Hearth, Al

The son of a policeman, was known as Al or Jumbo. At the age of six, he was presented with his first pipe, bought at a local pawnshop. He played in the musical collective of children of policemen under sixteen. By this age, he had already become a professional, often playing with his friend Pete Fontaine .

In 1940, Hirth left for Cincinnati , Ohio , entering the Conservatory. After serving as a bugler in the U.S. Army during World War II , Hirth began playing with various swing big bands. In 1950, he became the first trumpeter and soloist at Horace Heidt's Orchestra. Upon returning to New Orleans, he worked with various bands playing Dixieland . Despite the statement made by Hirt a few years later: I am not a jazz trumpeter and never was a jazz trumpeter , he made several records in the fifties, where he demonstrated his ability to play in jazz styles, especially with the head of the jazz orchestra Monk Hatzel. The dexterity of virtuoso Hirth and the beautiful sound of his instrument soon drew the attention of national recording studios. Hirt's 22 albums hit the Billboard charts in the fifties and sixties. The albums Honey In The Horn and Cotton Candy hit the top ten bestsellers in 1964, the same year Hirt fired the main shot with Java, which reached fourth in the national charts and won him a Grammy Award.

In the sixties, Hirt also became known for recording musical themes for the growing popularity of television shows, including the insanely popular music for The Green Hornet. A composition inspired by Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Bumblebee Flight” became the pinnacle of Al Hirt’s technical prowess. In 2003, her second birth occurred, after she sounded in the movie "Kill Bill." In 1962, Hirth opened his own club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, which he operated until 1983. In 1987, Hirt performed a solo Ave Maria during a visit to New Orleans by Pope John Paul II, a performance Hirt considered the most important in his life.

Al Hirt passed away in April 1999 at the age of seventy-six in New Orleans due to liver failure, spending the whole year in a wheelchair due to leg swelling. Until his death, he played in the clubs of Louisiana, without getting up from his stroller. Al Hirt had eight children, ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. In 1990, Al married Beverly Essel, who had been his companion for over forty years. According to rumors, the names of his children were engraved on Al Al Hirt’s pipe.

• Al Hirt on allmusic.com
• Al Heert on the Internet Movie Database