Illinois Jacquet RIP

[BERIGAN]

Very sad news, but damn, played almost til the end, what more could one ask for???

R.I.P.

[king ubu]

From the Jazztimes website:

Illinois Jacquet Dies

Date: July 22, 2004

Written By: Russell Carlson

Illinois Jacquet, a saxophonist in the broad and forceful “Texas tenor” style who recorded what is popularly considered the first R&B sax solo, and who played with big-band leaders Lionel Hampton and Count Basie, died Thurs., July 22 in New York City of heart failure. He was 81.

Besides being the major figure of the Texas-tenor school, which also included James Clay and Buddy Tate, Jacquet was responsible for two major developments in tenor playing. Building off brash, shouting sounds that had originally come from Lester Young’s saxophone, Jacquet further developed and popularized the “honking” method of playing, which might best be heard in Jacquet’s performances with producer Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic tour. Jacquet also discovered the tenor’s high-pitched altissimo range, which extended the instrument’s range by two and a half octaves.

Born Jean-Baptiste Illinois Jacquet in Boussard, La. in 1922, he grew up in Houston, Texas, where he started on drums, switched to soprano saxophone and later took up alto. In 1940 Jacquet and his trumpeter brother, Russell, moved to L.A., where a jam session with Nat “King” Cole eventually led the saxophonist to a job in vibist Lionel Hampton’s big band.

In 1942 Jacquet cut the solo on the hit recording of Hampton’s “Flying Home,” which made the saxophonist famous. This is the solo that is known as the first recorded R&B sax solo. He left Hampton shortly thereafter and went on to play in the bands of Cab Calloway and Count Basie, and he later formed a group with his brother and bassist Charles Mingus. He joined Jazz at the Philharmonic as a featured soloist in 1946 and stayed on for two years; he would return briefly in 1955.

Beginning in the mid-’40s Jacquet led his own groups, on record and on tour, and included among his sidemen players like J.J. Johnson, Cecil Payne and Wild Bill Doggett. Two of his most-loved recordings are Bottoms Up (1968) and The Blues: That’s Me! (1969), both made for the Prestige label.

Jacquet remained active on the scene well into his 70s. He became an artist-in-residence at Harvard in the ’80s, and performed on the SS Norway in 1997 for his 75th birthday. He is the subject of the 1991 film Texas Tenor: The Illinois Jacquet Story.

Listened to disc one of the Mosaic last night (instead of catching enough sleep), and hell, some of it is frantic and over the top, but then dig what he does with "Memories of You" and "Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance"! Beautiful stuff!

ubu

[B. Goren.]

Is the mosaic still available?

No.

[B. Goren.]

RIP Mr. Jacquet.

[LAL]

A double dose of JATP and likely the Mosaic is in store for this weekend.

RIP

[vibes]

Nice to see Illinois Jacquet mentioned on cnn.com's front page and on so many other news websites. He certainly deserves it.

[Guest Chaney]

July 23, 2004

Jazz Saxophonist Illinois Jacquet Dies

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 8:10 a.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- Illinois Jacquet, a legendary tenor saxophonist who played with nearly every jazz and blues luminary of his time and whose standout solo on Lionel Hampton's ``Flying Home'' became a rhythm and blues standard, has died. He was 81.

Jacquet died of a heart attack Thursday at his New York City home, said longtime friend and collaborator Dan Frank.

During a career spanning eight decades, Jacquet played with such music greats as Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Jo Jones, Buddy Rich, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Gene Krupa.

When he was 19, he played the tenor saxophone solo on ``Flying Home'' with Hampton. He likened the performance to a religious experience. ``Something was with me at that moment,'' he said. ``It all came together for some reason.''

Jacquet, who defined the jazz style called screeching, was known as much for his trademark pork pie hat as the innovative playing style.

He played tenor sax in the Count Basie and Cab Calloway bands and since 1981 performed with his own band, the Illinois Jacquet Big Band.

Jacquet played ``C-Jam Blues'' with former President Bill Clinton, an amateur saxophonist, on the White House lawn during Clinton's inaugural ball in January 1993. He also performed for Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

During his heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, Jacquet recorded more than 300 original compositions, including three of his biggest hits, ``Black Velvet,'' ``Robbins' Nest'' and ``Port of Rico.''

Born Jean-Baptiste Jacquet in Broussard, La., his mother was a Sioux Indian and his father, Gilbert Jacquet, a French-Creole railroad worker and part-time musician.

The nickname Illinois came from the Indian word ``Illiniwek,'' which means superior men. He dropped the name Jean-Baptiste when the family moved from Louisiana to Houston because there were so few French-speaking people there.

Jacquet, one of six children, began performing at age 3, tap dancing to the sounds of the Gilbert Jacquet band. He later played the drums in his father's band but discovered his true talent when a music teacher introduced him to the saxophone.

After graduating from high school, Jacquet moved to California where he soon earned a reputation as a little guy who played a lot of sax.

His first exposure was a command performance by Cole, who lined up bass player Jimmy Blanton, Sid Catlett on drums and guitarist Charlie Christian from the Benny Goodman Orchestra and told Jacquet he wanted to hear what he could do.

Years later, Jacquet told an interviewer that playing in that jam session ``was like playing with God, St. Peter and Moses,'' yet he wasn't nervous because ``when you play with the greatest you play even better.''

Jacquet appeared with Calloway's band in the Lena Horne movie ``Stormy Weather'' and in the Academy Award-nominated short film ``Jammin' the Blues'' with Billie Holiday and Lester Young. He replaced Young in the Count Basie Orchestra in 1946 and was given the nickname ``The King'' by Basie.

During the 1960s and 1970s, he toured extensively in Europe. In 1983, he became the first jazz musician to become artist-in-residence at Harvard University. His stint as guest lecturer at the Ivy League school caused him more angst than any performance of his life, said Carol Sherick, his longtime companion and manager of more than 20 years.

``When he's on stage with a horn in his hand, he's comfortable, but put him in front of a class, just talking ... that's a whole different thing,'' she said.

Despite his fame, Jacquet lived quietly in New York City's borough of Queens. His wife said he followed Basie to Queens in 1947 but stayed because ``the cost of parking his car in Manhattan was more than the rent on his apartment.''

[JSngry]

Nice to see Illinois Jacquet mentioned on cnn.com's front page and on so many other news websites. He certainly deserves it.

Indeed, although I got a little irked last night when AP Network News (radio) refered to him as "zha-KAY", said that he was famous for his "trademark porkpie hats", and then added that he was the inventor of "the style of jazz known as squealing".

[ghost of miles]

That squealing jazz... Yeah, I'm surprised, too, to see it get so much play (it's in Yahoo's top news stories box right now) but well-deserved, a pleasant surprise. That Mosaic set is pretty amazing, simply because they were able to license from so many different labels to put it together...

I'm glad that he lived as long as he did. "Black Velvet" is a thing of beauty, and I'll listen to it again tonight.

[sidewinder]

Fond memories over the past few days of the one time I saw him with his big band at NYC's Town Hall (along with a tribute to Buck Clayton which was also memorable). One of the hardest swinging performances I've ever seen and Illinois' showmanship on the stand and interaction with the audience was brilliant, as was his ability to get great work out of the big band. Listening to the Mosaic brings all of this back and for me he was the master at integrating jazz and R&B into an extremely potent combination. He was also a shrewd talent spotter (good example being JJ Johnson on LP1 of the Mosaic and Leo Parker on the later sides).

Edited July 24, 2004 by sidewinder

[Brad]

The WKCR tribute was very nice. I didn't get a chance to listen to all of it but they finished up with the original Flying Home with Hamp and although an obvious touch, it was a nice touch. I need to pull out the Mosaic.

[Christiern]

Lew Tabackin was a big Jacquet fan. I thought I'd share a photo Lew sent me of the two of them. It was taken in the Spring of 2003, at the annual JVC press party.

[couw]

none of the other guests seem to notice them

[LarryCurleyMoe]

Sorry to hear (I hear late as usual)...another groovy swinger gone...(NICE balad player also!)...

Have been enjoying the little Mercury/Clef retrospect on Ocium "Jacquet a la Carte"...spans 1951-53 and highlights work with Hank Jones, Art Blakey, Brother Russell Jacquet and big band with Basie personnel, Sir Charles Thompson, etc.

[mmilovan]

One of my favourite Jacquet recordings is where he plays "Don't Blame Me". Still I have no data when it was recorded, but according to sonic quality of recording it can be either studio or live recording from around 1945. Jacquet fans can confirm the exact date. The gruop included some very nice muted trumpet playing.

Some of my favourite music ever.