With trumpeter Al Hirt’s manic rendition of “The Flight of the Bumblebee” blaring in the background, thus began each episode ...

Blowing one of the most potent horns since the Biblical Joshua led a septet outside Jericho, the late Al Hirt (1922-1999) has left us with a trumpet legacy characterized by a singular blend of power ...

Paul Cacia was Al Hirt's lead trumpet player and contracted the brass section for what Al Hirt called his dream band, formed in the fall of 1979. At the time of receiving the phone call to join Al ...

This week we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Grammy-winning musician Al Hirt, the New Orleans-born trumpeter and bandleader nicknamed “Jumbo” who was known both for his size and his ...

Despite his international fame as a symbol of New Orleans music and bonhomie–or perhaps because of it–Al Hirt rarely received serious recognition as a trumpeter. But the classically trained virtuoso, ...

The Times-Picayune is marking the tricentennial of New Orleans with its ongoing 300 for 300 project, running through 2018 and highlighting the moments and people that connect and inspire us. Today, ...

Novelist Thomas Wolfe notwithstanding, you can go home again, even if you’re trumpeter Al Hirt and even if the New Orleans tourist and convention industry once wanted your head on a platter. Eight ...

Dan Levy Jr., a former French Quarter restaurant and club owner whose clubs hosted musicians Pete Fountain and Al Hirt during Bourbon Street's heyday, died Monday after a brief battle with cancer. He ...