Jimmy Jones (pianist)


James Henry Jones was an American jazz pianist and arranger.

Biography

As a child, Jones learned guitar and piano. He worked in various orchestras in Chicago from 1936 and played in a trio with Stuff Smith from 1943 to 1945. Following this, he played with Don Byas, Dizzy Gillespie, J.C. Heard, Buck Clayton and Etta Jones. He accompanied Sarah Vaughan from 1947 to 1952 and then again from 1954 to 1957 after a long illness. In 1954, he played on an album with Clifford Brown and accompanied him on his European tour. Around this time, he also played with Helen Merrill and Gil Evans. In 1959, he accompanied Anita O'Day in her appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival and also worked with Dakota Staton, Pat Suzuki, and Morgana King.
As a pianist and arranger in New York, he worked in the 1960s with Harry Belafonte, Johnny Hodges, Budd Johnson, Nat Gonella, and Clark Terry. He accompanied Chris Connor on "Where Flamingoes Fly" and sat in with the Duke Ellington Orchestra for some collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald. Jones did a fine set with his trio at the Antibes Jazz Festival in 1966, and he went on tour with Jazz at the Philharmonic the following year. In the 1970s, he worked with Kenny Burrell and Cannonball Adderley.
In the course of his career, Jones played piano on recordings by Harry Sweets Edison, Ben Webster, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Frank Wess, Milt Jackson, Sidney Bechet, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, and Thad Jones and worked as an arranger for Wes Montgomery, Nancy Wilson, Shirley Horn, Joe Williams, Billy Taylor, and Chris Connor.
Dave Brubeck cited Jones as an influence and said of him, "He didn't like to solo. Harmonically, though, he was one of the greatest players I ever heard."

Discography

As leader

With Kenny Burrell
;With Buck Clayton
;With Harry Edison
With Johnny Griffin
;With Johnny Hodges
With Illinois Jacquet
;With Budd Johnson
With Thad Jones
With Helen Merrill
With Joe Newman
With Paul Quinichette
With Sonny Stitt
With Clark Terry
With Ben Webster
With Sarah Vaughan
With Nancy Wilson
With Johnny Hodges
With Milt Jackson
With Billy Taylor
With Nancy Wilson