BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " IKE QUEBEC " WAS A JAZZ TENOR SAXOPHONIST : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

     BLACK          SOCIAL           HISTORY                                                                                                                    

  Ike Quebec

Ike Quebec
Background information
Birth name	Ike Abrams Quebec
Born	August 17, 1918 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Died	January 16, 1963 (aged 44) New York, New York, United States
Genres	Swing music, Hard bop, Soul jazz
Instruments	Tenor saxophone, Piano
Years active	1940–1962
Labels	Blue Note Records
Associated acts	Cab Calloway

Ike Quebec (August 17, 1918 – January 16, 1963) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.

Critic Alex Henderson wrote, "Though he was never an innovator, Quebec had a big, breathy sound that was distinctive and easily recognizable, and he was quite consistent when it came to down-home blues, sexy ballads, and up-tempo aggression."^[1]

Biography

Born Ike Abrams Quebec in Newark, New Jersey, and an accomplished dancer and pianist, he switched to tenor sax as his primary instrument in his early twenties, and quickly earned a reputation as a promising player. His recording career started in 1940, with theBarons of Rhythm.

Later on, he recorded or performed with Frankie Newton, Hot Lips Page, Roy Eldridge,^[2] Trummy Young, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter and Coleman Hawkins. Between 1944 and 1951, he worked intermittently with Cab Calloway. He recorded for Blue Noterecords in this era, and also served as a talent scout for the label (helping pianists Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell come to wider attention). Due to his exceptional sight reading skills, Quebec was also an uncredited impromptu arranger for many Blue Note sessions.

Due in part to struggles with drug addiction (but also due to the fading popularity of big band music), Quebec recorded only sporadically during the 1950s, though he still performed regularly. He kept abreast on new developments in jazz, and his later playing incorporated elements of hard bop, bossa nova, and soul jazz. Quebec also occasionally recorded on piano, as on his 1961Blue & Sentimental album, where he alternated between tenor and piano, playing the latter behind Grant Green's guitar solos.

In 1959 he began what amounted to a comeback with a series of albums on the Blue Note label. Blue Note executive Alfred Lion was always fond of Quebec's music, but was unsure how audiences would respond to the saxophonist after a decade of low visibility. In the mid-to-late 1950s, Blue Note issued a series of Quebec singles for the juke box market; audiences responded well, leading to a number of warmly-received albums.

Quebec's comeback was cut short by his death from lung cancer.

Quebec's cousin Danny Quebec West was an alto saxophonist who, at the age of 17, recorded with Thelonious Monk on his first session for Blue Note in 1947.^[3]

Discography

As leader

• From Hackensack to Englewood Cliffs (1959 released 2000, Blue Note)
• The Complete Blue Note 45 Sessions (1959-62, released 2005, Blue Note)
• Heavy Soul (1961, Blue Note)
• It Might as Well Be Spring (1961, Blue Note)
• Blue & Sentimental (1961, Blue Note)
• Easy Living (1962 released 1987, Blue Note) containing all tracks on Congo Lament (released 1981)
• Soul Samba (1962, Blue Note)

As sideman

with Sonny Clark:

• Leapin' and Lopin' (1961; Blue Note)

with Grant Green:

• Born to Be Blue (1962; Blue Note)
• The Latin Bit (1962; Blue Note)

with Dodo Greene:

• My Hour of Need (1962; Blue Note)

With Jimmy Smith

• Open House (1960; Blue Note)
• Plain Talk (1960; Blue Note)