Bobby Hackett

Robert Leo "Bobby" Hackett (January 31, 1915 - June 7,1976) was a jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet and guitar, and played with the Glenn Miller Orchestra during 1941-42.

Biography

Hackett was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He made his name as a follower of the legendary cornet player Bix Beiderbecke: Benny Goodman hired him to recreate Bix's famous "I'm Coming Virginia" solo at his (Goodman's) 1938 Carnegie Hall concert. It seems that from then on, Hackett was determined to shake off the "new Bix" tag, and always proclaimed that he was a "Louis (Armstrong) man."

He was in considerable debt and difficulties by the early 1940s, following the commercial failure of his big band.Fact|date=January 2008 To make matters worse, his lip was in bad shape, making it difficult for him to play the trumpet or cornet. Glenn Miller came to Hackett's rescue, offering him a job as a guitarist with the Miller Band. Despite his lip problems, Hackett could still play occasional — beautiful — short solos, and he can be heard playing a famous one with the Glenn Miller Band on "A String of Pearls." His lip must have recovered because, during the 1950s, he made a series of albums of ballads with a full string orchestra, conducted by Jackie Gleason, exhibiting a gorgeous, dreamy, vibrato-free sound. In his later years, he continued to perform in a dixieland style even as trends in jazz changed. Bobby Hackett's idol was Louis Armstrong, although he played in a style more reminiscent of Bix Beiderbecke. Bobby Hackett died June 7, 1976 from a heart attack.

elect discography

With George Wein
*"Wein, Women and Song and More, George Wein Plays and Sings" (Arbors Records)

External links

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*cite web | title=Bobby Hackett: Accomplished musician with a beautiful sound | work= | url=http://www.libertyhall.com/bobby.html | accessdate=2006-04-12