From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Thu Oct 31, 2002  6:22 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Illinois Jacquet

ILLINOIS JACQUET (By Shaun Mather)

Born Jean Baptiste Illinois Jacquet, 31 October 1919, Broussard, Louisiana;
died 22 July 1904, New York City.

Illinois Jacquet was at the forefront of jazz/r&b saxophonists, whose
playing on Flying Home made him one of the most copied and influential.
He grew up in Houston and played locally before moving to Los Angeles
in 1941. During the '40s he played with Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway
(1943-1944) and Count Basie (1945-1946). Jacquet's playing at the first
Jazz At The Philharmonic concert (1944) went down in folklore when during
the song Blues he included a screaming solo where he bit on his reed to
achieve high-register effects. The crowd went wild and he repeated the idea
during his appearance in the 1944 film short Jammin' the Blues.
In 1945, Jacquet put together his own band and developed an exciting sound
both on record and on stage. Over the years he recorded for such labels as
Apollo, Savoy, Aladdin, RCA, Verve, Mercury, Roulette, Epic, Argo, Prestige,
Black Lion, Black & Blue, JRC, and Atlantic. His only chart entry was "Port
Of Rico" on Mercury in 1952 (# 3 R&B), but the Lionel Hampton version of
"Flying Home" (# 3 R&B, # 23 pop in 1943), with a tenor solo by Jacquet,
can also be considered as an Illinois Jacquet record.
(Adapted from All Music Guide)

More info: http://www.africanpubs.com/Apps/bios/0661JacquetIllinois.asp
See also: Jim Dawson and Steve Propes, What was the first rock 'n' roll
record (1992), page 1-5. "Blues, Part 2" by Jazz at the Philharmonic,
featuring saxophonists Illinois Jacquet and Jack McVea is the first record
featured in this interesting book.

Recommended listening:
Proper has recently issued an affordable 4 CD-set: The Illinois Jacquet Story
(Properbox 49).


Updated 23 April 2005