Illinois Jacquet is considered to be one of the most influential tenor saxophonists in the history of jazz music.  At the age of 19 on the very first recording of his career, Jacquet spawned an entirely new style and sound for the tenor saxophone. His classic solo on "Flying Home" recorded with the Lionel Hampton Band at Decca Records in New York City, on May 26, 1942, catapulted Jacquet to international fame and the solo became more famous than the song itself. All saxophonists learned to play Jacquet’s solo, every band recorded it, and people all over the world were humming this most famous solo in jazz history.

Jacquet went on to perform with the Cab Calloway and Count Basie bands, recording the hits "The King" and "Mutton Leg". He appeared in the film "Stormy Weather". Forming his own small band, he soon had hits on every major record label.

In 1944, while improvising with Nat King Cole on piano and Les Paul on guitar during a benefit concert at the Philharmonic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, Jacquet began to play a range of notes he had never played before. With an innovational use of harmonics in a creative impulse Jacquet discovered what would become a permanent expansion of the upper register on the tenor saxophone by two and one-half octaves. He then contrasted these stratospheric notes with sudden punctuations of sound from the lowest notes on the horn, and Jacquet thus gave birth to what was called the "honking tenor" that became the hallmark of early rock and roll and greatly influenced rhythm and blues.  In this less than three minute solo, later to be entitled "Philharmonic Blues, Part II", Jacquet anticipated far into the future of music and encompassed the blue-print for several generations of saxophonists.  This sensational and explosive solo created the spark that helped to launch "Jazz at the Philharmonic" or "JATAP", the entity that took jazz out of night clubs and into concert halls around the world. He continued to be a star attraction with JATP until their final concert in 1957.

In the 60’s, Jacquet mastered the bassoon and recorded with it; he traveled and recorded as a trio with Milt Buckner and Jo Jones, and in the late 70’s he worked as a quintet with Slam Stewart on bass and Gray Sargent on guitar. An invitation to lecture to a jazz history class at Harvard University in 1982, led to Illinois Jacquet’s appointment as Kayden Artist-in-Residence in 1983 and 1984, bestowing upon him the honor of becoming the first jazz musician to serve a long-term residency at Harvard. His many subsequent master classes in the ensuing years have earned him the distinction of having visited Harvard more frequently than any other artist in any field.

His Harvard students gave Jacquet the inspiration to form his professional big band in 1983, which he maintained until his death, traveling and performing throughout the United States and Europe. He recorded Grammy-award nominated "Jacquet’s Got It" with the band for Atlantic Records in 1987, and Jacquet and the band were the subject of Arthur Elgort’s award-winning documentary film, "Texas Tenor, The Illinois Jacquet Story" released in 1991.

In 1992, Jacquet and his Big Band were invited to play for President Clinton’s Inaugural Ball. (Clinton, also a saxophonist, admitted being a fan since the age of 10.)  In 1999, to commemorate Duke Ellington’s 100th birthday, Illinois was invited to perform as a featured soloist with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in the Great Performances documentary, "Swinging with the Duke." In November 2000, Lincoln Center honored Jacquet by presenting him with its Award for Artistic Excellence, making him the fifth recipient of this distinguished award.

On July 16, 2004, age 82, Jacquet gave his last live performance as he closed the Midsummer Night Swing Series at Lincoln Center for the sixteenth year. He and his big band had been the final night attraction for this annual series since its inception and this was Jacquet's favorite engagement. Every summer he attracted thousands of New Yorkers to swing to the sounds of his music, and every year Illinois was transported back to his beloved roots, back to a time when the dancers created the swing bands and the swing bands created the dancers.

The Juilliard School of Music awarded Illinois Jacquet an Honorary Doctorate of Music degree on May 21, 2004. The Illinois Jacquet Scholarship in Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School has been established to honor his memory.