Ike Quebec

Ike Abrams Quebec, born August 17, 1918 in Newark (New Jersey), and died January 16, 1963, was a jazz tenor-saxophonist. His surname is pronounced KYOO’bek. Alex Henderson, a critic, writes that “Though he wasn’t an innovator, Quebec had the distinctive sound of a breathy voice that was easily identifiable and very consistent when it came down to down-home blues and sexy ballads. He was also quite consistent in his up-tempo aggression.” He was a skilled dancer and pianist. In his 20s, he switched to the tenor sax and quickly gained a reputation for being a promising musician. His recording career began in 1940 with the Barons of Rhythm. Later, he recorded and performed with Frankie Newton (Hot Lips Page), Roy Eldridge (Trummy Young), Ella Fitzgerald (Ella Fitzgerald), Coleman Hawkins (Coleman Hawkins). He worked with Cab Calloway intermittently between 1944 and 1951. In this era, he recorded for Blue Note records and was also a talent scout (helping pianists TheloniousMonk and Bud Powell become more famous). He was also an uncredited impromptu arranger at many Blue Note sessions due to his extraordinary sight-reading skills. Quebec only recorded sporadically in the 1950s due to his drug addiction, but also because of the declining popularity of big-band music. He still performed frequently. Quebec was always up to date on jazz developments and his later playing incorporated elements of soul and hard bop. He began what was to be a comeback in 1959 with a series on Blue Note labels. Alfred Lion, Blue Note’s executive, was fond of Quebec’s music but was not sure how the public would react to him after a decade of low visibility. Blue Note issued a series featuring Quebec singles in the mid-to late 1950s to the jukebox market. Audinences were enthusiastic and the result was a number of well-received albums. His death from lung cancer ended Quebec’s chance at a comeback. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.

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