Jackie Kelso

John Joseph Kelson Jr. (February 27, 1922 – April 28, 2012), better known by his stage name Jackie Kelso, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Kelson was the eldest child of John Joseph Kelson Sr. and Lillian (née Weinberg) Kelson. He started clarinet lessons at age eight, studying with Caughey Roberts. At fifteen, Jefferson High School classmate Chico Hamilton urged him to take up the alto saxophone, and he made his professional debut with Jerome Myart. By the time he graduated from Jefferson, he was playing with Hamilton, Buddy Collette, and Charles Mingus at clubs on Central Avenue. In the 1940s he played with C.L. Burke, Barney Bigard, Marshal Royal, Lucky Thompson, Kid Ory, Benny Carter, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, and Roy Milton. He enlisted in the Navy in October 1942 with Marshal and Ernie Royal, and, after training at Camp Robert Smalls, he was stationed with the Royals with the St. Mary's College Pre-Flight School band.