Andy Secrest

Andy Secrest (b. Muncie, August 2, 1907 – d. California, 1977) – Trumpet player. Around 1925, Andy Secrest started playing professionally around Indiana. Of particular note, he played cornet for the famous “Stardust” sessions with the Emil Seidel Orchestra and Hoagy Carmichael on Richmond’s Gennett label in 1927. In the same year, he joined the Detroit-based Jean Goldkette Orchestra, with whom he cut several sides. On Goldkette’s recommendation, Secrest served as Bix Beiderbecke’s back-up in the famous Paul Whiteman Orchestra when the star trumpeter from Iowa was quickly deteriorating from alcoholism in February 1929. When Bix recuperated somewhat, the two played together and shared solo responsibilities in the Whiteman band and a smaller group led by Frankie Trumbauer. Known as a skillful mid-register soloist and a good ensemble player with good reading abilities, Secrest left Whiteman’s band in 1932 (a year after Bix died) and headed for California after playing for a year with the Ted Weems Orchestra. No longer imitating the sound of Beiderbecke, Secrest enjoyed a long career as a Hollywood studio musician, playing for radio and film. In the 1950s, he left the music business and re-invented himself as a real estate agent. In short, Secrest is a long-forgotten trumpet master, who was well-recorded on Victrola and Decca (some with Bing Crosby).