Jacquet's mother, a Sioux Indian, and his father, a French-Creole railroad worker and part-time musician, were the parents of one of six children, Jacquet, who began performing at the tender age of three by tap dancing to the sounds of his father's band. He took the nickname Illinois from the Indian word "Illiniwek", which means superior men. At the ripe age of nineteen, he played the tenor saxophone solo on Lionel Hampton's "Flying Home", a rhythm and blues standard that would go on to become an iconic piece. This marked the beginning of his illustrious career as a tenor saxophonist, playing alongside nearly every jazz and blues luminary of his time.
Throughout his eight-decade-long career, Jacquet had the privilege of sharing the stage with Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Jo Jones, Buddy Rich, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, and Gene Krupa, to name a few. He was known for his innovative playing style, which he dubbed "screeching", and his trademark pork pie hat, which became an integral part of his image.
During his heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, Jacquet recorded an impressive 300 original compositions, earning him the nickname "The King" by none other than Count Basie. In 1983, he made history by becoming the first jazz musician to be appointed artist-in-residence at Harvard University. He even had the opportunity to play "C-Jam Blues" alongside former President Bill Clinton, an amateur saxophonist, on the White House lawn during Clinton's inaugural ball in January 1993.
