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Illinois Jacquet | |
|---|---|
_(profile).jpg) Jacquet, New York City, c. May 1947 (Photograph byWilliam Paul Gottlieb) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jean-Baptiste Illinois Jacquet |
| Born | (1922-10-30)October 30, 1922 Broussard, Louisiana, US |
| Died | July 22, 2004(2004-07-22) (aged 81) New York City, New York, US |
| Genres | Swing,bebop,jump blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, bandleader, composer |
| Instrument(s) | Tenor saxophone,bassoon,alto saxophone |
| Years active | 1941–2004 |
| Labels | Apollo,Savoy,Aladdin,RCA,Verve,Mercury,Roulette,Epic,Argo,Prestige,Black Lion,Black & Blue,Atlantic |
Jean-Baptiste Illinois Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004)[1] was an Americanjazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the firstR&B saxophone solo.[2] He is also known as one of the writers of the jazz standard "Don'cha Go 'Way Mad."
Although he was a pioneer of the honkingtenor saxophone that became a regular feature of jazz playing and a hallmark of earlyrock and roll, Jacquet was a skilled and melodic improviser, both on up-tempo tunes and ballads. He doubled on thebassoon, one of only a few jazz musicians to use the instrument.
Jacquet's parents wereCreoles of color, named Marguerite Trahan and Gilbert Jacquet,[3] When he was an infant, his family moved from Louisiana toHouston, Texas, and he was raised there as one of six siblings. His father was a part-time bandleader. As a child he performed in his father's band, primarily on thealto saxophone. His older brotherRussell Jacquet played trumpet and his other brother Linton played drums.[4]
At 15, Jacquet began playing with theMilton Larkin Orchestra, a Houston-area dance band.[5] He attendedWheatley High School. In 1939, he moved toLos Angeles, California, where he metNat King Cole. Jacquet would sit in with the trio on occasion. In 1940, Cole introduced Jacquet toLionel Hampton who had returned to California and was putting together a big band. Hampton wanted to hire Jacquet, but asked the young Jacquet to switch totenor saxophone.[5]
In 1942, at age 19, Jacquet soloed on the Hampton Orchestra's recording of "Flying Home", one of the first times a honking tenor sax was heard on record.[5] The record became a hit. The song immediately became the climax for the live shows and Jacquet became exhausted from having to "bring down the house" every night. The solo was built to weave in and out of the arrangement and continued to be played by every saxophone player who followed Jacquet in the band,[5] includingArnett Cobb andDexter Gordon, who achieved almost as much attention as Jacquet in playing it. It is one of the few jazz solos to have been memorized and played very much the same way by everyone who played the song. He left the Hampton band in 1943 and joinedCab Calloway's Orchestra.[5]
Jacquet appeared with Calloway's band inLena Horne's movieStormy Weather (1943). In the earlier years of Jacquet's career, his brother Linton Jacquet managed him on thechitlin circuit[3] Linton's daughter, Brenda Jacquet-Ross, sang in jazz venues in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1990s to early 2000s, with a band called the Mondo Players.[citation needed]
In 1944, Jacquet returned to California and started a small band with his brother Russell and a youngCharles Mingus. It was at this time that he appeared in theAcademy Award-nominated short filmJammin' the Blues[5] withLester Young.[6] He also appeared at the firstJazz at the Philharmonic concert. In 1946, he moved to New York City, and joined theCount Basie orchestra,[5] replacingLester Young.[6]
Jacquet wrote the instrumental "Black Velvet" withJimmy Mundy in 1949 and recorded it the same year.Al Stillman put lyrics to it, and it was recorded later the same year byHarry James as "Don'cha Go 'Way Mad." The song has since been performed by dozens of performers, includingFrank Sinatra andElla Fitzgerald.[7]
In 1952, Jacquet co-wrote "Just When We're Falling in Love" (Jacquet (m),Sir Charles Thompson (m),S. K. "Bob" Russell (l)). Jacquet continued to perform (mostly in Europe) in small groups through the 1960s and 1970s.[5] He led the Illinois Jacquet Big Band from 1981 until his death.
Jacquet became the first jazz musician to be an artist-in-residence atHarvard University, in 1983.[6] He played "C-Jam Blues" with PresidentBill Clinton on theWhite House lawn during Clinton's inaugural ball in 1993. Jacquet's final performance was on July 16, 2004, at the Lincoln Center in New York.[6]
Jacquet was first married to Jacqueline Jacquet.[8]
His marriage to socialite Barbara Jacquet ended in divorce. They had a daughter, Pamela Jacquet Davis.[9][10]
Jacquet died in the home he shared with his long time partner, Carol Scherick, inQueens, New York, of a heart attack on July 22, 2004. He was 81 years old.[1] He is interred inWoodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, New York City.
His solos of the early and mid-1940s and his performances at the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series, influencedrhythm and blues androck and roll saxophone style, but also continue to be heard in jazz. His honking and screeching emphasized the lower and higher registers of the tenor saxophone. Despite a superficial rawness, the style is heard in jazz players likeArnett Cobb, who also became known for playing "Flying Home" with Hampton, as well asSonny Rollins,Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis andJimmy Forrest.[citation needed]
Jacquet pushed back againstJim Crow laws in Houston. After booking his band to play at theRice Hotel, he protested against management's rule that African Americans should enter the premises through an alley door. He issued an ultimatum: either allow his all-black orchestra to access the hotel through the main entrance or he would cancel the engagement. The Rice Hotel agreed to suspend the Jim Crow rule for Jacquet's band.[11]
After leaving Houston to tour the United States and several other countries, Jacquet contemplated the manner in which he would return:[11]
I love Houston, Texas. . . . This is where I went to school. This is where I learned everything I know. I was just fed up with coming to Houston with a mixed cast on stage and playing to a segregated audience. I wanted Houston to see a hell of a concert, and they should see it like they were in Carnegie Hall. I felt if I didn’t do anything about the segregation in my hometown, I would regret it. This was the time to do it. Segregation had to come to an end.
Jazz producerNorman Granz, who had been a social activist himself, made arrangements for the star-studded Philharmonic band to play an engagement at Houston's Music Hall on October 5, 1955. Jacquet played saxophone, accompanyingElla Fitzgerald,Dizzy Gillespie,Oscar Peterson, andBuddy Rich. Granz and Jacquet collaborated to eliminate Jim Crow customs from the event. There were no advanced sales of tickets, while Granz removed all of the "white" and "black" signs which indicated segregated facilities within the venue and hired some off-duty Houston police officers for security. The band played before a non-segregated audience, though not completely free of trouble. Despite Granz's precaution, five officers of the Houston Vice Squad stormed Ella Fitzgerald's dressing room with firearms drawn. Jacquet and Gillespie were playing dice games, which the Vice Squad used as a pretext for arresting Jacquet, Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and her assistant. This was a performance within a performance, however, as the quartet was whisked to the police station, where there were waiting photographers. After paying their fines, they all returned to the Music Hall where the band played the second set with the audience none the wiser.[11]
In 2008, The Chapel of the Sisters inProspect Cemetery was restored and re-dedicated as theIllinois Jacquet Performance Space on the grounds ofYork College inJamaica, Queens.
WithCount Basie
WithKenny Burrell
WithJoey DeFrancesco
WithBuddy Rich
WithSonny Stitt
WithBuddy Tate
