Willie Jones (pianist)

Willie Jones (born February 21, 1920 in Vicksburg (Mississippi) as William Marvin Jones , † December 31, 1977 ) was an American pianist and band leader of jazz and rhythm and blues .

biography

Jones began working as a musician in Chicago after completing his military service in World War II in 1945 ; In 1946 he played in the band of Wally Hayes, which performed at the Boogie Woogie Inn . In 1947 he was a member of the guitarist Ernest Ashley's quartet. The first recordings were made that year with Buster Bennett ; from 1948 he recorded with King Kolax , Tom Archia and Bennie Green .

In the 1940s and 50s he was one of the well-known club pianists on the Chicago scene, who was admired by the musicians Sun Ra and Andrew Hill . He was called by musicians "the piano wrecker"; but he was hardly known outside of Chicago. Bassists Eddie Calhoun and Israel Crosby played in his trio in the early 1950s, and later drummer Alvin Fielder . For small labels like Saber or Parrot he acted as an accompanist for recordings of R&B and doo-wop groups like The Orchids or The Flamingos . Under his own name he recorded a session for Vee-Jay Records in 1954 ( Listen to My Thing ).

In 1957 he had the opportunity to record with Clark Terry and Paul Gonsalves ( Out on a Limb and Cookin ' for Argo ). Jones' last recordings were made in 1963 with tenor saxophonist Tommy "Mad Man" Jones (1922–1993) for his Mad Records label . From the mid-1970s he was hardly active as a musician. He died of arteriosclerosis on New Year's Eve 1977 . The drummer Willie Jones III is his son.

Work and appreciation

According to his disco graphs Robert L. Campbell, Armin Büttner and Robert Pruter based Willie Jones' wild solos on the 12-bar blues scheme, the mid-1950s he developed his personal style, which as a mixture between Milt Buckner and Cecil Taylor are called can (Andrew Hill called him an early Cecil Taylor). Alto saxophonist Marshall Allen noted that Sun Ra had studied Willie Jones' style carefully. According to tenor saxophonist Harold Ousley , Jones was considered a gifted entertainer, so he moved the piano with his knees: "He was full of energy, he completely wore the piano out".

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Robert Pruter, Armin Büttner and Robert L. Campbell: The Willie Jones Discography ( Memento from June 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
^ Robert Pruter, Armin Büttner and Robert L. Campbell: The Mad and M&M labels ( Memento from June 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
↑ Original: Willie Jones played like Milt Buckner, but then he was into the new music aesthetic where he used to listen to things like Lukas Foss ' 1950's music and stuff, so I would call him an early Cecil Taylor, someone who would place their style on a 20th century composer. (Interview with Ted Panken on WKCR-FM, June 26, 1996). quoted at Campbell et al. a .: Willie Jones discography.
↑ In the original: standing next to him, watching his fingers . (Interview by Armin Büttner, March 28, 2001), cit. at Campbell et al. a .: Willie Jones discography.
↑ In the original: He was full of energy, wearing the piano out (...) Ousley said that the people in the clubs liked Jones' playing so much because he was such a great entertainer: "He was playing so physically that he got everybody's attention. (Interview with Armin Büttner, October 1999), quoted in Campbell et al .: Willie Jones-Diskography.

personal data
SURNAME	Jones, Willie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Jones, William Marvin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American R&B and jazz pianist
DATE OF BIRTH	February 21, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH	Vicksburg, Mississippi
DATE OF DEATH	December 31, 1977

[Pruter-1] Robert Pruter, Armin Büttner and Robert L. Campbell: The Willie Jones Discography ( Memento from June 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive )

[Mad-2] Robert Pruter, Armin Büttner and Robert L. Campbell: The Mad and M&M labels ( Memento from June 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive )

[3] Original: Willie Jones played like Milt Buckner, but then he was into the new music aesthetic where he used to listen to things like Lukas Foss ' 1950's music and stuff, so I would call him an early Cecil Taylor, someone who would place their style on a 20th century composer. (Interview with Ted Panken on WKCR-FM, June 26, 1996). quoted at Campbell et al. a .: Willie Jones discography.

[4] In the original: standing next to him, watching his fingers . (Interview by Armin Büttner, March 28, 2001), cit. at Campbell et al. a .: Willie Jones discography.

[5] In the original: He was full of energy, wearing the piano out (...) Ousley said that the people in the clubs liked Jones' playing so much because he was such a great entertainer: "He was playing so physically that he got everybody's attention. (Interview with Armin Büttner, October 1999), quoted in Campbell et al .: Willie Jones-Diskography.