Powerful, gritty jazz saxophonist, drenched in the blues, who shifts between breathy confidentiality and eruptive roars.
b. August 10, 1918 in Houston, TX, d. March 24, 1989 in Houston, TX. Cobb began playing the tenor saxophone professionally in 1933. He spent several of his early years in the fine territory band led by Milt Larkin, 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 Larkin and Hampton took on Larkin’s alto-saxophonist, 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, Cobb 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.