Arnett Cobb

Known as a robust Texas saxophonist who followed the path of Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb blended swing-era phrasing with the emerging drive of rhythm and blues. He first worked in his home state alongside Chester Boone from 1934 to 1936 and then with Milt Larkin until 1942, before stepping into national prominence by taking Illinois Jacquet’s chair in Lionel Hampton’s Orchestra, where he remained from 1942 through 1947. During that period his recording of “Flying Home No. 2” scored a hit, establishing him as one of Hampton’s most admired soloists. Once he departed the ensemble Cobb assembled his own band, yet that momentum was halted in 1948 by spinal surgery. After regaining his strength he resumed road work, only to suffer a severe automobile crash in 1956 that shattered both legs and left him dependent on crutches permanently. Nevertheless, by 1959 he had reentered the studio and the concert circuit. Throughout most of the sixties he directed groups once more in Texas, then from 1973 onward expanded his schedule of tours and sessions, among them a 1988 European meeting of tenor saxophones that also featured Jimmy Heath and Joe Henderson. Across the decades Arnett Cobb cut numerous distinguished sides for Apollo, Columbia/Okeh, Prestige—many later reissued in the OJC series—Black & Blue, Progressive, Muse, and Bee Hive.