Herb Alpert & Lani Hall to Receive ELLA Award May 18

Music icon, legendary trumpet player and band leader Herb Alpert and his wife, internationally renowned singer Lani Hall, will be honored with the 18th ELLA Award by the Society of Singers on May 18, 2009 in Los Angles.

Alpert and Hall, who will make their debut in the Center's Jazz series December 5, 2009, are being recognized for their significant musical accomplishments and dedication to charitable and humanitarian causes. They created The Herb Alpert Foundation more than 20 years ago to fund the arts and arts education. The Foundation provides grants to emgerging artists in five disciplines annually. Alpert and Hall have also been major contributors to UCLA to endow the Herb Alpert School of Music, and to CalArts.

Named after its first recipient, Ella Fitzgerald, the ELLA Award has been given to Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, Lena Horne, Placido Domingo, Tony Bennet among others.