Al Hirt • They're Playing Our Song

A phenomenally proficient trumpet player, Al Hirt was one of the most successful instrumental recording artists of the 1960s. Perhaps modeling his genial stage personality after Louis Armstrong, Hirt was a tremendously popular performer, easily capturing the center of attention with his massive 300-pound, 6-foot-2 frame (among his nicknames were “Jumbo” and “The Round Mound of Sound”) but holding it with his joyful spirit and jaw-dropping virtuosity.

Although Hirt came out of New Orleans leading a Dixieland band, he never let himself get stereotyped in that narrow genre. He was honest about his choice of style, never calling what he played “jazz”: “I'm a pop commercial musician,” he once said. “and I've got a successful format. I'm not a jazz trumpet and never was a jazz trumpet.”

Hirt's father bought him his first trumpet from a pawnshop, and by the time he was in high school, he was sounding post time at the local race track. Hirt was always very serious about perfecting his mastery of his instrument, and he studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory for three years in the early 1940s. After playing with Army bands during World War Two, he worked with Tommy Dorsey, Ray McKinley, and Benny Goodman's big bands--usually as first chair, but not a soloist--until he returned to New Orleans and formed his own band in 1950.

For most of the 1950s, he was comfortable staying close to home--musically and professionally. Raising eight kids with his first wife probably had something to do with it, but Hirt was always happy to have a strong association with the music and lifestyle of New Orleans. He often performed with clarinet player Pete Fountain, who achieved nearly the same level of national fame, and the two remained close friends and colleagues until Hirt's death. Hirt recorded a number of mainstream Dixieland albums for Audio Fidelity and others during this period.

In 1960, Hirt's group, the Dixieland Six, played Las Vegas and was spotted by Dinah Shore, who booked them onto her television variety show. Television and Hirt took to each other, and RCA quickly signed him and began promoting him as a major artist. To get and keep a national audience, Hirt had to loosen his ties to Dixieland. Virtually none of his RCA albums have a strong Dixieland flavor, most of them featuring large studio ensembles and arrangements by veterans like Marty Paich, Billy May, and Marty Gold. His albums “Honey in the Horn,” and “Cotton Candy,” were both gold records, and he was named “Top Instrumentalist” by Billboard magazine in 1965. His recording of “Java,” won him a Grammy.

Hirt never turned his back on his roots, though, and at the same time he was coming to fame, he opened his own night club in the French Quarter and appeared there regularly. Although he toured steadily well into the 1980s, often in pops concerts with symphony orchestras, he tried to work his schedules to bring him back home quickly. His 1965 album with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops was among his best-selling records, and Hirt enjoyed playing classical showpieces as well as popular numbers.

Hirt's weight and lifestyle eventually took its toll on his body, and in later years, he had to perform in a wheelchair. He closed his club in 1983, fed up with the deterioration of the French Quarter, but he continued to play there, mostly at Fountain's club, until a few months before his death in 1999.

Al Hirt recorded more than 50 albums in his career, and played for millions of people around the world including Pope John Paul II and 8 U.S. Presidents. He earned 4 gold albums and 1 platinum, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Charlie “Bird” Parker Memorial Foundation.

He is a legend in his native New Orleans, where there is a live sized statue of him in the French Quarter.

Source: James Nadal

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Un trompetista fenomenal, Al Hirt fue uno de los artistas instrumentales más exitosos de la década de 1960. Tal vez modelando su genial personalidad escénica después de Louis Armstrong, Hirt fue un artista tremendamente popular, capturando fácilmente el centro de atención con su enorme marco de 300 libras y 2 pies (entre sus apodos se encontraban "Jumbo" y "The Round Mound of Sound"), pero sosteniéndolo con su espíritu alegre y su virtuosismo asombroso.

Aunque Hirt salió de Nueva Orleans liderando una banda de Dixieland, nunca se dejó estereotipar por ese género tan estrecho. Fue honesto en su elección de estilo, sin llamar nunca "jazz" a lo que tocaba: "Soy un músico comercial de pop", dijo una vez. "y tengo un formato exitoso. No soy una trompeta de jazz y nunca fui una trompeta de jazz".

El padre de Hirt le compró su primera trompeta en una casa de empeño, y para cuando estaba en la escuela secundaria, ya estaba sonando en el hipódromo local. Hirt siempre se tomó muy en serio el perfeccionamiento de su instrumento, y estudió en el Conservatorio de Cincinnati durante tres años a principios de la década de 1940. Después de tocar con bandas del Army durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, trabajó con las grandes bandas de Tommy Dorsey, Ray McKinley y Benny Goodman, generalmente como primer presidente, pero no como solista, hasta que regresó a Nueva Orleáns y formó su propia banda en 1950.

Durante la mayor parte de la década de 1950, se sintió cómodo estando cerca de casa, musical y profesionalmente. Criar ocho hijos con su primera esposa probablemente tuvo algo que ver con ello, pero Hirt siempre estuvo feliz de tener una fuerte asociación con la música y el estilo de vida de Nueva Orleáns. A menudo tocaba con el clarinetista Pete Fountain, que alcanzó casi el mismo nivel de fama nacional, y los dos permanecieron como amigos y colegas hasta la muerte de Hirt. Hirt grabó varios álbumes de Dixieland para Audio Fidelity y otros durante este periodo.

En 1960, el grupo de Hirt, los Seis de Dixieland, jugó en Las Vegas y fue visto por Dinah Shore, que lo contrató en su programa de variedades de televisión. La televisión y Hirt se llevaron bien, y la RCA rápidamente lo contrató y comenzó a promocionarlo como un artista importante. Para conseguir y mantener una audiencia nacional, Hirt tuvo que aflojar sus lazos con Dixieland. Prácticamente ninguno de sus álbumes de RCA tiene un fuerte sabor a Dixieland, la mayoría de ellos con grandes conjuntos de estudio y arreglos de veteranos como Marty Paich, Billy May y Marty Gold. Sus álbumes "Honey in the Horn" y "Cotton Candy" fueron discos de oro, y fue nombrado "Top Instrumentalist" por la revista Billboard en 1965. Su grabación de "Java" le valió un Grammy.

Sin embargo, Hirt nunca le dio la espalda a sus raíces, y al mismo tiempo que llegaba a la fama, abrió su propio club nocturno en el Barrio Francés y apareció allí regularmente. Aunque hizo giras constantes hasta bien entrada la década de 1980, a menudo en conciertos de música pop con orquestas sinfónicas, trató de trabajar sus horarios para traerlo de vuelta a casa rápidamente. Su álbum de 1965 con Arthur Fiedler y los Boston Pops fue uno de sus discos más vendidos, y Hirt disfrutó tocando obras de teatro clásicas así como números populares.

El peso y el estilo de vida de Hirt finalmente afectaron su cuerpo, y en años posteriores, tuvo que actuar en una silla de ruedas. Cerró su club en 1983, harto del deterioro del French Quarter, pero siguió tocando allí, sobre todo en el club de Fountain, hasta unos meses antes de su muerte en 1999.

Al Hirt grabó más de 50 álbumes en su carrera, y tocó para millones de personas en todo el mundo, incluyendo al Papa Juan Pablo II y a 8 presidentes de los Estados Unidos. Obtuvo 4 discos de oro y 1 de platino, y un premio a la Trayectoria de la Fundación Charlie "Bird" Parker Memorial.

Es una leyenda en su Nueva Orleans natal, donde hay una estatua de él en el Barrio Francés.

Fuente: James Nadal

Tracklist:
A1.I Had The Craziest Dream
Written-By – Harry Warren, Mack Gordon
A2.Paper Doll
Written-By – Johnny Black
A3.You'll Never Know
Written-By – Harry Warren, Mack Gordon
A4.It's Been A Long, Long Time
Written-By – Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn
A5.The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart)
Written-By – Georges Auric, Wm. Engvick
A6.Autumn Leaves
Written-By – Prevert, Mercer, Kosma
B1.There, I've Said It Again
Written-By – Dave Mann, Redd Evans
B2.I've Heard That Song Before
Written-By – Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn
B3.I'll Get By
Written-By – Fred E. Ahlert, Roy Turk
B4.Deep Purple
Written-By – Mitchell Parish, Peter De Rose
B5.Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White
Written-By – Jacques Larue, Louiguy, Mack David
B6.I'll Be Seeing You
Written-By – Irving Kahal, Sammy Fain

Label: RCA Victor LSP-3492
Released: 1965
Genre: Jazz, Pop
Style: Easy Listening
Recorded At – Webster Hall

 

 

 

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