John Jenkins, alto saxophone

[Peter Friedman]

Wonder what happened to alto player John Jenkins?  Was listening to an album on which he was playing, and decided to do a slight bit of research.

I found he was on 12 or 13 sessions. Jenkins first recording was in 1957 and his last in 1990. He recorded for  many of the most significant jazz labels - New Jazz, Blue Note, Prestige, Savoy, Riverside, and Mapleshade.

He played in the Hard Bop style. and I have all of his albums as both leader and sideman on my shelf and enjoy listening to all of them.

Am curious regarding why he did not record more frequently during the late 50's and 60's, his key years . And then what happened as he seemed to fade from the scene.

[jlhoots]

I liked his playing. Let's see if any other posters know more.

[Niko]

in the age of AI, wikipedia is a bit underrated, but it gives a good summary: 

"After leaving the jazz world he worked as a messenger in New York and dabbled in jewelry; he sold brass objects at street fairs in the 1970s. After 1983, he began practicing again and playing live on street corners; shortly before he died he played with Clifford Jordan."

he plays on Play What You Feel by Clifford Jordan, recorded in 1990... iirc, the beginning of the end was the loss of his cabaret card which gave him the choice between leaving music and leaving NY... but I forgot where I read that