This performer, largely associated with the Chicago jazz scene, always had a thing about playing more than one instrument. As a youngster he tried out quite a variety of instruments before settling on alto saxophone and clarinet, then began playing the two horns simultaneously in a family band led by his parents. Later Jacobson added piano to the arsenal he utilized in a music career that lasted until the early '50s and included two years accompanying the superb vocalist Anita O'Day. Besides the aforementioned family band, his earliest gigs were in high-school bands and local trios that played Chicago venues such as the Colony Club and Oak Park. Back then he was known as Orville Jacobson.

Jacobson's activities led to a job with Russ's Melody Boys, a band that held forth at summer resorts, severely straining the supply of the letter "s" on tap for marquee purposes. By 1924, Jacobson was heading in more of a classic jazz direction, forming his own White City Band and gigging in Detroit with Art Kassel. Through the '20s Jacobson was involved with a variety of Chicago bands including Wingy Manone, Thelma Terry, and Floyd Town. In 1930 his affiliations included concerts on lake steamers with Joe Kayser. A frank appraisal of his career then becomes a matter of course as Jacobson began working with both Frank Snyder and Frank Melrose. The job with the former leader concluded in the summer of 1935; the next set of marching orders came from O'Day, with whom Jacobson stuck to the piano.

During the late '30s Jacobson worked with Joey Conrad's Band, going back to the combination of reeds and piano that he then stuck to through the balance of his performing career. Besides leading his own group, Jacobson worked with players such as Earl Wiley, Mark Fisher, and Jack Page. In 1945, Jacobson's own group was known as the Jungle Kings. He continued setting up many gigs in Chicago until the early '50s, when he was forced to quit performing due to heart trouble. Jacobson retired in Florida. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi