Both of Herbert's parents were of
Trinidadian heritage. He worked in a silver and gold
refinery as a young man, playing local gigs in New York
nightclubs and
hotels in his spare time. He left industry in 1935 to join
Eddie Williams's band, and soon after started his own band, the Rhythm Masters. In the 1930s and 1940s he worked as a sideman with musicians such as
Pete Brown,
Coleman Hawkins,
Hot Lips Page and
Sidney Bechet. In the 1950s Herbert went into semi-retirement as a musician and started up his own pest extermination business. He played in various
swing jazz revival ensembles, and toured with
Lem Johnson in
Poland in the 1960s. Herbert taught his
nephew, drummer
Herb Lovelle, whom he insisted should know how to read sheet music, something black musicians were then not held to know. He got his nephew his first gig with Hot Lips Page. He also taught drummer
Shelly Manne, according to Herb Lovelle. ==References==