Jacob studied at the Paris Conservatory with Charles Koechlin and André Gedalge; an admirer of Darius Milhaud and Erik Satie, he was a member of the École d'Arcueil, a group of young composers sponsored by Satie after his rupture with his previous group of protégés, Les Six.

In 1927, Jacob worked with Antonin Artaud at the Théâtre Alfred Jarry composing the score for his production of Ventre brûlé; ou La Mère folle (1927).

[1]:252 In 1929, Jacob converted from Judaism to Catholicism (influenced by Jacques Maritain) and became a Benedictine monk at En-Calcat Abbey.

Jacob also published two books, L'art et la grâce (1939) and Souvenirs a deux voix (1969).

In the English-speaking world, his hymn tune "Living God" in 77.77 meter with 77.77 refrain, used for I Received the Living God (J'ai reçu le Dieu vivant),[3] is well known.