Illinois Jacquet

Biography

Illinois Jacquet was an American tenor saxophonist from Louisiana, raised in Houston, who defined the Texas tenor style. His 1942 solo on *Lionel Hampton*'s 'Flying Home' is considered the first R&B sax solo and made him famous while still a teenager. He went on to play with *Cab Calloway* and *Count Basie*, starred with Jazz at the Philharmonic, and led his own bands from 1945, recording for decades. He died in Queens, New York, in 2004, aged eighty-one.