[Dixielandjazz] Jazz Quotes & Al Hirt

[John McClernan]

Hi Marek,
Well, that's where I must respectfully disagree with you, having been  
on the bandstand with the man. You are basing your assessment of his  
talent on a narrow sampling of his playing. During the 6 months I  
lived in NOLA, I sat in with him or just heard him from the audience  
at least  3 times a week. My perspective is different than yours and  
comes from first-hand experience. I guess we can agree to disagree.
Cheers,
John



On May 14, 2009, at 6:29 PM, Marek Boym wrote:

> Al Hirt had fantastic technique, and might have been a great guy, but
> traditional jazz musician he was not.
>
> Cheers
>
>
> On 15/05/2009, John McClernan <mcclernan1 at comcast.net> wrote:
>> Mart,
>> I'm not surprised a bit. That's sounds exactly like the Al I knew.  
>> When
>> Showboat Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City opened its doors for  
>> business in
>> 1987, Al was the featured performer the first weekend. He saw our  
>> band
>> playing in the lobby during the afternoon and came over to greet us  
>> He
>> listened for awhile and had many compliments for our 75-year old  
>> cornetist.
>> He stayed around until our break for a brief chat and I mentioned  
>> about my
>> stint in New Orleans. He said, "YES, I knew you looked familiar!  
>> You were
>> that bearded tuba player from the Mustache club who used to come  
>> over my
>> place after hours."  That was 16 years prior and I had shaved off  
>> my beard
>> in 1981. Good memory for a man who shook so many hands over the  
>> years.
>> Cheers,
>> John
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On May 14, 2009, at 4:05 PM, macjazz wrote:
>>
>>> I had the nerve to call Al Hirt one night about 10:00.  I was  
>>> recommended
>> for the same intestinal by-pass that he had had.  It was a very  
>> unusual and
>> highly experimental surgery at the time.
>>>
>>> He not only took my call, he spent well over an hour on the phone  
>>> with me
>> talking about the issues and events of his surgery, then about my  
>> having
>> lived in New Orleans etc. and could not have been nicer or more  
>> gracious.
>>>
>>> I asked him once about playing and was told "Oh, they'll get along  
>>> without
>> me a set or two.  This is important."
>>>
>>> I am much in his debt.
>>>
>>> Mart
>>>
>>> Martin D. McKay, Designated Listener.
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "jazzdude39" <jazzdude39 at att.net>
>>> To: "Martin D. McKay" <macjazz at comcast.net>
>>> Cc: "DJML" <Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
>>> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:36 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Jazz Quotes & Al Hirt
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> John,
>>>>
>>>> My stint in New Orleans from 1966-67 allowed me similar  
>>>> experiences as
>> you state, with Al Hirt. On many occasions I enjoyed sitting in and
>> listening to Al and Pee Wee with other young musicians who dropped  
>> in to
>> enjoy the hospitality and encouragement Al presented. He said on  
>> more than
>> one occasion that he thought his playing was more technical than  
>> tasty, but
>> proved he was capable of many approaches to playing and seemed to  
>> enjoy
>> meeting the younger players and sharing idea's. Danny Barker was  
>> the first
>> to take me to Al's late retreat and often Connie Jones, George  
>> Finola,
>> Irving Fazola, Cougar Nelson and Jim Haislip and would be there  
>> along with
>> players from some of the big bands playing around town. The booze  
>> was always
>> flowing and humor abounded as Al had a great sense of humor. I  
>> learned a lot
>> from him and will never forget those great times back when. I  
>> rarely heard
>> the Al Hirt on records that I heard then.
>>>>
>>>> Dave Hanson
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "John McClernan"
>> <mcclernan1 at comcast.net>
>>>> To: "Dave Hanson" <jazzdude39 at att.net>
>>>> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List"
>> <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:13 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Jazz Quotes & Al Hirt
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Just to play devil's advocate....
>>>>> I worked for 6 months across the street from Al Hirt's NOLA club  
>>>>> in
>> 1971. When we finished work, many nights we went over to his small  
>> bar on
>> the side street (Saint Louis St.?) and sat in with Al's combo. He   
>> was
>> always gracious, encouraging to young players, and very musical in   
>> his own
>> playing. He also knew a ton of tunes. The commercial Al Hirt  (a la  
>> "Cotton
>> Candy") was nowhere to be found in those jam sessons. I certainly  
>> enjoyed
>> those sessions with Al much more than the ones with Pete Fountain.   
>> (Duck!
>> Here come the brickbats!)
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>> John
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On May 14, 2009, at 8:37 AM, Marek Boym wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> I can identify with that!  I tried listening to Hirt's records on
>>>>>> Audiofidelity, and didn't like even one.
>>>>>> Cheers
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 14/05/2009, ROBERT R. CALDER <serapion at btinternet.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Charles Mingus was not the only musician who did not like Al
>> Hirt's music.
>>>>>>> Humphrey Lyttelton was very friendly with Buck Clayton, and
>> remembered that Buck's preferred manufacturer of trumpet   
>> mouthpieces sent
>> Buck free mouthpieces every so often. Into each of  these was cut a
>> facsimile of Al Hirt's autograph.  Once Buck had  his new free  
>> mouthpieces
>> he took them to be modified, which meant  simply having the Hirt  
>> signature
>> gouged out.
>>>>>>> Ouch!