Dupree, Al Big Al

Dupree, Al Big Al 7 November 1923; Dallas, TX – 3 August 2003; Dallas, TX Tenor saxophonist and pianist. Began career with Doug Finell in 1935–1936, then left in 1939 to attend Xavier University in New Orleans. Spent World War II working on aircraft engines. Afterward he returned to Dallas and joined Buster Smith’s Heat Waves of Swing. From the late 1940s until his death he worked in local Dallas cocktail lounges. He recorded his first CD in 1995, Big Al Dupree Swings the Blues (Dallas Blues…