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Jacquet was born to a Sioux mother and a Creole father in Broussard, Louisiana and moved to Houston, Texas as an infant. His father, Gilbert Jacquet, was a part-time band leader. As a child he performed in his father's band, primarily on the alto saxophone. His older brother Russell played trumpet and his brother Linton played drums.

At 15, Jacquet began playing with the Milton Larkin Orchestra, a Houston-area dance band. In 1939, he moved to Los Angeles, California where met Nat King Cole. Jacquet would sit in with the trio on occasion. In 1940, Cole introduced Jacquet to Lionel Hampton who had returned to California and was putting together a big band. Hampton wanted to hire Jacquet, but asked the young Jacquet to switch to tenor sax.

In 1942, at age 19, Jacquet soloed on the Hampton Orchestra's recording of "Flying Home", one of the very first times a honking tenor sax was heard on record. The record became a hit. a jazz classic as well as one of the first rock and roll records. The song immediately became the climax for the live shows and Jacquet became exhausted from having to "bring down the house" every night. The solo was built to weave in and out of the arrangement and continued to be played by every saxophone player who followed Jacquet in the band, notably Arnett Cobb and Dexter GordonDexter Gordon ( February 27, 1923 April 25, 1990) was an American tenor saxophone musician. He is considered the first important hard bop tenor player. From 1940 to 1980, he played with such jazz greats as Lionel Hampton, Tadd Dameron, Charles Mingus, Lou, who achieved almost as much fame as Jacquet in playing it. It is one of the very few jazz solos to have been memorized and played very much the same way by everyone who played the song.

He quit the Hampton band in 1943 and joined Cab CallowayCab Calloway ( December 25, 1907 November 18, 1994), born Cabell Calloway III was a famous jazz singer and bandleader. Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States most popular African American big bands from the start's Orchestra. Jacquet appeared with Cab Calloway's band in Lena HorneCarl Van Vechten, 1941 Lena Calhoun Horne (born June 30, 1917) is an American popular singer. While she has recorded and performed extensively with jazz musicians (notably Artie Shaw and Teddy Wilson), she is usually not considered a jazz singer because s's movie Stormy WeatherStormy Weather is a 1933 song written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Ethel Waters first sang it at The Cotton Club night club in Harlem. It became a hit record and inspired the following movie. Stormy Weather is a 1943 musical film which tells in flashb.

In 1944 he returned to California and started a small band with his brother Russell and a young Charlie Mingus. It was at this time that he appeared in the Academy AwardBob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. The Academy Awards (often better known as Oscars) are the most prominent film award in the United States. The Awards are granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a p-nominated short film Jammin' the BluesJammin' the Blues is a 1944 short film in which several prominent jazz musicians got together for a rare filmed jam session. It featured Lester Young, Red Callender, Harry Edison, Marlowe Morris, Sidney Catlett, Barney Kessel, Jo Jones, John Simmons, Illi with Billie HolidayCarl Van Vechten, 1949 Billie Holiday ( April 7, 1915 July 17, 1959), also called Lady Day is generally considered one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Born Eleanora Fagan she had a difficult childhood which affected her life and career. Early li and Lester Young. He also appeared at the first Jazz at the Philharmonic concert.

In 1946 he moved to New York City and joined the Count Basie orchestra, replacing Lester Young. Jacquet continued to perform (mostly in Europe) in small groups through the 1960s and 1970s. Jacquet led the Illinois Jacquet Big Band from 1981 until his death. Jacquet became the first jazz musician to be an artist-in-residence at Harvard University in 1983. He played "C-Jam Blues" with President Bill Clinton on the White House lawn during Clinton's inaugural ball in 1993.

His solos of the early and mid 1940s and his performances at the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series, greatly influenced rhythm and blues and rock and roll saxophone style, but also continues to be heard in jazz. His honking and screeching emphasized the lower and higher registers of the tenor saxophone. Despite a superficial rawness, the style is still heard in skilled jazz players like Sonny Rollins, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Jimmy Forrest .

He died of a heart attack at his home in New York City in 2004.