Representative Albums: "The Essential Jo Jones," "Vamp 'Till Ready," "The Main Man"
Biography
Jo Jones shifted the timekeeping role of the drums from the bass drum to the hi-hat cymbal, greatly influencing all swing and bop drummers. Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson were just two musicians who learned from his light but forceful playing, as Jones swung the Count Basie Orchestra with just the right accents and sounds. After growing up in Alabama, Jones worked as a drummer and tap dancer with carnival shows. He joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in Oklahoma City in the late '20s. After a period with Lloyd Hunter's band in Nebraska, Jones moved to Kansas City in 1933, joining Count Basie's band the following year. He went with Basie to New York in 1936 and with Basie, Freddie Green, and Walter Page, he formed one of the great rhythm sections. Jones was with the Basie band (other than 1944-1946 when he was in the military) until 1948, and in later years, he participated in many reunions with Basie alumni. He was on some Jazz at the Philharmonic tours and recorded in the '50s with Illinois Jacquet, Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson, Lester Young, Art Tatum, and Duke Ellington, among others; Jones appeared at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival with both Basie and the Coleman Hawkins-Roy Eldridge Sextet. He led sessions for Vanguard (1955 and 1959) and Everest (1959-1960), a date for Jazz Odyssey on which he reminisced and played drum solos (1970), and mid-'70s sessions for Pablo and Denon. In later years he was known as "Papa" Jo Jones, and thought of as a wise if brutally frank elder statesman. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
For other persons named Jonathan Jones, see Jonathan Jones
Jo Jones (October 7, 1911–September 3, 1985) (later known as Papa Jo Jones) was an American drummer, one of the most influential in the history of jazz.
Born Jonathan David Samuel Jones in Chicago, Illinois, he moved to Alabama where he learned to play several instruments, including saxophone, piano, and drums. He worked as a drummer and tap-dancer at carnival shows until joining Walter Page's band, the Blue Devils in Oklahoma City in the late 1920s. He recorded with trumpeter Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders in 1931, and later joined pianist Count Basie's band in 1933. Jones, Basie, guitarist Freddie Green and bassist Walter Page are one of the more important rhythm sections in jazz. Jones took a brief break for two years when he was in the military. He played with the band until 1948 and performed in the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series.
Jones split off from the band in the late 1940s and created an image for himself. 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 hi-hat cymbal. Jones is regarded as the premier jazz drummer of the Swing era, and the transitional figure between classic and modern jazz drumming.
He had an incalculable influence on major 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 in 1944. In 1985 Jones was the recipient of an American Jazz Masters fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Jones performed regularly in later years at the West End jazz club at 116th and Broadway in New York City. These performances were generally very well attended by other drummers such as Max Roach and Roy Haynes, coming to pay court to an influential master.
In addition to his artistry on the drums, Jones was known for his irascible, combative temperament and his fondness for cognac. As he grew older he greatly resented jazz fans mistaking him for the bebop-era drummer Philly Joe Jones (no relation); Jo Jones and Philly Joe Jones died a few days apart in 1985.
Style
In contrast to drummer Gene Krupa's loud, insistent pounding of the bass drum on each beat, Jones often omitted bass drum playing altogether. Jones also continued a ride rhythm on high-hat while it was continuously opening and closing instead of the common practice of striking it while it was closed. Jones's style influenced the modern jazz drummer's tendency to play timekeeping rhythms on a suspended cymbal that is now known as the ride cymbal.
