Jacquet was born on December 4, 1917, in
Saint Martinville, Louisiana, United States. He was the elder brother of well-known tenor saxophonist
Illinois Jacquet, whom he worked with through the years. Jacquet had stints with
Floyd Ray and
Milt Larkin before he began studying music at
Wiley College and
Texas Southern University. He moved west and played with his brother's band for a time, later forming his own group which became the house band at
the Cotton Club from 1945 to 1949. He then rejoined his brother's group. He later played with several small groups in
Oakland, California, and in
Houston with
Arnett Cobb, and on a few dates in New York with his brother. ==Discography==