Bobby Hackett

Said Alec Wilder of the cornetist/trumpeter Bobby Hackett, "He is never aggressive nor noisy; rather he is tender and witty. I have never heard him play a phrase I would prefer otherwise." And this of a man who made a living playing a variant of Dixieland jazz!

Hackett was a bit of a stylistic anomaly. He is most often compared to Bix Beiderbecke, but his idol was Louis Armstrong. His specialty was Chicago-style jazz, but he was from Rhode Island. He played one of the most famous brass solos in jazz history, on "A String of Pearls" by the Glenn Miller band, but he usually played guitar in that band. And he was soloist on a long series of mood-music recordings led by a comedian, Jackie Gleason.

At Nick's: Ernie Caceres, unknown, Hackett, Freddie Ohms, George Wettling, unknown

These particular recordings were made in 1938 and 1944 by a number of groups mostly drawn from the musicians who played at Nick's Tavern in Greenwich Village. What they played was sometimes called Chicago-style (as mentioned) and sometimes "Nicksieland" jazz. They were inspired by the early jazz bands such as the Original Dixieland Jass Band and the slightly later New Orleans Rhythm Kings. (One of the trombonists on this record, George Brunies, was a founder of the latter group.) Although inspired by earlier groups, these players generally employed less collective improvisation and more soloing, as is shown on the record at hand. Group improvisation is mainly heard on "Skeleton Jangle," which was written by the ODJB's Nick LaRocca. 

Hackett made these recordings for the small Commodore label, which came out of New York's Commodore Music Shop. Although not indicated as such on this 1950s reissue, the 1938 recordings were actually issued under the name of guitarist Eddie Condon, and some of the others as "Jazz Session at Commodore." The download includes the original 78 labels, courtesy of Internet Archive.

Bobby Hackett, with Glenn Miller at left rear

In the package, I've also included the Miller recording of "A String of Pearls," a big hit in 1942. I wanted to transfer it from my mother's original 78, but couldn't find it, so this is from an LP reissue (which, neatly, I transferred onto cassette for mom some years ago).

The photo at left shows Hackett soloing with the Miller band. That's the bandleader at left. Second from the right is Ernie Caceres, who played baritone sax with the Miller band and is also heard on the Commodore records. (He is on clarinet in the photo from Nick's above.) Click on the images to enlarge them.

Contrary to what it says on the cover at top, Hackett actually plays cornet, not trumpet on these sides, although he did switch to trumpet many years later.

This set is now newly remastered in excellent ambient stereo sound.