Barney Bigard, Bobby Hackett - That Old Feeling (2CD) (1995)

Leon Albany Bigard - also known as Barney Bigard - was born on the 3rd March, 1906 in New Orleans, one of the capital cities of jazz, in Louisiana. Bigard dedicated himself from an early age to his passion for music, as did his brother Alex, a drummer, and his cousin Dominique, a trumpeter.
Bigard was of Creolean descent, as were many other inhabitants of New Orleans. Although a descendant of French, Spanish. Indian and African forefathers Bigard was almost white.
Lorenzo Tio Jnr., the famous founder of the tradition of great Creolean jazz clarinetists, taught Bigard to play saxophone as a teenager. Bigard began his professional career in 1921 as tenor saxophonist with Albert Nicholas. 2 years later he changed to clarinet and played with Amos White. Barney Bigard went in 1925 to Chicago, where he worked with the famous King Oliver in the scene club "Plantation Club".
The musician moved to New York in 1928, where he played first of all with Louis Russell, joined however a short lime later Duke Ellington's orchestra. Bigard stayed for 14 years with the Ellington orchestra and was an outstanding and important soloist in these years. Bigard eventually moved to California from New York, where he worked with the pianist Freddie Slack and led his own combo. He first joined Louis Armstrong's All Star formation at the end of the Forties, and worked with this formation regularly up until the middle of the Sixties, touring throughout Europe and Japan.
His activities as a star soloist with the reknowned orchestras of Ellington and Armstrong brought Bigard world-wide fame. During his career he worked with such jazz greats as Cozy Cole, Earl Hines, Mugsy Spanier, Rex Stewart, Ben Webster, Eddie Condon, Django Reinhardt, Jack Teagarden and Johnny Hodges, amongst others.
His style, which was influenced by the Blues, brought this extraordinary melodious musician the nickname "Snakecharmer" from his fellow musicians. Barney Bigard died on the 27th June, 1980 in Culver City, California. Bigard enjoys cult status to this very day, as a star soloist and as со-writer of many jazz classics.

Bobby Hackett was born under the name of Robert Leo Hackett on the 31st January, 1915 in Providence. Rhode Island. Bobby, who was later to become the most important white representative of Dixieland jazz, learned banjo, guitar and violin as a child. He left school at 14 and played from then on with local dance orchestras.
He evntually learned the trumpet and performed at the beginning of his career with Pee Wee Russell and Teddy Roy in Boston. He turned professional on trumpet a short time later - whereby he played guitar parallel throughout his entire career - and took over the band of Herbie Marsh.
Hackett went to New York in 1937 where he replaced Eddie Condon in Joe Marsala's band, and was celebrated as the new star soloist. He appeared with his own bands in various clubs on 52nd Street, the stamping ground of New York jazz musicians.
He was on stage at the famous New York Carnegie Hall in 1938 with Benny Goodman, and joined Glenn Miller's band at the beginning of the Forties as guitarist and trumpeter.
Alongside his many engagements in clubs, at festivals and in the major concert halls Hackett worked regularly as a studio musician for various radio stations and record companies. He also performed in several TV. shows in the Fifties.
His engagements also took him to Europe, and he accompanied Benny Goodman on his Mexican tour in 1963. Hackett went to Japan in the early Seventies, accompanied by such musicians as Dizzy Gillespie and George Wein.
Right up until his death he led various of his own jazz bands, and put together all-star formations, to which musicians such as Jack Teagarden. Vic Dickenson and Dave McKenna belonged but also modern jazz musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, for studio recordings and festivals.
During his musical career Hackett accompanied such jazz greats as Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday. Frank Sinatra, Maxine Sullivan, Lee Wiley and, as of 1965, regularly Tony Bennett.
Alongside Bix Beiderbecke, his greatest idol, Hackett was regarded as the most important representative of the Dixieland era, and also influenced musicians who had turned to Modern Jazz. Bobby Hackett died of a heart attack on the 7th June, 1976 in Chatham. Massachusetts.