Alberta Gabriel was one of the rare female musicians from the very early days of New Orleans jazz. She replaced pianist Paul Beaulieu in the National Orchestra, and the audition might not have been that tough considering that this expanded group was led by her father, Martin Gabriel, Sr.. He kept the orchestra going from 1913 until his death in 1932, at which point his pianist daughter may have dropped out of playing entirely, victim of a type of social paranoia that kept most women off bandstands.

She is not to be confused with clarinetist Albert Dude Gabriel, an event that might happen at the typesetter's drop of a final letter. He was her uncle, however. Her brothers included the bassist Percy Gabriel and Martin Gabriel, Jr., eventually the leaders of Gabriel's New Orleans Jazz Band which, it should be mentioned, was actually based out of Detroit in the '60s and '70s. Did they invite their sister to come play with them? Apparently not. There is also Clarence Gabriel, a pianist and banjoist, and perhaps even another brother named Manny Gabriel, who doubled on clarinet and drums. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi