Kyle W. Jones (born 1955) is a professional

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

and is a former

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

state politician, from Bar Harbor, Maine. He is notable for his influence on the state's energy industry.

Background and musical career

Born in

Bar Harbor Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire i ...

to a pianist mother and a drummer father, Jones grew up surrounded by music. He sang in the local church choir through high school and began playing

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

at age 12. He has performed widely, including before the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, alongside such jazz notables as J. Eric Johnson,

Steve Hunt Steven Hunt (born 1958) is an American jazz pianist and composer. He has released two studio albums, recorded extensively, and toured the world. Music career In 1977, Hunt graduated from Brazoswood High School in Clute, Texas. He then attend ...

Premik Russell Tubbs Premik Russell Tubbs is an American saxophonist, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Career Since the 1970s he worked with a wide range of artists such as John McLaughlin, Narada Michael Walden, Jackson Browne, Carlos Santana, ...

and

Hal Russell Hal Russell (born Harold Russell Luttenbacher, August 28, 1926 – September 5, 1992) was an American free jazz composer, band leader and multi-instrumentalist who performed mainly on saxophone and drums but occasionally on trumpet or vibrapho ...

. In 1995, Jones released a recording of his composition ''Meltdown'', on the CD of that name, in honor of his happenstance visit to

Three Mile Island 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

, on the night of March 28, 1979. He earned Summa Cum Laude degrees in mathematics, American studies and a Doctorate in Law from the

University of Maine System The University of Maine System (UMaine System or UMS) is a state university system in the U.S. state of Maine. It was created in 1968 by the Maine Legislature and consists of eight institutions, each with a distinct mission and regional character. ...

. As noted by Chancellor J. Michael Orenduff in his 1995 State of Education address to the Maine House and Senate, Jones is the only student in the history of the University of Maine System to complete an entire mathematics degree in just two semesters.

Political career

First elected to the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

in 1994, Jones became Chair of the Joint Select Committee on Utilities and Energy in 1996. In this position, he drafted and sponsored Maine's Electric Deregulation Act, chairing all hearings and workshops. The act passed unanimously, and the resulting influx of cheap electricity and loss of monopoly status led to the closure of Maine Yankee

Nuclear Plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces elec ...

in 1997. The act also mandates a 30% renewable resource portfolio for all companies selling electricity in Maine. He was named the 1997 Public Official of the Year in Maine. After serving for four years in the Maine House of Representatives, Jones chose not to run for office a third time. Jones currently works as the senior archivist for composer Carman Moore.

External links

Rep. Kyle W. Jones' official page

Kyle Jones' website

Carman Moore's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Kyle 1955 births Living people American archivists People from Bar Harbor, Maine Members of the Maine House of Representatives 20th-century American guitarists