Al Hirt has always been, and will always be, one of my favorite musicians. True, he found a niche with pop music and made a fortune doing it, but I listen to him often because he put all of his personality into each song he played.
Some people look down their noses at the commercial tunes that made him most famous during the mid-1960s, but I suppose there are also Mahler fans who look down on Ellington, or Stravinsky fans who look down on Gershwin. For me, I enjoy all types of music as long as it is well played. I think the true Hirt can be appreciated in recordings such as I LOVE PARIS, THE MAN WITH A HORN, BEGIN THE BEGUINE, and I CAN'T GET STARTED. Pure unabashed soul!
Joined: 20 Apr 2016 Posts: 1063 Location: New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 2:52 am Post subject:
Robert P wrote:
I recommend checking out the album it's from Horn A Plenty - I believe the whole thing is up on Youtube. If you don't like it you simply don't have the Al Hirt appreciation gene.
Good pick, Robert. This is one of my favorite Hirt albums and I pretty much have them all.
So what if some of his work was considered corny, you can't ignore the fact that he was a great and gifted trumpet player. Someone mentioned Begin The Beguine, I would also add Carnival Of Venice and a few other pieces recorded on Live At Carnegie Hall. _________________ GeorgeB
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Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 843 Location: Waikiki, Hawaii
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 3:59 am Post subject:
The fact that there are two sides discussing his impact (or lack of) to music puts him in that rarified air category of trumpet players in history.
Personally, I am a huge Al Hirt fan, but I don't listen to any of his records. They just don't do it for me, but with the power of youtube, I can watch his live stuff, which is amazing. _________________ My go-to Trumpet and Flugel: Thane.
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I guess I just don't have the gene. Great trumpet playing and I love Billy May's work. The music though is, corny to me. I see the label 'Easy Listening' in the upper right hand corner of the album cover image, and imho it's spot on.
So, excellent playing and presentation, but I don't want to sit and listen to it. I could say the same thing for Lawrence Welk, Jackie Gleason, Perry Como, Les Elgart and many others.....
Out of curiosity, what are some examples of things you like listening to? _________________ Getzen Eterna Severinsen
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Good pick, Robert. This is one of my favorite Hirt albums and I pretty much have them all.
So what if some of his work was considered corny, you can't ignore the fact that he was a great and gifted trumpet player. Someone mentioned Begin The Beguine, I would also add Carnival Of Venice and a few other pieces recorded on Live At Carnegie Hall.
Hard to believe anyone doesn't like listening to that track - or any of the tracks on that album. It's one of my favorite things to listen to of all time. I picked it as an example because it's a big departure from the Dixieland Al was largely associated with. I don't know how well it sold, as far as I'm aware he never did another album quite like it.
I hear a superb treatment of a strong melody with a lush, sparking, inventive arrangement and technically brilliant, supremely musical soloing as is the case with all the tracks.
Along with a big band May added harp, timpani, vibes, tuba, french horns, glock all used fantastically. I'd love to have a recording of just the orchestra without the solo trumpet. That's amazing stuff that Billy May put together.
Also first-rate, state of the art recording - I hold it up as one of the best technical examples of recorded trumpet I've ever heard. The engineers really had their stuff together. _________________ Getzen Eterna Severinsen
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Last edited by Robert P on Sat Apr 14, 2018 8:41 am; edited 1 time in total
I rediscovered Al in the last year. I listened to Al, Herb A, Bill Chase, Doc and others in the early 70's. After picking up the trumpet this last November (2017), I started to re-listen. Herb has the "sound" but other than that could not do a lot with the trumpet (my view), but the others had way more. Al had versatility. He was crazy talented and would play many styles (including classical). I thought Al Hirt was one of the best.
Joined: 20 Apr 2016 Posts: 1063 Location: New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 7:43 am Post subject:
Hard to argue with that, Robert. I've probably played it the most out of anything I have in my LP collection. _________________ GeorgeB
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Including possibly the worst recording ever of the Haydn concerto, with Fiedler and the Boston Pops. It's so bad, it's hilarious! _________________ '75 Bach Strad 180ML/37
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Including possibly the worst recording ever of the Haydn concerto, with Fiedler and the Boston Pops. It's so bad, it's hilarious!
Al didn't want to do the recording of the Haydn but was compelled to by the suits at RCA. Ironically he was classically trained but there were a lot of years of pop & dixieland playing under his belt since his conservatory days and he knew his legit playing was rusty. I'm told he hated that recording the rest of his life. _________________ Getzen Eterna Severinsen
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Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 754 Location: Cambridge, MA
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 11:11 am Post subject:
Robert P wrote:
khedger wrote:
I guess I just don't have the gene. Great trumpet playing and I love Billy May's work. The music though is, corny to me. I see the label 'Easy Listening' in the upper right hand corner of the album cover image, and imho it's spot on.
So, excellent playing and presentation, but I don't want to sit and listen to it. I could say the same thing for Lawrence Welk, Jackie Gleason, Perry Como, Les Elgart and many others.....
Out of curiosity, what are some examples of things you like listening to?
Maynard
Miles
Freddie Hubbard
Lee Morgan
Kenny Dorham
Bill Dixon
Dizzy
Woody Shaw
The list goes on and on. And those are just trumpet players. I listen to a wide array of musicians, bands, and musical styles and idioms.
I think of "easy listening" as stuff like Montovani, Percy Faith, Jackie Gleason etc. - bland arrangements highly dependent on strings doing nothing much of anything that appealed to people's grandparents in the 50's, 60's, 70's whose musical awareness couldn't process the Beatles.
I regard that Horn A Plenty album as being in a different universe than anything I would call "Easy Listening". _________________ Getzen Eterna Severinsen
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I think of "easy listening" as stuff like Montovani, Percy Faith, Jackie Gleason etc. - bland arrangements highly dependent on strings doing nothing much of anything that appealed to people's grandparents in the 50's, 60's, 70's whose musical awareness couldn't process the Beatles.
I regard that Horn A Plenty album as being in a different universe than anything I would call "Easy Listening".
Unfortunately history regards it having little to do with mainstream jazz, so it is seen in many ways as an extension of Jackie Gleason or Welk.
As far as mainstream there's nothing wrong with 60's cutting edge jazz...which is explorative and has a place but I find the emotional component more like meditation and similar in ways to Tibetan chants:
I think of "easy listening" as stuff like Montovani, Percy Faith, Jackie Gleason etc. - bland arrangements highly dependent on strings doing nothing much of anything that appealed to people's grandparents in the 50's, 60's, 70's whose musical awareness couldn't process the Beatles.
I regard that Horn A Plenty album as being in a different universe than anything I would call "Easy Listening".
Unfortunately history regards it having little to do with mainstream jazz, so it is seen in many ways as an extension of Jackie Gleason or Welk.
"Mainstream Jazz" and "Easy Listening" are the only two categories? _________________ Getzen Eterna Severinsen
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Unfortunately history regards it having little to do with mainstream jazz, so it is seen in many ways as an extension of Jackie Gleason or Welk.
"Mainstream Jazz" and "Easy Listening" are the only two categories?
From a blindfold test to Miles in the late sixties, addressing some key points as well as offended by a television appearance:
--Goin' to Chicago Blues--
(Live at Carnegie Hall)
(edited)
"It's Al Hirt. I think he's a very good trumpet player. For anyone that feels that way, I guess he hits them. He's a good trumpet player, but that's some corny-ass s**t he plays here.
They want him to be fat and funny and talented, but he ain't. They want something that looks good on television, fat, with a beard, and jovial and jolly.. And he's a nice guy; it's a drag. ..To do this in front of some white people, that kind of personality, like him.. I can't see why a guy like Al Hirt . . .
Harry James is a good trumpet player, and he never did no s**t like that. Harry had some feeling.
For a guy to shake his unattractive body and somebody thinks it's funny - it ain't funny, it's disgusting. He can't entertain me like that."
_______
From a blindfold test to Miles in the late sixties, addressing some key points as well as offended by a television appearance:
--Goin' to Chicago Blues--
(Live at Carnegie Hall)
(edited)
[i]"It's Al Hirt. I think he's a very good trumpet player. For anyone that feels that way, I guess he hits them. He's a good trumpet player, but that's some corny-ass s**t he plays here.
They want him to be fat and funny and talented, but he ain't. They want something that looks good on television, fat, with a beard, and jovial and jolly.. And he's a nice guy; it's a drag. ..To do this in front of some white people,
Al did a completely different thing than Miles. Miles had opinions - he's not the defining voice of "history". I don't view his music as more valid than Al Hirt's just because jazz snobs like him.
I'd rather be beaten with a chain than listen to Bitches Brew or hear him rasp, screech and flutter-valve his way through the Fillmore East albums again. When I hear Sketches Of Spain what I mostly think of is how much better it would have been if someone with more solid chops had done it.
Especially in the latter part of his career Miles pursued material that he could navigate within his limits. At a certain point he put in a harmon mute, wore funky Michael Jackson outfits, blew at the floor and hoped no one noticed he could barely play anymore. There's not a single chart on Horn A Plenty Miles could even attempt to play on his best day. _________________ Getzen Eterna Severinsen
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Last edited by Robert P on Tue Apr 17, 2018 5:15 am; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 24 Feb 2008 Posts: 2642 Location: vista ca
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 8:10 pm Post subject:
I get al Hirt. I actually like those al hirt records. Honey in the Horn especially. But I also think that miles could play his ass off. There are lots of great videos of miles playing a lot of trumpet. Al hirt too. I also like Filmore east and live/evil, and miles recorded output overshadows almost every other trumpet player. Real artist _________________ Mouthpiece Maker
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Joined: 20 Apr 2016 Posts: 1063 Location: New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2018 3:02 am Post subject:
Terrific stuff. I love the interesting improvisation and admire how Al still keeps the melody line front and center. Regardless of what anyone says, in my opinion Al Hirt was, and always will be one of the world's greatest trumpet players. _________________ GeorgeB
1960s King Super 20 Silversonic
2016 Manchester Brass Custom
1938-39 Olds Recording
1942 Buescher 400 Bb trumpet
1952 Selmer Paris 21 B
1999 Conn Vintage One B flat trumpet
2020 Getzen 490 Bb
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