Al Belletto born 3 January 1928

Al Belletto (January 3, 1928 – December 26, 2014) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist.

Al Belletto was born in New Orleans on January 3, 1928 to Philip and Frances Franzella Belletto. His long career in jazz made him one of the city's best known and most treasured musicians. While at Warren Easton High School he began working as a professional 

musician. At age sixteen Al began his studies at Loyola University and later earned a Master's Degree at LSU.

He played with Sharkey Bonano, Louis Prima, Wingy Manone and the Dukes of Dixieland in the 1940s and 1950s. A pioneer of contemporary jazz, Al led his own quintet in 1951 in which most of its members performed skillfully and they all doubled on more than one instrument. They used to play at Gus Stevens’ in Biloxi, Mississippi, where they found their first long-term booking, and a loyal crowd of followers.

It was precisely during their engagement there, that singing star Mel Tormé found himself in need of some choral assistance. Although none of Belletto’s men had ever sung a note professionally, they were anxious to please their first boss, so they just took deep breaths and began to sing. To everyone’s amazement what came out was round, full, and in beautiful accord.

Impressed with the boys’ natural vocal talent, Tormé furnished them with some of his Meltones charts, and suggested they make singing a regular part of their act. So raving about the excellent musicianship and affability of Tormé, and despite no one of them have sung before, they accepted the challenge. Trombonist Jimmy Guinn became the group’s featured singer, while each member also pitched in for some interesting five-way vocals remindful of the Four Freshmen. Belletto toured nationally and via Kenton was soon was signed up with Capitol Records.

  Here’s “You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To” from above E.P.

                               

His first "Kenton Presents" EP in 1954 was An Introduction to the Al Belletto Quintet. The pair of 45s featured four songs with five neatly arranged musicians: Jack Martin (tp,fhr,b), Jimmy Guinn (tb,vcl), Al Belletto (as,bar), Fred Crane (p,bar) and Charles McKnight (d). In 1954 and '55, Belletto recorded Sounds and Songs. By then, Belletto's group was a sextet: Jack Martin (tp,fhr), Danny Conn (tp,Mellophone,b), Jimmy Guinn (tb), Al Belletto (as,bar), Fred Crane (p), Skip Fawcett (b) and Charles McKnight (d).

After Sounds and Songs, Belletto recorded Half and Half in 1956, Whisper Not in 1957 and a superb album with singer Jerri Winters in '57 entitled Somebody Loves Me. An added bonus on the 1950s Capitol recordings of Al Belletto is the inclusion of Fred Crane, a rarely recorded jazz pianist who was a major influence on Bill Evans. Al continued his successful recording career with major labels such as King Records, and the ART and Louisiana Red Hot labels.

Learning of Al's group on Stan Kenton Presents recordings, bandleader Woody Herman heard the band in the late '50's and incorporated them into his State Department tour of Central and South America.  Belletto's surfy, high-register attack on the alto saxophone sounded very much like

Art Pepper. His tight groups had a West Coast jazz feel—rich in melody with fugue-like harmony and lots of space. After Sounds and Songs, Belletto recorded Half and Half in 1956, Whisper Not in 1957 and a superb album with singer Jerri Winters in '57 entitled Somebody Loves Me.

Missing New Orleans, Al returned to the city and worked at the New Orleans Playboy Club fronting the house band and serving as Musical/Entertainment Director which positioned him to attract international figures to the city. As a member of the board of directors of the original New Orleans jazz festival  Jazziest in 1968, he successfully pressed for a policy guaranteeing not only that the city's prominent black musicians would be presented at the festival, but that they would also receive compensation commensurate with the white musicians.

In the Civil Rights era, this was a proud achievement. Al was a past Board member of Local Union 174-495; he was a founding member of the French Quarter Festival and performed in the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival for 35 years. He had a long association with Al Hirt and directed The Al Hirt Big Band. Among the members of Al's bands over the years were prominent musicians Johnny Vidacovich, Ellis Marsalis, Bill Huntington, Michael Pellera, Richard Payne, John Mahoney and Rick Trolsen.

Players who worked with Al had a title for him that reflected their admiration for his musicianship, leadership and the warmth of their feelings for him. They called him Coach. His Jazznocracy big band album in 1997, his last, was a knockout.  He died at home in Crescent City, Metairie on December 26, 2014.

(Edited from Legacy.com, Wikipedia, jazzwax.com & Fresh Sounds)