Franz Jackson, legendary Chicago tenor player who lived to see and play his 95th birthday party, passed away last week.

Born in 1912, he was a rare musician living in the 21st century who could recall playing with Albert Ammons, Louis Armstrong, and Jelly Roll Morton. His resume reads as a who’s who of jazz, and he is amongst the founding fathers of the Chicago tenor sound that he exemplified throughout his life.

The memorial service will be on Saturday, May 24th, starting at
1:00pm at the Apostolic Lighthouse Church, 30402 M-62, Dowagiac, MI
49047.

There will be a salute to Franz at the Chicago Jazz Festival this summer, and his musical legacy will live on through jazz musicians everywhere.