Jess Stacy

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Jess Stacy (August 11, 1904 - January 1, 1995) was a American jazz pianist who began during the Swing Era.

Stacy was born Alexandria Stacy in Bird's Point, Missouri, a small village across the Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois. He grew up along the Mississippi river and initially played on riverboats,

In the 1920s he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he made a name for himself playing with Paul Mares. Later he worked with Benny Goodman and performed with him at Carnegie Hall in 1938. The Carnegie Hall performance has gained attention due to an unplanned, yet widely praised, solo Jess did during it. His solo performance will live forever as a new generation marvels at the compact discs of that concert. He also recorded with Lee Wiley and was married to her for a time.

By the late 1940s his career declined and retired from public playing and moved to California. For a time, he worked as a salesman for Max Factor cosmetics. He returned to playing in 1974 and produced Stacy Still Swings in 1977. The years after that included compilations and club work. He died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles, California.

Since his death in 1995 he has gained new attention and honors. In 1996 he was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame and in 1998 a biography of him titled Jess Stacy: the Quiet Man of Jazz. a Biography and Discography ISBN 0-9638890-4-4 by Derek Coller came out.