Below are two bios...
Illinois Jacquet Bio #1
He was born in Louisiana, but his sound exemplified the “Texas Tenor" style, which is a no-nonsense style that uses a rich powerful tone and a lot of blues (it almost sounds like “stripper music" at times!). In 1942, while a member of Lionel Hampton's big band, he blew himself into history. The story was told when Jacquet was the featured musician on Jazz Profiles with Nancy Wilson on National Public Radio. Jacquet was a young (about 22 years old) up-and-coming saxophone player and though he wasn't the leader of the saxophone section, Hampton still selected Jacquet to play a solo on a song that was destined to become a big band (and Hampton) classic Flying Home. Jacquet was nervous and asked the section leader for advice. The leader told Jacquet to “play his style." Jacquet said that he wasn't sure what his style was at that time. What he did, was went up to the microphone and played one of the most legendary solos in jazz history. Jacquet became an overnight star with the solo and the solo actually BECAME part of the song. Saxophone players had it written into their contracts that when the song was played, they had to play it like Jacquet. One saxophone player interviewed on the NPR program said during his life, he only memorized 2 solos: Coleman Hawkins' legendary Body and Soul solo and Illinois Jacquet's Flying Home solo. Jacquet is of the belief that people like to hear the solo they bought on the record, so he usually plays the same one. While this kind of goes against what makes Jazz unique, the good thing is, if you find a Illinois Jacquet CD with Flying Home on it, you will hear this solo. If you buy his CD Jacquet's Got It! he makes slight variations to it, but it is basically the same.
Jacquet developed 2 saxophone techniques that influenced a lot of musicians. The first was “honking." While the technique was created by Lester Young, Jacquet took it to a whole new level. He also discovered the “altissimo" range on the Tenor Saxophone, extending the range 2-1/2 octaves higher than previously known. Unfortunately, these concepts were picked up on by rock n roll and R&B tenor sax players in the 1950s (if you have heard a “golden oldie", you have probably heard honking--they hit a note over and over, making it sound like a honk). They liked playing monotonous honks and hitting those high, squealing notes and they took it to the point of overkill, because these players were not as skilled as Jacquet, who knew how to use them tastefully within a killer solo. However, since these other players were not skilled saxophone players, they picked up these concepts, without learning how to play the sax well, and they come off as obnoxious. Also, his altissimo playing was picked up on by free jazz players who overused it also, and sound like they are “squaking" and they too, make it obnoxious. (Don't misinterpret this: there are many fine sax players who use these concepts well, just not Rock n Roll or R&B tenors because many weren't skilled, and free jazz players, who were fine players overall, were using it as fad).
In the early 1980s, Jacquet received an introduction to give a lecture and speak at Harvard University. The extraordinary success earned Jacquet a return for 2 semesters as the Kayden Artist-in-Residence, becoming the first jazz player to serve a long-term residency at Harvard. This inspired him to form his first big band in almost 30 years. The band started playing in 1983 and in 1986, they played in Europe, drawing record crowds. They came back and played at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, as well as major jazz clubs in New York City, such as the Village Vanguard, where the bands' appearance became the biggest week in the club's 52 year history.
Illinois Jacquet Bio #2
Jean Baptiste Illinois Jacquet was merely 19 years old when, as a member of Lionel Hampton's band, he blew a tenor solo on “Flying' Home" that became a classic and often-imitated solo. It was so popular that Jacquet was called upon to play the same solo in live performances rather than improvise a new one. He continued to play in the best big bands around, including those led by Count Basie and Cab Calloway, toured as part of Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic, and led his own popular jump bands when the big band era began to wane. He is one of the architects of what is commonly referred to as the “Texas tenor style", and his playing is supremely musical, swinging, and gutsy. But somehow, Jacquet has not been accorded the place in jazz history occupied by tenor players like Ben Webster, Lester Young, Dexter Gordon, and Johnny Griffin.
Born in Boussard, Louisiana in 1922, Jacquet began as a drummer, later switching to alto saxophone. He grew up in Houston, playing in Milt Larkins' territory band that included the likes of Eddie “Cleanhead" Vinson and Arnett Cobb. The territory bands were local bands that traveled extensively, but generally did not play the large cities, like New York and Chicago. They were well known and popular within a limited geographical region. In 1941, Lionel Hampton was putting his band together after leaving the Benny Goodman group, and he invited Arnett Cobb to join. Cobb declined, electing to remain with the Larkins band, so Hampton took on Illinois Jacquet, persuading him to change to the tenor saxophone. Hampton's 1941 band included Dexter Gordon, trumpeter Ernie Royal and his altoist brother Marshall, and pianist Milt Buckner. It was this band that recorded the legendary “Flying' Home", a rollicking, raunchy workout that seemed to redefine the big band sound, with Jacquet's visceral tenor solo stealing the show.
Arnett Cobb agreed to join Hampton's band in 1942, though the band didn't record again until the end of the Federation of Musicians recording ban in March of 1944. He replaced Jacquet, who moved on to play with Cab Calloway and then Count Basie. The story goes that Jacquet quit the Basie band one night in Detroit after realizing that people were more interested in his playing than in hearing the band. He recorded a number of sides from 1945-50 for the Aladdin and Apollo record labels with a seven piece band that featured, at various times, Fats Navarro, J.J. Johnson, Leo Parker, and Sir Charles Thompson. These sides have been made available in a tremendous Mosaic Records 4 CD set The Complete Illinois Jacquet Sessions.
Jacquet became associated with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts, becoming known as a tenor wildman because of his raucous wailing and penchant for high note riffs that would drive audiences into a frenzy. This reputation is somewhat undeserved, as Illinois has always had a way with the smokier, more romantic tunes as well, such as “Black Velvet". In the 1960's Jacquet took up the bassoon, a notoriously difficult instrument, featuring it in his recording of Monk's Round Midnight. Since then he has done a fair bit of recording. One of the best introductions to his music is the Prestige 1968 date Bottoms Up, on which Jacquet revisits earlier tunes, like the title track and “Port of Rico" with only a rhythm section to back him. The results demonstrate that Jacquet is in the major league of tenor players. Especially beautiful is his recording of his own composition “You Left Me All Alone"-one of the most beautiful tenor ballad performances ever, with the exception of Coleman Hawkins' “Body and Soul".
There is not an R&B tenor saxophonist, a blues, rock, or jazz tenorman who does not owe something of his sound or his bag of sonic tricks to Illinois Jacquet, who turned 78 in the year 2000 and continues to be one of the treasures of classic jazz. He received the 2000 Jazz at Lincoln Center Award for Artistic Excellence. You can also see Jacquet in the 1992 documentary Texas Tenor--The Story of Illinois Jacquet.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
