[Dixielandjazz] Al Hirt - Bio - "Jazz Musician or Pop Player?

[Snogpitch]

Back in 1988 I saw a performance of Al Hirt in Middletown Ohio.  I still had
that program that included a short bio, and I finally dug it up.  I'm typing
it, so hopefully there won't be too many typos.

Al Hirt - "The Greatest Horn in the World"

Born in New Orleans to parents who had a great love of music, Al Hirt began
studying the trumpet when he was six.  His first horn was one bought in a
pawnshop by his father, a policeman.

Hirt's parents encouraged his musical studies and he excelled far beyond
their expectations.  At age 13, he was considered a prodigy.  During his
high school years, he studied under Michael Cupero and Professor Castiglola;
at the time of his graduation, he had a thorough grounding in traditional
technique and classical repertoire.

He continued his musical education with some courses at Loyola University,
but he did not begin a truly intensive study of music until he came under
the tutelage of Dr. Frank Simon, who made it possible for Hirt to attend the
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.  While studying at the Conservatory, Hirt
played first trumpet in the school's symphony, was solo cornetist in it's
symphonic band, and sometimes played with the Cincinnati and New Orleans
symphonies.

Accounts of Hirt's transition from classical to contemporary music are
varied.  In a story in TIME (9 June 1961), it was said that he learned
popular music by listening to recordings by Roy Eldridge and Harry James.
CORONET (July, 1965) reported that he began to play jazz during his second
year at the Conservatory to earn a living.

Hirt left the Conservatory in 1942 to begin a three-year hitch in the United
States Air Force where he served as company bugler.  Following his discharge
from the service in 1946, he began touring with some of the big bands of
that era, including the Benny Goodman and Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey orchestras.
In 1949, he returned to New Orleans, settling there to be closer to his
family.  He became a very popular entertainer in that city.

1959 brought him a booking in Chicago's Palmer House where he was a hit
performer, but he returned to his home city when he didn't get any more
bookings.  In November, 1960, he opened at the Dunes in Las Vegas, where he
played to packed houses.  Two months later, he played at John F. Kennedy's
inaugural ball.

His career soared.  He was awarded an RCA recording contract, made many
television appearances on some of the most popular shows of the day
including the Ed Sullivan Show, the Andy Williams Show, the Dean Martin
Show, and the Bell Telephone Hour, and toured the country.  In 1966, he
hosted "Fanfare," his own television entertainment series.  Two years later,
he was awarded an honorary doctorate in the performing arts by the
University of Cincinnati, the school with which the Conservatory had merged
some years earlier.  He alternated between touring and performing in his
Bourbon Street nightclub until 1983, when he leased his club and devoted
himself to touring.

Hirt's first LP, "The Greatest Horn in the World" (RCA Victor) was released
in 1961.  Since then, he has recorded over 40 albums and several hit
singles.  He has earned four gold albums and one platinum album.  His 1964
rendition of "Java" won him a Grammy award for the best single recording of
the year.

His music is not pure Dixieland nor jazz nor swing.  His style is unique and
his alone.

Hirt is admired by both audiences and fellow musicians for his technique and
his showmanship.  Tonight, he brings these talents to the Sorg to give us an
evening that will long be remembered in Middletown.
-- 
Snogpitch

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