Buddy Rich had nothing on Illinois Jacquet (?)

[Dan Gould]

From the description:

Sometime in the early-mid 1990s, at his rehearsal studio, in his home in St. Albans, Queens, NYC, Tenor Saxophone Jazz Legend Illinois Jacquet had decided that one of his trumpet players, Randy Eckert, had played a wrong note in one of the parts the band was rehearsing. Eckert denied it was him and the rest is urban legend. Here, in its entirety is the legendary cassette tape that made the rounds throughout the world of jazz musicians, known as "Jacquet Freaks Out". Here is the evidence that "The Beast" had indeed earned his nickname; a nickname, by the way, no-one was ever allowed to call him to his face. This is not intended to take away from the music nor his legendary status as a musician, but does serve to show how rough the Jazz Business could be at times, back in the day. Any "employer" who treated his employees like this today would no doubt be "cancelled".

 

 

[JSngry]

Who is Randy Eckert? 

[Dan Gould]

55 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Who is Randy Eckert? 

The dude Jacquet buried?

[Teasing the Korean]

I like how the guy kept baiting him, and Illinois walked right into the trap. Comedy gold.

[JSngry]

I love how Illinois had the regal rage thing going in his voice. There are plenty of actors who would win plenty of awards if they could channel that particular energy. 

[Teasing the Korean]

44 minutes ago, JSngry said:

I love how Illinois had the regal rage thing going in his voice. There are plenty of actors who would win plenty of awards if they could channel that particular energy. 

I thought he was going to have a heart attack.

[JSngry]

Oh no, not even.

Jacquet was of a time and a place where knives and guns were part of a well-balanced breakfast. Cash deals and such. It would take more than a mouthy nobody to give him a heart attack. 

[Teasing the Korean]

8 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Oh no, not even.

Jacquet was of a time and a place where knives and guns were part of a well-balanced breakfast. Cash deals and such. It would take more than a mouthy nobody to give him a heart attack. 

Still, funny to hear a guy of his stature allow himself to be baited so easily by a mouthy nobody!

[JSngry]

Recommended further reading:

 

Just now, Teasing the Korean said:

Still, funny to hear a guy of his stature allow himself to be baited so easily by a mouthy nobody!

All we hear is that moment. No context. For all we know, this guy had been disrespectful to either the gig or the leader or was just a pain in the ass in general. He definitely sound, in this tape, to be a bit of a needler, on of those guys who doesn't know how or when to deescalate due to some ill-conceived notion of "principle". 

"Easily baited", yeah, that guy easily baited himself out of a gig. I am not impressed.

What was his name again? 

[Teasing the Korean]

53 minutes ago, JSngry said:

"Easily baited", yeah, that guy easily baited himself out of a gig. I am not impressed.

He clearly wasn't interested in keeping the gig.  I thought it was funny.

[JSngry]

Pathetic is what it was, like a mouse trying to fuck with a lion.

That's the problem with jazz today - all mouthy mice full of "principle" and no roaring lions full of substance.

Besides, if you don't want the gig, don't take the gig. But if you take the gig, respect the gig. 

[gvopedz]

If anyone would like to see, maybe as a comparison, Bill Graham tell a musician to get the hell out of his office, go to around the 9 minute mark of the movie Fillmore:

 

[Teasing the Korean]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Pathetic is what it was, like a mouse trying to fuck with a lion.

That's the problem with jazz today - all mouthy mice full of "principle" and no roaring lions full of substance.

Besides, if you don't want the gig, don't take the gig. But if you take the gig, respect the gig. 

Quite the opposite, from my perspective.  Young guy recognizing that the jig is up, and that jazz is finished, and not about to be pushed around by an old guy who can't tell who hit the wrong note.  Young guy probably ended up with a plum university jazz gig.  No animals were harmed in the making of the cassette recording.  I think it's hilarious.  

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Teasing the Korean

[JSngry]

Jacquet kept a working big band almost to the end of his life, had an Artist-In-Residence gig at Harvard, didn't take shit from nobody, and made a buttload of money along the way.

This other guy, who is he again? Who was he then, who is he now, and how does he justify his musical existence? "I played with Illinois Jacquet!!!" 

Small people thrive on small victories. Even smaller people can't tell the difference. 

[Teasing the Korean]

30 minutes ago, JSngry said:

This other guy, who is he again? Who was he then, who is he now, and how does he justify his musical existence? "I played with Illinois Jacquet!!!" 

The other guy is just as anonymous as you or I, someone who was born too late to make a difference in jazz, regardless of whether they are any good. Illinois is a legend, and the young guy got a plum university gig, so it all worked out for everyone.  That's showbiz, folks! 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Teasing the Korean

[JSngry]

Did he get a plum university gig? I kinda think not? 

If so, hey, first artificial insemination, then cloning, now AI, why bother with living a life, just plug in and be a tool.  That's your destiny, should you accept it. 

[Teasing the Korean]

31 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Did he get a plum university gig? I kinda think not? 

If so, hey, first artificial insemination, then cloning, now AI, why bother with living a life, just plug in and be a tool.  That's your destiny, should you accept it. 

That's the reality of things, like it or not.

[JSngry]

This plum university gig that this guy "got" is reality?

My Google and I both remain skeptical about that.

As for those other reality...there are many realities for us to choose for ourselves. 

[mikeweil]

The Lord Disco lists only one (!) session with a trumpet player Randy Eckert, in 1977.

[Teasing the Korean]

9 minutes ago, mikeweil said:

The Lord Disco lists only one (!) session with a trumpet player Randy Eckert, in 1977.

He got out when he should have.  Good for him.

[JSngry]

My guess is that he was never in and never could/would be.

I love it when all these interchangeable placeholders are going to talk shit about "disrespect" and "verbal abuse"  to somebody like Illinois Jacquet and expect to be taken seriously. Talk about a clueless sense of entitlement... 

"Jazz" is besides the point. Totally. 

[AllenLowe]

I'm sorry, there's no way we can excuse this kind of abusive behavior by Jacquet, no matter how great he was. Obviously I am not of that stature but I've been leading good-sized bands in complex musical situations for about 35 years and I would never treat anyone like that, and I have had a few difficult - and more than difficult - sideman. You don't like 'em? You fire 'em. And there is even less excuse for Jacquet, who was a well-paid star; if I can handle low-pay and no-pay gigs with obnoxious club owners, Jacquet can act like a grown up (and honestly, he wasn't that great a tenor player anyway; I always preferred his alto).  This is part of the dues you pay as a leader. Patience, you suck it up, and you handle multiple personalities with care and diplomacy.

[mikeweil]

40 minutes ago, AllenLowe said:

I'm sorry, there's no way we can excuse this kind of abusive behavior by Jacquet, no matter how great he was. Obviously I am not of that stature but I've been leading good-sized bands in complex musical situations for about 35 years and I would never treat anyone like that, and I have had a few difficult - and more than difficult - sideman. You don't like 'em? You fire 'em. And there is even less excuse for Jacquet, who was a well-paid star; if I can handle low-pay and no-pay gigs with obnoxious club owners, Jacquet can act like a grown up (and honestly, he wasn't that great a tenor player anyway; I always preferred his alto).  This is part of the dues you pay as a leader. Patience, you suck it up, and you handle multiple personalities with care and diplomacy.

👍

[Dan Gould]

14 hours ago, mikeweil said:

The Lord Disco lists only one (!) session with a trumpet player Randy Eckert, in 1977.

Discogs has four listed, all pre-1980.

17 hours ago, JSngry said:

Pathetic is what it was, like a mouse trying to fuck with a lion.

That's the problem with jazz today - all mouthy mice full of "principle" and no roaring lions full of substance.

Besides, if you don't want the gig, don't take the gig. But if you take the gig, respect the gig. 

Alternative reality:

Eckert didn't make the mistake or Jacquet didn't even hear a mistake;

Jacquet has been a "Beast" to everybody in the band at one time or another and Eckert wasn't going to stand for it any more.

 

Your lack of 'context' cuts both ways. Eckert could be an a-hole, a guy who doesn't respect the gig, and a replaceable nobody. 

Or Jacquet could be the a-hole.

Or a mixture of these two scenarios.

[JSngry]

Jacquet's band. No shortage of replacement placeholders when one strikes out. 

Self worth and market worth are the result of different calculations.

Looking in Discogs, it appears that this guy was a product of the U of Miami program, so he was very likely sent into the world having been taught that he was part of the future and that he should expect to always be treated as special.

Yeah, well, that ain't always the way it goes. Or has gone. Or will go.