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AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow:
The Illinois Jacquet big band has been together on a part-time basis for over a decade, yet this is still its only recording. Fortunately, it is a very good one, displaying its leader’s love for hard-swinging and exciting performances. The featured sidemen include trombonist Frank Lacy, trumpeters Irv Stokes and Jon Faddis, clarinetist Rudy Rutherford and pianist Richard Wyands, but the great tenor’s solos and the exuberant sound of the ensembles are most notable. With arrangements by Wild Bill Davis, Eddie Barefield and Phil Wilson, the highlights include “Tickletoe,” “Stompin’ at the Savoy” and “Three Buckets of Jive”; in reality, all eight selections are rewarding. Recommended (https://www.allmusic.com/album/jacquets-got-it!-mw0000196680).

AllAboutJazz Review by C. MICHAEL BAILEY :

Jean Baptiste Illinois Jacquet is one of the last of the big tenors. LabelM’s re-release of Jacquet’s big band Atlantic Recording Jacquet’s Got It is more than welcome. The majority of big band music being made today is experimental and progressive. While the UMO Jazz Orchestra and Pierre Dorge and the New Jungle Orchestra are creative vital forces in the genre, a band like that on Jacquet’s Got It swings with an effortless abandon that is infectious and uncomplicated. Like Mozart’s music, the pieces on this album require no digestion. These sound circle right around your brainstem and tickle those swing receptors that make one’s feet start to tap a perfect 4/4.

The arrangements, the majority by Jacquet, are robust and meaty with tastefully earthy twists. Lester Young’s “Tickletoe” sports Jacquet tenor solo with the band strolling and a blistering trumpet solo by Jon Faddis over a romping brass and reeds backdrop. Arnette Cobb’s “Smooth Sailing” is played with a saunter swagger sporting the low brass in the band. “Stompin’ At The Savoy” is suitably swinging, with a very cool piano introduction. Heavy on the Tenor. Tricky accents and a swinging good humor make this re-release welcome. The music smiles. (https://www.allaboutjazz.com/jacquets-got-it-illinois-jacquet-label-m-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php).

Track listing:

1 Tickle Toe
2 Smooth Sailin’
3 More Than You Know
4 Stompin’ at the Savoy
5 Three Buckets of Jive
6 You Left Me All Alone
7 Runnin’ With Ron
8 Blues from Louisiana

Personnel:

• Illinois Jacquet – tenor saxophone
• Jon Faddis, Irv Stokes, Jhonny Grimes, Henry Scott – trumpets
• Frank Lacy, Art Baron, Kiane Zawadi, Fred Joiner – trombones
• Marshass Royal – alto saxophone
• Joey Cavaseno – alto saxophone, clarinet
• Babe Clark, Eddie Barefield – tenor saxophones
• Rudy Rutherford – baritone saxophone
• Richard Wyands – piano;
• Milt Hinton – bass
• Duffy Jackson – drums.

Recording Date: August 19, 1987 – August 21, 1987