Al Hirt (7 de noviembre de 1922 – 27 de abril de 1999) fue un
trompetista y líder de banda de nacionalidad estadounidense. Es
recordado por sus millonarias ventas del tema "Java" y de su álbum
acompañante, Honey in the Horn (1963). Algunos de los apodos que recibió
fueron 'Jumbo' y 'The Round Mound of Sound'. Hirt fue miembro del
Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Su nombre verdadero era Alois Maxwell Hirt, y nació en Nueva Orleans,
Luisiana. Era hijo de un oficial de policía, y a los seis años de edad
le dieron su primera trompeta. Tocó en la Banda Juvenil de la Policía
con los hijos de Alcide Núñez, y a los 16 años Hirt ya tocaba de modo
profesional, a menudo con su amigo Pete Fountain. En esa época fue
contratado para tocar en las carreras de caballos locales, empezando con
ello una relación con el deporte que se extendió a lo largo de seis
décadas.
En 1940 Hirt fue a Cincinnati, Ohio, para estudiar en el Conservatorio
de Música de Cincinnati con Frank Simon (antiguo solista de la Orquesta
de John Philip Sousa). Tras tocar el clarín durante su servicio en el
Ejército de los Estados Unidos durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Hirt
actuó con varias big bands de estilo swing, entre ellas las de Tommy
Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, y Ina Ray Hutton, siendo en 1950 el
primer trompeta y solista de la Orquesta de Horace Heidt.
En Nueva Orleans Hirt trabajó con varios grupos Dixieland y dirigió
grupos propios. A pesar de afirmar que no era un trompetista de jazz,
Hirt hizo algunas grabaciones tocando en ese estilo en la década de
1950, tocando entre otros con Monk Hazel para el sello local Southland
Records.
La virtuosidad y el fino tono de su instrumento atrajeron pronto la
atención de compañías nacionales como RCA Records. En las décadas de
1950 y 1960 Hirt tuvo 22 álbumes en las listas de éxitos de Billboard.
Los discos Honey In The Horn y Cotton Candy entre los diez más vendidos
en 1964, el mismo año en que su versión del tema de Allen Toussaint
"Java" fue nº 4 de Billboard, ganando posteriormente un Premio Grammy.
Tanto Honey in the Horn como "Java" vendieron más de un millón de
copias, llegando los dos a ser Disco de Oro.
Otro éxito de Hirt, "Sugar Lips" (1964), posteriormente sería el tema
musical del concurso de la NBC Eye Guess, presentado por Bill Cullen y
emitido a fínales de los años sesenta. Hirt también fue escogido para
grabar el frenético tema del show televisivo "The Green Hornet", del
famoso arreglista y compositor Billy May. Temáticamente reminiscente de
la obra de Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov El vuelo del moscardón, demostraba la
destreza técnica de Hirt. La grabación volvió a utilizarse en el film
de 2003 Kill Bill.
Desde mediada la década de 1950 a los inicios de la de 1960, Hirt y su
grupo tocaron por las noches en Dan's Pier 600, en Nueva Orleans,
nightclub propiedad de Dan Levy, Sr. En 1962 Hirt abrió su propio club
en Bourbon Street, en el Barrio Francés, el cual dirigió hasta 1983. En
1967 también fue propietario parcial del club de la National Football
League New Orleans Saints.
En 1962, en un esfuerzo por presentarse con un diferente marco musical,
Hirt colaboró con el arreglista y compositor Billy May y con el
productor Steve Sholes para grabar un disco titulado Horn A Plenty. Con
una ecléctica variedad de estándares populares y melodías de
espectáculos, que incluyó una gran banda completada por timbales,
trompas y arpa.
El 8 de febrero de 1970, mientras tocaba en una carroza de un desfile de
Martes de Carnaval en Nueva Orleans, Hirt resultó herido. Aunque no se
conocieron con detalle sus heridas, Hirt hubo de someterse a cirugía y
tardó un tiempo en poder volver a tocar con normalidad.
En 1987 Hirt hizo una interpretación del "Ave María" durante la visita a Nueva Orleans llevada a cabo por el Papa Juan Pablo II.
Al Hirt falleció en 1999 en Nueva Orleans, Luisiana, a causa de un fallo
hepático tras haber pasado un año en una silla de ruedas como
consecuencia de un edema en una pierna. Tenía 76 años de edad. A pesar
del edema, Hirt había seguido tocando en clubs locales, entre ellos el
Chris Owens Club. Sus restos fueron enterrados en el Cementerio Metairie
de Nueva Orleans.
Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an
American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his
million-selling recordings of "Java" and the accompanying album Honey in
the Horn (1963), and for the theme song to The Green Hornet. His
nicknames included "Jumbo" and "The Round Mound of Sound". Colin Escott,
an author of musician biographies, wrote that RCA Victor Records, for
which Hirt had recorded most of his best-selling recordings and for
which he had spent much of his professional recording career, had dubbed
him with another moniker: "The King." Hirt was inducted into The
Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in November 2009.
Hirt was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of a police officer. At
the age of six, he was given his first trumpet, which had been
purchased at a local pawnshop. He would play in the Junior Police Band
with the children of Alcide Nunez, and by the age of 16, Hirt was
playing professionally, often with his friend Pete Fountain. During this
time, he was hired to play at the local horse racing track, beginning a
six-decade connection to the sport.
In 1940, Hirt went to Cincinnati, Ohio, to study at the Cincinnati
Conservatory of Music with Dr. Frank Simon (a former soloist with the
John Philip Sousa Orchestra). After a stint as a bugler in the United
States Army during World War II, Hirt performed with various swing big
bands, including those of Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and
Ina Ray Hutton.
In 1950, Hirt became first trumpet and featured soloist with Horace
Heidt's Orchestra. After spending several years on the road with Heidt,
Hirt returned to New Orleans working with various Dixieland groups and
leading his own bands. Despite Hirt's statement years later "I'm not a
jazz trumpeter and never was a jazz trumpeter", he made a few recordings
where he demonstrated his ability to play in that style, during the
1950s with bandleader Monk Hazel, and a few other recordings on the
local Southland Records label.
Hirt's virtuoso dexterity and fine tone on his instrument soon attracted
the attention of major record labels and he signed with RCA Victor.
Hirt posted twenty-two albums on the Billboard charts in the 1950s and
1960s. The albums Honey in the Horn and Cotton Candy were both in the
Top 10 best sellers for 1964, the same year Hirt scored a hit single
with his cover of Allen Toussaint's tune "Java" (Billboard No. 4), and
later won a Grammy Award for the same recording. Both Honey in the Horn
and "Java" sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs.
Hirt's Top 40 charted hit "Sugar Lips" in 1964 would be later used as
the theme song for the NBC daytime game show Eye Guess, hosted by Bill
Cullen and originally airing during the mid-to-late 1960s. "Green Hornet
Theme"
Hirt was chosen to record the frenetic theme for the 1960s TV show "The
Green Hornet", by famed arranger and composer Billy May. Thematically
reminiscent of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, it
showcased Hirt's technical prowess. The recording again gained public
attention in 2003 when it was used in the film Kill Bill.
From the mid-1950s to early 1960s, Hirt and his band played nightly at
Dan's Pier 600 at the corner of St. Louis and Bourbon Street. The club
was owned by his business manager, Dan Levy, Sr.
Al Hirt - Bourbon Street at St Louis in the French Quarter, 1977
In 1962 Hirt opened his own club on Bourbon Street in the French
Quarter, which he ran until 1983. He also became a minority owner in the
NFL expansion New Orleans Saints in 1967.
In 1962, in an effort to showcase him in a different musical setting,
Hirt was teamed with arranger and composer Billy May and producer Steve
Sholes to record an album titled Horn A Plenty that was a departure from
the Dixieland material that he was generally associated with. Covering
an eclectic variety of popular, standard and show tunes, it featured a
big-band supplemented by timpani, French horns and harp. "Memories of
You"
On February 8, 1970, while performing in a Mardi Gras parade in New
Orleans, Hirt was injured while riding on a float. It is popularly
believed that he was struck in the mouth by a thrown piece of concrete
or brick. Factual documentation of the details of the incident is
sparse, consisting primarily of claims made by Hirt after the incident.
Whatever the actual cause of his injuries, Hirt underwent surgery and
had to wait a while and then practice slowly to make a return to the
club scene. This incident was parodied in a Saturday Night Live skit
from their second season Mardi Gras special, the "Let's Hit Al Hirt in
the Mouth with a Brick Contest".
In 1987, Hirt played a solo rendition of "Ave Maria" for Pope John Paul II's visit to New Orleans.
In 1999, Hirt died, aged 76, in New Orleans of liver failure, after
spending the previous year in a wheelchair due to edema in his leg.
Despite the bout with edema, Hirt continued to play in local clubs
including Chris Owens Club. Hirt was buried in Metairie Cemetery in New
Orleans.
Hirt had eight children. In 1990 he married Beverly Estabrook Essel, a friend of 40 years.
He is referred to in the 1987 film Good Morning, Vietnam, in a broadcast made by Lieutenant Hauk (Bruno Kirby).
