Don "Jake" Jacoby was a noted

trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, teacher, band leader and author who died December 25, 1992 at the age of seventy-two. He played with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conce ...

, Les Brown, did session work for CBS, NBC and soloed at Carnegie Hall. In addition, he did a great deal of recording session work in Dallas, Texas, where he also performed with his own groups, and served for a time as president of the A.F. of M., Local 147.

Formative years

Jacoby was born in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

, Pennsylvania and learned to play trumpet from an uncle at six years old. He was one of the youngest players ever accepted to the famous E. S. Williams school. While still in his teens he often played the

Herbert L. Clarke Herbert Lincoln Clarke (September 12, 1867 – January 30, 1945) was an American cornetist, feature soloist, bandmaster, and composer. He is considered the most prominent cornetist of his time. Clarke's legacy includes composing a portion of t ...

parts in the

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to di ...

band in concerts in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

Music career

Jacoby spent much of his life teaching and presenting clinics for Conn. During this time, he recorded several albums such as "Have Conns Will Travel," "Don Jacoby & College All-Stars Swinging Big Sound LP" and "Jacoby Brings The House Down." He spent the last years of his life teaching private students and writing a trumpet book, "Jake's Method." Jacoby taught in Denton, Texas, and tutored many very successful brass players including Bobby Shew, Marvin Stamm, Craig Johnson, Dan Miller, and

Jim Rotondi James Robert Rotondi (born 28 August 1962) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator, and conductor. The youngest of five siblings, Rotondi was born in Butte, Montana. He played in New York City for twenty years before moving ...

. He was listed as one of the top players of the twentieth century in Dr. Nobel's book, “The Psychology of Cornet & Trumpet Playing," and he was mentioned in "The Secret of Technique Preservation," which was written by his teacher E. S. Williams.

Artistic works

References

External links

Don "Jake" JacobyPersonal recollection of lessons with Don Jacoby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacoby, Don American trumpeters American male trumpeters Writers from York, Pennsylvania 1920 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters Musicians from York, Pennsylvania 20th-century American male musicians Pompeii Records artists