Herbert Hardesty | |
|---|---|
 Hardesty in 1980 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1925-03-03)March 3, 1925 New Orleans,Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | December 3, 2016(2016-12-03) (aged 91) |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Instrument(s) | Tenor saxophone,trumpet |
| Years active | 1939–2016 |
Herbert Hardesty (March 3, 1925 – December 3, 2016) was an American musician who playedtenor saxophone andtrumpet. He is best known for his association with the New Orleans pianistFats Domino and the producerDave Bartholomew, beginning in 1948. He released six 45-rpm records asHerb Hardesty between 1959 and 1962. His first CD of these recordings, together with others made but not issued in 1958, were released worldwide in July 2012 byAce Records (United Kingdom) asThe Domino Effect.
Hardesty was born inNew Orleans,Louisiana, on March 3, 1925.[1] He began trumpet lessons in school at the age of six and used a trumpet given to his stepfather byLouis Armstrong.[2] He also took lessons from Professor Valmore Victor and began playing in a localWorks Progress Administration big band. By 1939, he was getting paid to play with bands led byPapa Celestin,Sidney Desvigne, and others.Chick Webb also asked him to perform with his orchestra.[2]
Hardesty enlisted in the military in 1941 even though he was two years below the minimum draft age. At theUnited States Army Air Corps base inJackson, Mississippi, he volunteered to play saxophone in the band, and his commanding officer purchased analto saxophone, which Hardesty learned to play in two days.[3] His Army training continued atTuskegee, Alabama, and he was a radio technician in the99th Flying Training Squadron, stationed inMorocco,Italy, andGermany, making him part of what is now known as theTuskegee Airmen. When time permitted he played trumpet and alto saxophone with local European musicians.[4] After the war ended, Hardesty returned to New Orleans and attendedDillard University.
His first trio performed at the Hurricane Bar (3726 S.Claiborne Avenue, in New Orleans, a few blocks from where he was living) with Hardesty playing double bass accompanied by a guitarist and pianist, similar toNat King Cole's group.[1] Shortly after this Hardesty purchased atenor saxophone and began taking lessons, and by 1948 formed a group, the Four Dukes, which performed at Club Desire in New Orleans; Hardesty played trumpet and tenor sax.[5]
Hardesty met Dave Bartholomew in 1946, and by January 1949 Bartholomew asked Hardesty to go into the studio to record withChubby Newsom forDe Luxe Records, for the albumNew Orleans Lover Man.[1] Other musicians on this session included the drummerEarl Palmer, the bassistFrank Fields, the guitaristErnest McLean, who together with Bartholomew and Hardesty (by this time primarily playing tenor sax) were the core of the studio band which during the 1950s recorded many hit records atCosimo Matassa's J&M Recording Studio. Later in 1949, Hardesty toured for about six months with the singerRoy Brown.[1]
Upon returning to New Orleans, Hardesty again recorded with Bartholomew, including the November 29, 1949, sessions forJewel King ("3 x 7 = 21") andTommy Ridgley ("Shrewsbury Blues").[1] On December 10, 1949, he recorded on "The Fat Man" withFats Domino, the first release for the futureRock and Roll Hall of Fame member. During the first half of the 1950s, Hardesty continued to do studio work with Domino and other artists, includingLloyd Price (Hardesty contributed the saxophone solo on "Lawdy Miss Clawdy"),[1] Shirley and Lee,Smiley Lewis,T-Bone Walker,Big Joe Turner,Little Richard, and others, and occasionally performed in local clubs. In 1953, he helpedRay Charles organize and rehearse a band for a tour.[1]
In 1955, Bartholomew asked Hardesty to begin touring with Fats Domino. When the band played at the 5-4 Ballroom inLos Angeles,California, in March 1955, a photographer took a picture of Hardesty playing tenor sax on his back, and it appeared in the April 18, 1955, issue ofLife magazine, the first time that Domino was mentioned inLife, although he was not in the photograph.[6] This same trip to Los Angeles also included recording sessions that resulted in hits for Domino, including "Blue Monday", on which Hardesty played the baritone saxophone solo because the other musician was unable to get the right sound; it was the first and only time that Hardesty played baritone sax. One music writer said this solo "is as close to perfection as one can imagine. The eight-bar sax break is a gem of almost frightening economy. It is one of the most memorable, bluesy, and yet simple runs in all of r&b."[7] Other well-known tenor saxophone solos by Hardesty with Domino were on "I'm Walkin'", "Ain't That a Shame", and "Let the Four Winds Blow".
Hardesty's solo recordings began in 1957; the first two, organized by the guitaristMickey Baker, were never released are not known to exist.[1] Twelve songs were recorded on January 15, 1958, atCosimo Matassa's studio in New Orleans forWing Records, a subsidiary ofMercury Records, but were never released until the 2012 CDThe Domino Effect was issued worldwide byAce Records (United Kingdom). The first time that Hardesty's name appeared on asingle was with the Canadian vocal quartet theDiamonds, "Don't Let Me Down" (also known as "Chick-Lets"), which was recorded on March 4, 1958, and released the following month as Mercury 71291.[1] In 1959, Hardesty recorded four tracks inNew York City withHank Jones. Two were released as a single on Paoli,[8] the only release from this label; they were also released shortly after by Mutual,[9] both labels having connections toPhiladelphia. The Mutual release was listed on Philadelphia radio station WIBG's Future Forty chart for November 2, 1959, but did not chart elsewhere.[1] The four tracks were purchased byKing Records in 1961[10] and were re-released as two 45s byFederal Records in April and June 1961. Hardesty recorded four more songs in October 1961, which were released in 1962 by Federal; two are notinstrumentals and had vocals by the New Orleans guitaristWalter "Papoose" Nelson. Hardesty co-wrote the title track of Fats Domino's 1964 album,Fats on Fire.[1]
Hardesty continued to tour with Domino until 1971, when he moved toLas Vegas. In 1973, he played trumpet with theDuke Ellington Orchestra at the Hilton Hotel inLas Vegas and was a member of theCount Basie Orchestra for six months, playing tenor saxophone. He became a member of the house band at the Hilton Hotel and backed vocalists includingTony Bennett,Ella Fitzgerald, andFrank Sinatra.[11]
In 1978, the drummerEarl Palmer invited Hardesty to record withTom Waits for the albumBlue Valentine. He was a member of Waits's quartet in 1978 and 1979, touring in the United States, Europe and Australia. He played more trumpet than tenor sax. CDs and DVDs of the Waits shows inAustin, Texas, are available.
Hardesty rejoined Domino from about 1980 until 2005 and can be heard on numerous live recordings released during these years. He played tenor sax onDr. John's 1992 albumGoin' Back to New Orleans. Over the years Hardesty performed in Europe and privately issued a CD recorded inGermany with the Olaf Polziehn Trio. He also appeared at theAscona Jazz Festival with the tenor saxophonistPlas Johnson. He recorded with the pianistMitch Woods for the albumsBig Easy Boogie, released in 2006 (followed by a European tour in 2008), andGumbo Blues, released in 2010. Hardesty continued to perform with Dr. John at theNew Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Reviewing his solos at the 2012 festival, the newspaperGambit wrote: "All hail Herb Hardesty, one of the few remaining alums of the J&M Studio Band whose talents helped create so many hits and classic songs for Fats Domino, Little Richard, Shirley and Lee, and so many others. His presence and fine soloing in Dr. John's sets this Jazz Fest added to the New Orleans feel in Dr. John's new songs."[12] He led his own group, Herb Hardesty & The Dukes, on April 28, 2013, in the Blues tent at theNew Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Hardesty continued to perform in Las Vegas. He died of cancer there on December 3, 2016, at the age of 91.[13][14]
For most of his career, Hardesty played a gold-platedSelmer Mark VI tenor saxophone with an Otto Linkmouthpiece. His trumpet was custom-made byHenri Selmer Paris, one of two made in France by a master craftsman; the other was owned byLouis Armstrong.[6]
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