Jonah Jones
Encyclopedia
Jonah Jones was a jazz trumpeter who is perhaps best known for creating concise versions of jazz and swing standards that appealed to a mass audience. In jazz, he might be best appreciated for his work with Stuff Smith
. He was sometimes referred to as "King Louis II," a reference to Louis Armstrong
. Jones started playing alto sax at the age of 12 in the Booker T. Washington
Community Center band in Louisville
before quickly transitioning to trumpet, where he excelled immediately.
Jones began his career playing on a river boat named "Island Queen" which plied between Kentucky and Ohio.
Jones was born in Louisville, Kentucky
. He began in the 1920s playing on Mississippi riverboats and then in 1928 he joined with Horace Henderson
. Later he worked with Jimmie Lunceford
and had an early collaboration with Stuff Smith in 1932. From 1932-1936 he had a successful collaboration with Smith, but in the 1940s he worked in big bands like Benny Carter
's and Fletcher Henderson
's. He would spend most of decade with Cab Calloway
's band which later became a combo.
Starting in the 1950s, he had his own quartet and began concentrating on a formula which gained him wider appeal for a decade. The quartet consisted of George "River Rider" Rhodes on piano, John "Broken Down" Browne on bass and "Hard Nuts Harold" Austin on drums. The most-mentioned accomplishment of this style is perhaps their version of "On The Street Where You Live," a strong-swinging treatment of the Broadway tune with a boogie-woogie
jump blues
feel. This effort succeeded and he began to be known to a wider audience. This led to his quartet performing on An Evening With Fred Astaire
in 1958 and an award at the Grammy Awards of 1960
. In 1972 he made a return to more "core" jazz work with Earl Hines
.
Jones became a sensation in France, being featured in a jazz festival in the Salle Pleyel. He also played the Olympia Music Hall and was in a film, of which the title is unknown.
A 1996 video taped interview completed by Dan Del Fiorentino was donated to the NAMM oral history
Collection in 2010 to ensure some of Jonah's many stories live on!
Jones performed in the pit under the direction of Alexander Smallens and briefly in an onstage musical sequence of "Porgy and bess," starring Cab Calloway.
He was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1999 and died the following year in New York City
.
Discography
Stuff Smith
Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith , better known as Stuff Smith, was a jazz violinist. He is known well for the song "If You're a Viper".-Biography:...
. He was sometimes referred to as "King Louis II," a reference to Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
. Jones started playing alto sax at the age of 12 in the Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
Community Center band in Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
before quickly transitioning to trumpet, where he excelled immediately.
Jones began his career playing on a river boat named "Island Queen" which plied between Kentucky and Ohio.
Jones was born in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. He began in the 1920s playing on Mississippi riverboats and then in 1928 he joined with Horace Henderson
Horace Henderson
Horace W. Henderson Born in Cuthbert, Georgia , younger brother of Fletcher Henderson, was an American jazz pianist, organist, arranger, and bandleader....
. Later he worked with Jimmie Lunceford
Jimmie Lunceford
James Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.-Biography:...
and had an early collaboration with Stuff Smith in 1932. From 1932-1936 he had a successful collaboration with Smith, but in the 1940s he worked in big bands like Benny Carter
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
's and Fletcher Henderson
Fletcher Henderson
James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. His was one of the most prolific black orchestras and his influence was vast...
's. He would spend most of decade with Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
's band which later became a combo.
Starting in the 1950s, he had his own quartet and began concentrating on a formula which gained him wider appeal for a decade. The quartet consisted of George "River Rider" Rhodes on piano, John "Broken Down" Browne on bass and "Hard Nuts Harold" Austin on drums. The most-mentioned accomplishment of this style is perhaps their version of "On The Street Where You Live," a strong-swinging treatment of the Broadway tune with a boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
jump blues
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
feel. This effort succeeded and he began to be known to a wider audience. This led to his quartet performing on An Evening With Fred Astaire
An Evening With Fred Astaire
An Evening with Fred Astaire is a one-hour live television special starring Fred Astaire, broadcast on NBC on October 17, 1958. It was highly successful, winning nine Emmy awards and spawning three further specials, and technically innovative, as it was one of the first major television shows to be...
in 1958 and an award at the Grammy Awards of 1960
Grammy Awards of 1960
The second Grammy Awards were held on November 29, 1959. They recognized musical accomplishments by performers for that particular year. Duke Ellington won three awards.-Award winners:*Record of the Year**Bobby Darin for "Mack the Knife"*Album of the Year...
. In 1972 he made a return to more "core" jazz work with Earl Hines
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
.
Jones became a sensation in France, being featured in a jazz festival in the Salle Pleyel. He also played the Olympia Music Hall and was in a film, of which the title is unknown.
A 1996 video taped interview completed by Dan Del Fiorentino was donated to the NAMM oral history
NAMM oral history
The NAMM Oral History program was created and is funded by NAMM, the International Association of Music Products. The program was approved by the NAMM board of directors in the years before the association, which is known for it's yearly trade shows, was ready to celebrate the 100 anniversary of...
Collection in 2010 to ensure some of Jonah's many stories live on!
Jones performed in the pit under the direction of Alexander Smallens and briefly in an onstage musical sequence of "Porgy and bess," starring Cab Calloway.
He was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1999 and died the following year in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Discography
- Jonah Jones: Muted Jazz (Capitol T-839) (Released 1957)
- The Jonah Jones Quartet - Swingin' On Broadway (Capitol T963 Mono) (Released 1957)
- The Jonah Jones Quartet - Jumpin' with Jonah (Capitol T1039 Mono)
- The Jonah Jones Quartet - Swingin' At The Cinema (Capitol T1083 Mono) (Released 1958)
- Jonah Jumps Again: The Jonah Jones Quartet (Capitol ST-1115) (Released 1959)
- The Jonah Jones Quartet at The EmbersThe Embers (NYC Club)The Embers was a 1950s and 1960s-era New York City restaurant and nightclub formerly located at 161 East 54th Street between 2nd and Lexington Avenues...
(RCA Victor LPM-2004) (Released 1959) - I Dig Chicks! (Capitol ST-1193) (Released 1960) Grammy Winner Jazz Instrumental
- Jumpin' With A Shuffle (Capitol ST-1404) (Released 1960)
- The Jonah Jones Quartet with Glen Gray - Jonah Jones - Glen Gray (Capitol T1660 Mono)
- Jazz Bonus (Capitol ST-1773) (Released 1962)