Jimmy Jones (pianist)

James Henry Jones (December 30, 1918, Memphis, Tennessee – April 29, 1982, Burbank, California)^[1] was an American jazz pianist and arranger.

Biography

As a child, Jones learned guitar and piano.^[1] He worked in Chicago orchestras from 1936 and played in a trio with Stuff Smith from 1943 to 1945.^[1] Following this, he played with Don Byas, Dizzy Gillespie (1945), J.C. Heard (1945–47), Buck Clayton (1946) and Etta Jones.^[1] He accompanied Sarah Vaughan from 1947 to 1952, and then again from 1954 to 1958 after a long illness.^[1] In 1954, he played on an album with Clifford Brown and accompanied him on his European tour. Around this time, he also played with Helen Merrill and Gil Evans. In 1959, he accompanied Anita O'Day in her appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival and worked with Dakota Staton, Pat Suzuki, and Morgana King.

As a pianist and arranger in New York City,^[1] he worked in the 1960s with Harry Belafonte, Johnny Hodges, Budd Johnson, Nat Gonella, and Clark Terry. He accompanied Chris Connor on her version of "Where Flamingoes Fly", and sat in with Duke Ellington's Orchestra for some collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald.^[1] Jones did a set with his trio (Jimmy Hughart and Grady Tate) at the Antibes Jazz Festival in 1966, and the following year toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic. In the 1970s, he worked with Kenny Burrell and Cannonball Adderley.

In the course of his career, Jones played piano on recordings by Harry Sweets Edison, Ben Webster, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Frank Wess, Milt Jackson, Sidney Bechet, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, and Thad Jones and worked as an arranger for Wes Montgomery, Nancy Wilson, Sandler and Young, Shirley Horn, Joe Williams, Billy Taylor, Carmen McRae, and Chris Connor.

Dave Brubeck cited Jones as an influence and said of him: "He didn't like to solo. Harmonically, though, he was one of the greatest players I ever heard."^[2]

Discography

As leader

• "Jimmy Jones' Big Eight": Rex Stewart And the Ellingtonians (Riverside, OJC, 1946) with Harry Carney, Lawrence Brown, Otto Hardwick, Ted Nash, Billy Taylor, Shelly Manne
• "Jimmy Jones' Big Four": Giants of Small Band Swing, Vol. 1 & 2 (Riverside, OJC, 1946) with Budd Johnson, Al Hall, Denzil Best

As sideman

With Kenny Burrell

• Ellington Is Forever (Fantasy, 1975)
• Ellington Is Forever Volume Two (Fantasy, 1975)

With Buck Clayton

• How Hi the Fi (Columbia, 1954)
• Buck Meets Ruby (Vanguard, 1954) with Ruby Braff
• Jumpin' at the Woodside (Columbia, 1955)

With Harry Edison

• The Swinger (Verve, 1958)
• Mr. Swing (Verve, 1958 [1960])
• Harry Edison Swings Buck Clayton (Verve, 1958) with Buck Clayton

With Johnny Griffin

• White Gardenia (Riverside, 1961)

With Johnny Hodges

• Blue Pyramid (Verve, 1966) with Wild Bill Davis
• Blue Notes (Verve, 1966) as arranger and conductor
• Triple Play (RCA Victor, 1967) as performer and arranger

With Illinois Jacquet

• Swing's the Thing (Clef, 1956)

With Budd Johnson

• Budd Johnson and the Four Brass Giants (Riverside, 1960)

With Thad Jones

• The Jones Boys (Period, 1957) with Eddie Jones, Quincy Jones and Jo Jones

With Helen Merrill

• Helen Merrill (Em Arcy, 1955) Produced by Quincy Jones
• You've Got a Date with the Blues (MetroJazz, 1959), as performer and arranger

With Joe Newman

• Joe Newman with Woodwinds (Roulette, 1958)

With Paul Quinichette

• Moods (EmArcy, 1954)

With Sonny Stitt

• New York Jazz (Verve, 1956)
• The Saxophones of Sonny Stitt (Roost, 1958)
• A Little Bit of Stitt (Roost, 1959)
• The Sonny Side of Stitt (Roost, 1959)
• Stittsville (Roost, 1960)
• Sonny Side Up (Roost, 1960)
• Stitt in Orbit (Roost, 1960 [1963])

With Clark Terry

• Top and Bottom Brass (Riverside, 1959)

With Ben Webster

• The Soul of Ben Webster (Verve, 1958)
• Ben Webster and Associates (Verve, 1959)

With Sarah Vaughan

• Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown (Em Arcy, 1955)
• In the Land of Hi-Fi (EmArcy, 1955)
• Swingin' Easy (EmArcy, 1957, tracks 3, 5, 6, 9, and 13)
• At Mister Kelly's (EmArcy, 1957)

With Nancy Wilson

• The Sound of Nancy Wilson (Capitol, 1968)
• Hurt So Bad (Capitol, 1969)

As arranger

With Johnny Hodges

• Don't Sleep in the Subway (Verve, 1967)

With Milt Jackson

• The Ballad Artistry of Milt Jackson (Atlantic, 1959)
• For Someone I Love (Riverside, 1963)
• Feelings (Pablo, 1976)

With Billy Taylor

• Kwamina (Mercury, 1961)

With Nancy Wilson

• Easy (Capitol, 1968)
• Nancy (Capitol, 1969)

With Sandler and Young

• Pretty Things Come in Twos(Capitol)
• Honey Come Back (Capitol)
• Odds and Ends (Capitol)

References

This page was last edited on 11 April 2024, at 08:55