Al Hirt

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Al Hirt (1922-99) became famous as a New Orleans trumpeter who often played Dixieland and 1960s pop music, but he was also a superb technician.

He did not become well-known until he was in his mid-thirties after several stints with big bands, spending three years on the road with Horace Heidt’s orchestra and then freelancing in New Orleans.

His best recordings were generally with his friend clarinetist Pete Fountain and in New Orleans-oriented settings but he had several major hits in the 1960s including “Java,” “Sugar Lips” and “Cotton Candy.”

Here is Al Hirt guesting on the Lawrence Welk show in the late 1950s, giving “Night And Day” a virtuosic treatment a bit like “Carnival Of Venice.”

-Scott Yanow

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