Alberto Socarras

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Alberto Socarras, also Albert Socarras (September 19, 1908 – August 26, 1987), was an American jazz reedist and flautist.

Socarras was born in Manzanillo, Cuba and played locally there before moving to the United States in 1927. He recorded with Clarence Williams in 1927 and began taking jazz flute solos as early as 1929, making him the earliest known jazz flute soloist (earlier even than Wayman Carver). He played with The Blackbirds revue between 1928 and 1933, and plays on Lizzie Miles's 1928 recording "You're Such a Cruel Papa to Me". In 1933 he played with Benny Carter, then led an all-female band on a tour of Europe in 1934. In 1935 he played with Sam Wooding and led his own bands from 1935 into the 1940s; his sidemen included Edgar Sampson, Cab Calloway, and Mongo Santamaria. He also played with Erskine Hawkins in 1937. He led only one recording session in 1935, resulting in four tunes. Since the 1940s he had retired from jazz music.

[edit] References

• Scott Yanow, Albert Socarras at All Music Guide
• Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler, The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford, 1999, p. 516.