Al Hirt Biography

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Al Hirt
Instrumental | 3 CD Set
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Picking an all-star band will always be a subjective mission, an individual's idea of what's great. Take an all-time trumpet section: Bix Beiderbecke, Harry James, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and --- Al Hirt. All thse people have seen reams of publicity and miles of vinyl and all might even be playing their styles of "When The Saints Go Marching In" as St. Peter directs them at the "pearly gates". Well, at least Al Hirt will be doing that. Dixieland Master Hirt was a jazz household name for most of his career as he made "best of" lists in major music magazines. Born November 7, 1922 in New Orleans, the rotund technical wizard of the trumpet, Alois Maxwell Hirt, died of liver failure April 27, 1999. Hirt began playing at age six and eventually trained as a classical trumpeter at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He then spent three years in the Army playing bugle. But with the end of World War II, Hirt began his professional career with a stint in the Benny Goodman Band, the first of several gigs with big bands before that style went from a shout to a murmur. He also had worked in bands led by Ray McKinley and the Dorsey Brothers (Tommy and Jimmy). As the '40s ended, Al returned to New Orleans to become involved with the Dixieland scene that was gaining new interest. He was a section player in the big bands, and in 1950 he took second place in the Horace Heidt National Youth Opportunity Contest and was then named solo trumpet in the Heidt Band, one of the era's most popular dance bands. Soon, it was the traditional Dixieland sound that captured his interest totally and through the '50s he became known for that work. He also teamed up with jazz clarinetist Pete Fountain occasionally. The pair even worked together as pest exterminators during the day and as musicians at night. Singer Dinah Shore discovered him in 1960 when his Dixieland Six worked in a Las Vegas hotel and before long she had him on her variety show, bringing him national fame. In the '60s, he played at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration, played Carnegie Hall and did television while making hit records. Hirt made more then 50 albums over the years, four of them in the gold category and one reaching mega sales in the platinum range. A rarity for jazz players, Hirt cracked the Top 40 charts in 1964 with three songs, "Java", which soared up to No. 4, and "Cotton Candy"(15) and "Sugar Lips" (30). In 1962, he topped the trumpet list in the Playboy Magazine poll and stayed on the list for fifteen years. Strangely enough, Hirt did not refer to his music as jazz. He looked at Louis Armstrong, Harry James and Frank Sinatra as influences but once told an interviewer that "I'm a pop commercial musician and I've got a successful format. If you have the ability to perform your musical idea, you become a good jazz player." Although an active player, he never spent long periods on the road. Choosing to remain in New Orleans with his family (wife and eight children), he worked at his club on Bourbon Street and later appeared at Jellyroll's in the French Quarter. He once said one of his favorite performances was a solo on Handel's "Ave Maria" in 1987 for Pope John Paul II when thepontiff visited New Orleans. Hirt was nominated for 21 Grammy awards, winning in 1964 for his hit "Java". Longtime friend, Pete Fountain, said "He had everything– technique, stamina, education."

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