Jazz Reviews : Jacquet Leads Sweet Return to Big Band Sound

Illinois Jacquet--the first of the tenor saxophone honkers--is still the leader of the pack. Like Flip Phillips, Gene Ammons, Charlie Ventura and Eddie (Lockjaw) Davis (to name only a few), he came to prominence in a generation of players who had no compunctions about seasoning their music with a hearty sprinkling of crowd-pleasing, riff-driven excitement.

Always at his best in a big band environment, Jacquet opened at Catalina’s Bar & Grill Tuesday night with a rough-around-the-edges, hard-swinging ensemble perfectly tailored to his high energy improvisations.

Jacquet played a hornful of familiar tunes, from the playful “Robbins’ Nest” (which serves as his theme) to the classic solo on “Flyin’ Home” (duplicating the original, virtually note for note, with the entire saxophone section joining in for the climactic ending).

In a flurry of versatility, Jacquet also revealed his winsome way with a melody in a lovely tour through Phil Wilson’s arrangement of “More Than You Know.” On Neil Hefti’s “Bubbles” he made a surprising switch to alto saxophone and played a solo reminiscent of the arching twists and turns of early Charlie Parker. As if that wasn’t enough, he sang “Teach Me Tonight” with the impeccable phrasing and humor that only jazz musicians can bring to vocals.

The band was at its best when it was building excitement as an ensemble. Among the many soloists, trumpeter Irv Stokes, pianist Richard Wyands and alto saxophonist Jesse Davis made the most of their brief moments in the spotlight.

That Jacquet is making a valiant effort to swim upstream by traveling with a big band in an era of high expenses and low returns is obvious. Unless the group is miraculously successful, it’s likely that the size will soon diminish to Jacquet’s more familiar octet. But for this week, at least, it can--and should--be heard in all its rampaging glory. The Jacquet band continues at Catalina’s Bar & Grill through Saturday night.