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
///////
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
Tracks:
1 - I Can't Get Started 03:41
2 - Memories Of You / You Make Me Love You 03:40
3 - Stardust / The Man With a Horn 04:35
4 - Wonderland by Night / Oh My Pa-pa (O Mein Papa) 03:40
5 - Star Dreams 02:55
6 - Rhapsody in Blue 03:14
7 - Hot Lips / Sugar Blues 02:51
8 - Oh Marie / Marie 02:57
9 - Gonna Fly Now (Rocky's Theme) 03:26
10 - Java 01:57
11 - Tuxedo Junction 02:40
12 - Feels So Good 03:01
13 - A Night in Tunisia 03:40
14 - Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White 02:18
15 - The Toy Trumpet 03:18
16 - Tenderly 03:22
17 - When It's Sleepy Time Down South / Hello Dolly 03:55
18 - And the Angels Sing 03:01
19 - Boy Meets Horn 03:00
20 - Ciribiribin 02:42
21 - Rise 03:49
22 - After You've Gone 03:18
1979
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