David Jones (c. 1888 – 1956) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

tenor saxophonist The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

, mellophonist, teacher and arranger.

Biography

Jones played with the Holmes Brass Band in his hometown of Lutcher in 1910, then played in

Storyville, New Orleans Storyville was the red-light district of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 1897 to 1917. It was established by municipal ordinance under the New Orleans City Council, to regulate prostitution. Sidney Story, a city alderman, wrote guidelines and legisl ...

in the middle of the decade. He worked on the ''S.S. Capitol'' with

Fate Marable Fate Marable (December 2, 1890 – January 16, 1947) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. Early life Marable was born in Paducah, Kentucky to James and Elizabeth Lillian (Wharton) Marable, a piano teacher. Fate had five siblings, includin ...

from 1918 to 1921. Davey joined Marable's band at the same time as

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

and taught the 17-year-old how to read

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

. Jones played with

King Oliver Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 8/10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of Mute (music), mutes in jazz. Also a notable c ...

in California in 1921, and then worked in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

with R.Q. Dickerson's Record Breakers in 1922. Following this he and Dickerson found work in Wilson Robinson's Bostonians, remaining in this ensemble after Andrew Peer took over and led the group for a residency at the

Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...

in New York City. This group recorded as the ''Cotton Club Orchestra'' in 1925 and later was known as

The Missourians ''The Missourians'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by George Blair and written by Arthur E. Orloff. The film stars Monte Hale, Paul Hurst, Roy Barcroft, Lyn Thomas, Howard Negley and Scott Elliott. The film was released as a Fawce ...

. Jones then returned to New Orleans to lead his own band at the Pelican Dance Hall. He played briefly with William Ridgley's Tuxedo Orchestra, then co-led the

Jones & Collins Astoria Hot Eight The Jones & Collins Astoria Hot Eight were an American jazz band. The Jones & Collins Astoria Hot Eight were led by cornetist Lee Collins and tenor saxophonist David Jones. They took their name from the "Astoria Gardens" the dance hall room of th ...

with Lee Collins. Davey also gave lessons to young trumpeter Joe Newman, who later played with

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

. He lived in California later in life, and died in 1956.

References

*Howard Rye, "David Jones". '' Grove Jazz'' online. *Laurence Bergreen, ''Louis Armstrong, An Extravagant Life'', Broadway Books, NY (c) 1997 at p. 149. *Thomas Brothers, ''Louis Armstrong's New Orleans'', W. W. Norton & Co., NY (c) 2006 at p. 252. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, David American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists People from Lutcher, Louisiana 1956 deaths 1880s births 20th-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Louisiana 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Jones & Collins Astoria Hot Eight members