One of the most celebrated jazz saxophonists of the second half of the 20th century, Illinois Jacquet popularised the so-called screeching sound of the instrument but also played with depth and lustre. He performed with most of the top jazz artists of the period including vibraphonist and bandleader Lionel Hampton and his solo on Hampton's track 'Flying Home' influenced many saxophonists who came after him.
Born in Louisiana, Jacquet grew up in Houston, Texas, the son of a part-time bandleader. He played the alto saxophone as a child and as a teenager joined a local dance band led by Milton Larkin. He moved to Los Angeles at the age of 20 and played with singer-pianist Nat King Cole until 1940 when he joined the big band led by Lionel Hampton who asked him to change to the tenor sax. After 'Flying Home' became a hit, his sound was copied by many other artists such as Arnett Cobb and Dexter Gordon.
In 1944, Jacquet played alongside many jazz greats including saxophonist Lester Young, bassist Red Callender, trumpet player Harry 'Sweets' Edison and guitarist Barney Kessel in a ten-minute film by photographer Gjon Mili titled 'Jammin' the Blues' that was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Short Subject. He played with the big bands of Cab Calloway and Count Basie and in 1944 he performed in the first of the traveling concerts called Jazz at the Philharmonic. Many recordings followed and he became the first jazz musician to be an artist-in-residence at Harvard University. His tune 'Jacquet's Got It' was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1987 and in 1992 he was the subject of a documentary film directed by Arthur Elgort titled 'Texas Tenor: The Illinois Jacquet Story', which featured many big jazz names such as Lionel Hampton, Arnett Cobb, Dizzy Gillespie and Jonah Jones. He also performed for three American presidents - Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton - who also played the saxophone.
Jacquet died in 2004 from a heart attack at his New York home aged 84. In its obituary, the Washington Post praised his exuberant and crowd-pleasing sound, which the newspaper said was "big, robust, earthy and practically sweating with the blues".
