Arnett Cobb
b. 10 August 1918, Houston, Texas, USA, d. 24 March 1989. Cobb began playing the tenor saxophone professionally in 1933. He spent several of his early years in the fine territory band led by Milt Larkins, a unit which numerous musicians of the older generation still hold in awe. Approached in 1941 by Lionel Hampton, who was then in the process of forming a new band after deciding to leave Benny Goodman, Cobb chose to stay with Larkins and Hampton took on Larkins's altoist, Illinois Jacquet instead, persuading him to switch to tenor and try to imitate Cobb. In 1942 Hampton proffered a second invitation and this time Cobb joined him. In 1947 he briefly fronted his own band, through to the early '50s, interrupted briefly by an illness. In 1956 he was seriously injured in a road accident while driving his band's bus and spent the rest of his life on crutches and in considerable pain. None of this stopped him from playing and he worked extensively, often back in Texas, where he raised a daughter after the death of his wife. In later years he became a familiar and popular figure on the international festival circuit, playing in small groups, then in big bands, and occasionally working with his old boss, Hampton. A powerful, gritty player, drenched in the blues, Cobb is an outstanding member of the distinguished school of ‘Texas tenors’. His sound, shifting constantly between breathy confidentiality and eruptive, emotion-packed roars, brought pleasure to many who could never imagine from his playing the grave physical discomfort which he courageously disguised for more than 30 years.