpture would be a great addition to St. Louis.

The sculpture will remain on permanent display at The Grandel, paying homage to the jazz players who frequent The Dark Room.

Originally published www.stlmag.com