Trigger Alpert
Birth name Herman Alpert
Born September 3, 1916
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Died December 21, 2013 (aged 97)
Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Bass
Herman “Trigger” Alpert (September 3, 1916 – December 21, 2013) was an American jazz bassist, He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Alpert attended Indiana University in the 1930s. In 1940 he played with Alvino Rey in New York City. Soon after, he became a member of the Glenn Miller.
During the 1940s, Alpert recorded with Bud Freeman, Ella Fitzgerald, Roy Eldridge, Budd Johnson, Louis Armstrong, and then Frank Sinatra from 1946 to 1950. He had also performed with Benny Goodman and Woody Herman.
Alpert recorded one album as a leader, Trigger Happy (Riverside, 1956), which included Zoot Sims, Ed Shaughnessy, Al Cohn, Urbie Green, Joe Wilder, and Tony Scott.
In the 1950s he worked with smaller bands such as those of Coleman Hawkins, Mundell Lowe, Tony Mottola, Don Elliott, Gene Krupa, and Buddy Rich, as well as the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra.
Alpert wrote two instructional books: Walking the Bass (1958) and the Electric Bass (1968). He was a member of the CBS Orchestra with a rhythm section of Hank Jones, Sonny Igoe, and Chuck Wayne until the late 1960s. He was with the CBS band for the Garry Moore Show with Carol Burnett and with Barbra Streisand for My Name is Barbra and Color Me Barbra.
In 1970 Alpert made his longtime interest in portrait photography a full-time profession. He died on December 21, 2013, at an assisted living facility in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
Discography
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As leader
Trigger Happy! (Riverside, 1956)
As sideman
With Mundell Lowe
The Mundell Lowe Quartet (Riverside, 1955)
Guitar Moods (Riverside, 1956)
New Music of Alec Wilder (Riverside, 1956)