Jo Jones

Jonathan David Samuel Jones October 7 1911 September 3 1985 was an American jazz drummer A band leader and pioneer in jazz percussion Jones anchored the Count Basie Orchestra rhythm section from 1934 to 1948 He was sometimes known as Papa Jo Jones to distinguish him from younger drummer Philly Joe Jones Born in Chicago Illinois United States Jones moved to Alabama where he learned to play several instruments including saxophone piano and drums He worked as a drummer and tapdancer at carnival shows until joining Walter Pages band the Blue Devils in Oklahoma City in the late 1920s He recorded with trumpeter Lloyd Hunters Serenaders in 1931 and later joined pianist Count Basies band in 1934 Jones Basie guitarist Freddie Green and bassist Walter Page were sometimes billed as an AllAmerican Rhythm section an ideal team Jones took a brief break for two years when he was in the military but he remained with Basie until 1948 He participated in the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series He was one of the first drummers to promote the use of brushes on drums and shifting the role of timekeeping from the bass drum to the hihat cymbal Jones had a major influence on later drummers such as Buddy Rich Kenny Clarke Roy Haynes Max Roach and Louie Bellson He also starred in several films most notably the musical short Jammin the Blues 1944 Jones performed regularly in later years at the West End jazz club at 116th and Broadway in New York City These performances were generally well attended by other drummers such as Max Roach and Roy Haynes In addition to his artistry on the drums Jones was known for his irascible combative temperament One famous instance of his irritable temper was in the spring of 1936 during a jam session at the Reno Club in Kansas City A young Charlie Parker was attempting to play an improvised solo but lost track of the chord changes as a sign of contempt Jones threw a cymbal from his drum kit onto the floor near Parkers feet to get him to leave the stage In contrast to the prevailing jazz drum style exemplified by Gene Krupas loud insistent pounding of the bass drum on each beat Jones often omitted bass drum playing altogether Jones also continued a ride rhythm on hihat while it was continuously opening and closing instead of the common practice of only striking it while it was closed Joness style influenced the modern jazz drummers tendency to play timekeeping rhythms on a cymbal that is now known as the ride cymbal In 1979 Jones was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame for his contribution to the Birmingham Alabama musical heritage Jones was the 1985 recipient of an American Jazz Masters fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts His autobiography as told to Albert Murray entitled Rifftide The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones and based on conversations between Jones and novelist Murray from 1977 to before Jones death in 1985 was posthumously published in 2011 by the University of Minnesota Press Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years he is sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones The two died only a few days apart Jones died of pneumonia in New York City at the age of 73 Source Article Jo Jones from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30