We remember Philly Joe Jones on his birthday Philly Joe Jones established himself as the premier jazz drummer of the mid to late 1950s. As a member of trumpeter Miles Davis Classic Quintet, he beat a path out of bebop into what came to be known as hard-bop and post-bop. He combined the finesse of swing band drummers Cozy Cole and Sid Catlett with the modern innovations of Kenny Clarke and Max Roach. Jones playing reduced the history of jazz drumming into an all-embracing contemporary style that was at once thunderous, exhilarating, and impeccably musical. Joseph Rudolph Jones was born on July 15, 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His maternal grandmother was a concert pianist, and encouraged her seven daughters to study music. Jones mother was therefore a proficient pianist and encouraged early musical training for her son. Joseph recalls an immediate connection to the drums, and was playing them by age nine. As with many other top jazz drummers, Jones tap-danced as a child. This talent landed him an appearance on the Philadelphia radio program, The Kiddie Show Jones kept up with tap for quite a while, often entertaining as a drummer and dancer as a youngster and into his early professional career. Jones knack for entertaining developed early and never quite faded, quickly earning him the reputation of a rambunctious, fun-loving jokester. While the overwhelming majority of musicians and friends testify that Jones was one of their favorite people to be around, it is also well-known that his affable personality combined with his ongoing struggle with a serious drug addiction sparked more than a few volatile musical relationships as his career unfolded. While Jones eventually settled in New York, his musical career was postponed by a stint in the United States Army during World War II. Even though Jones was able to play with other military musicians and therefore left the army in good musical shape, he supplemented his relocation to New York in 1947 with a period of intense study with the legendary jazz drummer Cozy Cole in the late 1940s. According to Jones, Cole emphasized rudiments and chart reading, and Jones exited the lessons a far better all-around musician. After playing together as members of the Bearcats, Tadd Dameron invited Jones into his band from approximately 1951-1953, and in doing so propelled his career into its next phase. As evidenced on Study on Dameronia, Damerons group featured the first-rate lineup of tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce, and trumpet luminary Clifford Brown. While Jones is not quite as assertive as he would soon become, his playing throughout this recording reveals the ease in overall execution and his propulsive, polyrhythmic ideas amidst a classic, swing-era ride beat. In 1952 and 1953, Jones performed with pianist/fellow-Joe Morris-alumnus Elmo Hope, and clarinetist Tony Scott, who is credited with forever attaching the Philly onto Jones name in order to distinguish him from Papa Jo Jones, the pioneering drummer of the Swing Era. Jones also served a brief yet contentious stint with Duke Ellington in 1952. Jones impressed both the bandleader and band members upon his audition, yet the relationship never culminated in a significant working relationship. While Jones usually states he chose to remain in New York to pursue his freelance gigging career rather than join Ellington full-time, there is evidence to suggest that an (arguably false) drug arrest caused Jones to miss gigs and be swiftly replaced. Remaining in New York could not have worked out any better for Jones, however, as he joined forces with Miles Davis for sporadic gigs in 1953 and 1954. At his first recording session with Davis on January 30, 1953, he performed in a group that consisted of Davis, Sonny Rollins and Charlie Parker, backed by the rhythm section of Jones, Walter Bishop, Jr. and Percy Heath. The session can be heard on the Prestige compilation entitled Collectors Items. After sharing Davis gigs with Max Roach, Kenny Clarke, and Art Blakey from 1953 to 1954, Jones joined Miles full time in 1955 when the trumpeter assembled a steady group consisting of pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. Over the next two years, this group would record some of jazzs most revered recordings and forever be remembered as Miles Davis Classic Quintet. Much of Jones musical legacy was defined in these two years. His playing on the Classic Quintet recordings was as current as could be - hard-hitting, polyrhythmic, form-conscious, and interactive. But where Elvin Jones and Tony Williams would soon take those characteristics and create completely new rhythmic styles with them, Philly Joe Jones maintained a traditional sound and approach while incorporating elements of modern jazz drumming. This modern vocabulary countered by an old-school sound quickly became the dominant hard-bop drumming sound, pioneered in large part by Philly Joe Jones, Billy Higgins, and Art Blakey. By 1957, Jones personal unpredictability, combined with the somewhat strained musical relationship between Davis and Coltrane, essentially ended the run of the Classic Quintet. In February 1958, however, the group entered the studio for their last great album, Milestones, supplemented by Cannonball Adderley on alto saxophone. The title track, Milestones features a classic, Philly Joe Jones rim-click groove. A few months later in July of 1958, Jones participated in the Gil Evans/Miles Davis collaboration, Porgy and Bess, which included the drum feature, Gone. Aside from a brief reunion on 1961 Someday My Prince Will Come, Philly Joe Jones tenure with Miles Davis ended in 1958. Meanwhile, Jones had expectedly become one of the most in-demand freelance drummers both during and immediately after his run with the classic quintet. Through the late 1950s, Jones ushered in the hard-bop and post-bop eras by adding his hard-hitting grooves to hundreds of classic recordings, in a period of almost unbelievable productivity. A few of these recordings include: from 1956, Jackies Pal with Jackie McLean, Tenor Madness with Sonny Rollins, and Mating Call with Tadd Dameron and John Coltrane, which features Super Jet. As the decade progressed, however, the gigs eventually began to taper off and Jones decided to relocate to Europe. His first stop was London, where he lived from 1967 to 1969 while teaching with friend and fellow drummer Kenny Clarke. Since British musicians union laws prevented Jones from performing in London, he moved to Paris in 1969, where he resided until his return to Philadelphia in 1972. Philly Joe Jones passed away of a heart attack at his home in Philadelphia on August 30, 1985 at the age of 62. His more than 500 recordings set the standard for modern, aggressive-yet-tasteful jazz drumming, and his style has been widely imitated since the 1950s. Whether in a bebop, hard-bop, or post-bop lineup, seeing Philly Joe Jones on any records personnel list single-handedly ensures its high quality interaction and deep, serious swing - a testament to the drummers contribution to the history of jazz. Milestones Miles Davis - trumpet John Coltrane - tenor sax Cannonball Adderley - alto sax Red Garland - piano Paul Chambers - bass Philly Joe Jones - drums
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 06:15:24 +0000
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