Bobby Hackett

Wikipedia:

Robert Leo "Bobby" Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an US jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late thirties and early forties.

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. In the late 1930s Hackett played lead trumpet in the Vic Schoen Orchestra which backed the Andrews Sisters. Bobby Hackett can be heard on the soundtrack to the 1940 Fred Astaire movie Second Chorus. In 1939 the talent agency MCA asked Bobby Hackett to form a big band with their backing. Unfortunately the band failed and Hackett was in substantial debt to MCA after it folded. Bobby Hackett joined the bands of Horace Heidt and then Glenn Miller to pay down this debt. To make matters worse, his lip was in bad shape after dental surgery, 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. "When I joined the band and I was making good money at last, [...] [jazz critics] accused me of selling out. Hell I wasn't selling out, I was selling in! It's funny, isn't it, how you go right into the wastebasket with some critics the minute you become successful". Despite his lip problems, Hackett could still play occasional short solos, and he can be heard playing a famous one with the Glenn Miller Orchestra on "A String of Pearls." A dream come true for Hackett was his inclusion in Louis Armstrong's 1947 Town Hall Jazz Concert. During the 1950s, he made a series of albums of ballads with a full string orchestra, produced by Jackie Gleason, exhibiting a dreamy, vibrato-free sound.

In 1954, Hackett appeared as a regular on the short-lived ABC variety show, The Martha Wright Show, also known as The Packard Showroom. In 1965, he toured with singer Tony Bennett. In 1966 and 1967 Hackett accompanied Bennett on two European tours. In the early 1970s, Hackett performed separately with Dizzy Gillespie and Teresa Brewer.

Personal Life

Sometime in the 1930s, Bobby Hackett married Edna Hackett. He had two children with her, Barbra Hackett(†) and Ernie Hackett.

Partial Discography

As leader:

As sideman:

With George Wein

With Tony Bennett

Rendezvous Glenn Osser Orchestra