Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month with an hour of music from the Indianapolis bassist Herman “Trigger” Alpert.
Born in Indianapolis in 1916 to Russian Jewish immigrants, Alpert rose to national prominence in the golden age of big band jazz. A product of Arsenal Tech and Shortridge High School, Alpert found his voice on the bass and got his start performing in the city’s Jewish community at venues including the Kirshbaum Center.
By the late 1930s, he was working professionally across Indiana before landing a spot with Glenn Miller’s orchestra in 1940. His career was soon interrupted by World War II, but Alpert continued performing in military bands, eventually rejoining Miller’s orbit in the famed Army Air Forces Orchestra.
After the war, Alpert built a prolific career as a New York studio musician, recording with icons including Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Harry Belafonte, and Frank Sinatra. He retired from music in the 1970s, later turning to photography, and died in 2013 at age 97.
Despite his remarkable contributions to American music, Alpert remains largely overlooked in his hometown — an unsung figure whose legacy deserves greater recognition in Indianapolis jazz history.