Albert “Fernandez” Walters

Cornetist and pianist Albert Vincent “Fernandez” Walters (1905-1980) was born in the Tremé section of New Orleans to a musical family and began playing professionally as a pianist with Kid Howard in the 1920s. He took trumpet lessons from Manuel Perez and Paul Chaligny and joined the Camellia Band, replacing Wooden Joe Nicholas. Although he had some experience with jazz dance bands, such as the Crescent City Serenaders, Walters spent most of his career working with brass bands, including the Tulane Band, George Williams Brass Band, and John Casimir’s Young Tuxedo Brass Band, which was recorded by Atlantic Records in 1958.