Elvin Jones

Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as My Favorite Things, A Love Supreme, Ascension, and Live at Birdland. After 1966, Jones led his own trio, and later larger groups under the name the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. His brothers, Hank and Thad, were also celebrated jazz musicians with whom he occasionally recorded. In his The History of Jazz, jazz historian and critic Ted Gioia calls Jones "one of the most influential drummers in the history of jazz". He was also ranked at Number 23 on Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time".

Early life and education Elvin Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, His elder brothers were pianist Hank Jones and trumpeter Thad Jones, both highly regarded musicians. By age two, he said, drums held a special fascination for him. He would watch the circus parades go past his home as a child and was particularly excited by the marching band drummers. Following this early passion, Elvin joined his high school's black marching band, where he developed his foundation in rudiments.

Career

1946–1949: Military service Jones served in the United States Army from 1946 to 1949.

1949–1960: Professional musician beginnings Jones began his professional career in 1949 with a short-lived gig in a club on Detroit's Grand River Street. During the late 1950s, Jones was a member of the Sonny Rollins trio

1960–1966: Association with John Coltrane Jones (third from left) arriving in Amsterdam with John Coltrane, October 1963. Beside him is Dutch jazz programmer and critic . In 1960, he began playing with John Coltrane. By 1962, he had become an integral member of the classic John Coltrane Quartet along with bassist Jimmy Garrison and pianist McCoy Tyner. Both Sonny Fortune and Ravi Coltrane, John Coltrane's son, played saxophone with the Jazz Machine in the early 1990s, appearing together with Jones on In Europe for Enja Records in 1991. His final recording as a bandleader, The Truth: Heard Live at the Blue Note, recorded in 1999 and issued in 2004, featured an enlarged version of his Jazz Machine—Antoine Roney (saxophone), Robin Eubanks (trombone), Darren Barrett (trumpet), Carlos McKinney (piano), Gene Perla (bass), and guest saxophonist Michael Brecker. In 1990 and 1992, the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine partnered with Wynton Marsalis, performing at The Bottom Line in New York. Amongst his last recordings was accompanying his brother, pianist Hank Jones, and bassist Richard Davis on an album titled Autumn Leaves under the name The Great Jazz Trio.

He appeared as the villain Job Cain in the 1971 musical Western film Zachariah, in which he performed a drum solo after winning a saloon gunfight.

Death Elvin Jones died of heart failure in Englewood, New Jersey, on May 18, 2004. He was survived by his first wife Shirley, children Elvin Nathan Jones and Rose-Marie Jones, and his second common-law wife, Keiko Okuya.

Influence

Jones's sense of timing, polyrhythms, dynamics, timbre, and legato phrasing helped bring the drumset to the foreground. In a 1970 profile published in Life magazine, Albert Goldman dubbed Jones "the world's greatest rhythm drummer", and his free-flowing style was a major influence on many leading drummers, including Christian Vander (Magma), Mitch Mitchell (whom Jimi Hendrix called "my Elvin Jones" ), Ginger Baker, Bill Bruford, John Densmore (The Doors), Brian Viglione (of The Dresden Dolls and Violent Femmes, for whom Elvin was his principal inspiration from age 11), Janet Weiss, and Steve Hass.

Discography

Filmography 1979: A Different Drummer (Rhapsody) 1971: Zachariah, directed by George Englund