On September 10, 1957, John Jenkins brought a sextet into Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack — Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller, Tommy Flanagan, Doug Watkins, Art Taylor — and cut five titles for Regent, Savoy's budget subsidiary, issued as Jazz Eyes. He was 26, and it was the last session he ever led. The Chicago altoist had reached New York that spring and recorded almost without pause from May to November: four albums under his own name or shared, then two sideman dates with Wilbur Ware. Then nothing, for thirty-three years. Jenkins worked as a messenger, dabbled in jewelry, and sold brass objects at street fairs; after 1983 he practiced again and played on street corners. His one return to a studio was a chair in Clifford Jordan's big band in December 1990, with no solos. Savoy later reissued the record as Star Eyes under Byrd's more saleable name.
The original Regent MG 6056 cover for "Jazz Eyes," the album made at this session — a stock portrait of an anonymous model, with Jenkins, Byrd, Fuller, Flanagan, Watkins and Taylor listed in small type at lower left. Used as a stand-in because no free-licensed photograph of John Jenkins could be found on Wikimedia Commons or elsewhere. Album cover art, copyright the rights holder (Regent/Savoy), all rights reserved — this is not a Creative Commons or public-domain image.
Sources: John Jenkins (jazz musician) — Wikipedia , Jazz Eyes — Wikipedia , John Jenkins Discography — Jazz Discography Project (jazzdisco.org) , "The Altosax of John Jenkins" — solography by Jan Evensmo, Jazz Archeology (PDF) , John Jenkins: Jazz Eyes (1957) Regent — LondonJazzCollector
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