Jacque Williams street musician

Every morning and afternoon at Chicago’s Union Station the sound of trains clunking along the tracks compete with car beeps, boat horns and the myriad of other sounds of the city going to work. But for years, amid the urban din — if you were lucky — you could hear the sound of Jacque Williams’ saxophone dancing through the air.

Jacque was a musician who held concert on the Jackson Street bridge in downtown Chicago. He played standard jazz classics and popular songs on request, whatever made listeners happy and persuaded a few dollars to find their way into his open sax case.

Each day, tens of thousands of commuters make the pilgrimage from the suburbs into downtown, and many cross the Jackson street bridge — past Jacque’s old post. One of those commuters was my father, Robert Hamilton.

My dad was a commodities broker for decades. He commuted downtown from our home in Naperville for more than 20 years. And for many of those years he was grateful to hear Jacque play some jazz — or even just the Flintstone’s theme song.

Over the years, my dad got to know Jacque. First, in the way that hundreds of other people know him: from the perspective of a hurried commuter rushing to catch a soon-departing train. But eventually, Jacque and my dad started to talk more and learn about each other. It was part of that effort that made my dad ask Jacque to start writing down his life story.

Over the course of a year, Jacque mailed my dad letters, sometimes a page, sometimes ten, with different stories from his life. When they started the project, my dad wasn’t really sure what the end result would be. At first it was an attempt to stay in touch with his friend after he retired, when he knew he’d no longer be making the trek downtown.

But eventually, it turned into one testimony of what it’s like to grow up on Chicago’s South Side as a young black man.

We have made a compilation of those letters in a series on Medium . A new section will be released every week, I have made minor edits but it is Jacque’s story, Jacque’s words and Jacque’s voice.

Jacque has lived many places and held many jobs but has always called Chicago home and has always had a connection to the music of the city.

Health problems prevent Jacque from playing his sax now. Any money raised from this campaign will go towards helping Jacque pay for his medical bills, housing and food while he is unable to play his sax.