Albert Dominique, better known as Don Albert (August 5, 1908, New Orleans – January 1980, San Antonio, Texas) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader.[1]
Don Albert | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Albert Dominique |
| Born | August 5, 1908 New Orleans, Louisiana, US |
| Died | January 1980 San Antonio, Texas |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, bandleader |
| Instrument | Trumpet |
Albert's uncle was Natty Dominique.[2] He got his start playing in parade brass bands in New Orleans at the beginning of the 1920s.[2] He toured with the territory band of Alphonse Trent in 1925,[1] then played with Troy Floyd at the Shadowland Ballroom in San Antonio from 1926 to 1929.[2]
Albert led his own territory bands out of Texas in the 1930s and 1940s, with sidemen that included Alvin Alcorn, Louis Cottrell, Jr., and Herb Hall.[1] After 1932 he acted more in a manager's capacity than as a performer.[2] His bands played in Mexico and Canada, and won positive reviews from newspapers, but recorded only eight sides.[2] He disbanded this group around 1937 due to economic conditions, and found work in civil service and managing a nightclub called the Keyhole Club in San Antonio in the early and mid-1940s; his club was shut down in 1948 by local authorities.[2] In 1950, he opened a second location at 1619 West Poplar.[3] He led a group at the Palace Theater in New York in 1949.[2]
In the 1950s he continued performing part-time, playing in small groups into the 1970s.[1][2] He recorded again in the 1960s and appeared at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in 1969.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Koch, Lawrence (2003). "Albert, Don [Dominique, Albert]". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J005200. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Chadbourne, Eugene. "Don Albert". AllMusic. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
- ^ Garcia, Juan (2014-11-30). "An Eastside Story: Don Albert and The Keyhole Club". San Antonio Report. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
Further reading
edit- Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler, The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford, 1999, p. 9.
External links
edit- Interviews with Don Albert, January 15-18, 1980, February 1-8, 1980, University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Oral History Collection, UA 15.01, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.