A Year: Day to Day Men: 1st of April
Sea Adventure
April 1, 1895 is the birthdate of the American jazz singer and songwriter Alberta Hunter.
In her early teens Alberta Hunter began her singing career in small clubs in Chicago, Illinois. By 1914 she was receiving lessons from the prominent jazz pianist Tony Jackson who helped her expand her repertoire and compose her own songs. One of Hunter’s first notable experiences was singing at the Panama Club, a white-owned club with a white-only clientele. Her act was in the upstairs room where she began her development as an artist in front of a cabaret crowd of patrons. Her big break came when she was booked at Dreamland Cafe, singing with the cornet jazz musician King Oliver and his band.
Alberta Hunter first toured Europe in 1917, performing in Paris and London. Her career as a singer and songwriter flourished in the 1920s and 30s; she appeared in clubs and on stage in musicals both in London and New York. At this time she wrote the critically acclaimed song “Downhearted Blues” (1922). Alberta Hunter recorded prolifically during the 1920s, starting with sessions for Black Swan in 1921, Paramount in 1922-24, Gennett in 1924, Okeh in 1925-26, Victor in 1927 and Columbia in 1929.
In 1928, Hunter played the role of Queenie opposite Paul Robeson in the first London production of “Show Boat” at Drury Lane. She later performed in nightclubs throughout Europe and appeared in 1934 with Jack Jackson’s society orchestra in London. One of Hunter’s most known recordings with Jackson is the famous song “Miss Otis Regrets”. She later moved to New York City, performing with Bricktop, the American female dancer and jazz singer, and recording with Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet.
In the summer of 1976 , Alberta Hunter was connected with Barney Josephson, the legendary owner of the Greenwich Village club, The Cookery. He offered her a limited engagement at the club, which turned into a six year engagement and a revival of her music career after a fifteen year absence from the profession. Impressed by her press reviews, John Hammond signed Hunter to Columbia Records, where she made three albums.
Alberta Hunter was inducted to the Blues hall of Fame in 2011 and the Memphis Music Hall fo Fame in 2015. Her comeback album produced by Columbia Records, “Amtrack Blues”, was honored by the Blues Hall of Fame in 2009.