IN MEMORIAM: Elvin Jones September 9, 1927 - May 18, 2004 Elvin Ray Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, the youngest of ten children. His father, originally from Vicksburg, Mississipi, was a lumber inspector for General Motors, a deacon in the Baptist church, and a bass in the church choir. Music was a huge part of the Jones home. His brother Hank was one of the finest pianists in jazz, and brother Thad became a highly successful trumpet and flugelhorn player, arranger and band leader. By age 13, determined to be a drummer, Elvin was practicing eight to ten hours a day. He went nowhere without drumsticks in his pocket, and would beat out rhythms on any available surface. Elvin cited early influences that ranged from Kenny Clarke, Max Roach and Jo Jones to parade drummers and the American Legion Drum Corps. In 1946, Elvin enlisted in the Army, and toured with a Special Services show called Operation Happiness - as a stagehand. Unofficially, however, he was honing his own musical skills and gaining confidence, playing at post social affairs. Elvin was discharged in 1949, returning to a vibrant Detroit musical scene. In time, tenor saxophonist, Billy Mitchell, hired Elvin. Within three years, he regularly backed up visiting stars including the legendary Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Wardell Grey, and, for six months, Miles Davis. In addition to his club performances, Elvin regularly organized Monday night jam sessions at his home, participated in a concert series near a local university on Tuesdays, and promoted festival-style concerts with his brother Thad on Sundays. Elvin made his move to New York in 1955 ostensibly to audition for a new Benny Goodman band. Instead, he ended up with Charles Mingus, and in subsequent years he developed his style with Bud Powell, Miles Davis, the Pepper Adams-Donald Byrd Quintet, Art Farmer and J.J. Johnson. After leaving Miles in 1960, John Coltrane was touring in San Francisco with his new group when he flew back to New York to seek out Elvin. Through 1966, Elvin contributed to some of the most controversial, influential, and ultimately important music in jazz. Among the triumphant recordings from his great association with John Coltrane are A love Supreme and Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard. About this experience, Elvin commented, Right from the beginning to the last time we played together it was something pure. The most impressive thing was a feeling of steady, collective learning... If there is anything like perfect harmony in human relationships, that band was as close as you can come. In March 1966, Elvin left Coltrane after no longer feeling comfortable with Coltranes new direction. After a brief European tour with Duke Ellingtons band, he returned to New York to begin his distinguished career as leader with a series of innovative piano-less trios featuring Joe Farrell on tenor alto and flute, and one of several bassists including Jimmy Garrison, Bill Wood, Charlie Haden and Wilbur Little. Also in 1966 Elvin married Keiko, whom he met in Nagasaki, Japan. Keiko became Elvins partner in every sense, including his personal and business manager. In his later career, Elvin performed and recorded with his own group, the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine, whose line up changed through the years. Sonny Fortune and Ravi Coltrane, John Coltranes son, both played saxophone with the Jazz Machine in the early 1990s. Elvin also taught regularly emphasizing music history as well as drumming technique. He often took part in clinics and gave free concerts in prisons. Appearing on over 500 recordings, Elvin Jones is one of the most important drummers in the history of modern jazz and will forever be remembered as one of the most innovative percussionists who ever played. Though his landmark contributions to drumming, he expanding upon the styles of Art Blakey and Max Roach and freed-up the role of the drummer in jazz, becoming an equal contributor to the collective while still functioning as an accompanist. Earlier this year, Elvin Jones was voted one of The 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time by the readers of Modern Drummer Magazine. Playing is not something I do at night. Its my function in life. - Elvin Jones
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 15:49:14 +0000
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