William Jones Jr. (October 20, 1929 – April 1991) was a

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 ...

drummer.Kernfeld, Barr
"Jones, Willie (William, Jr.)"
In Kernfeld, Barry (ed.) ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd edition). Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved May 17, 2014. (Subscription required.) He is known for playing and recording with

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

Elmo Hope St. Elmo Sylvester Hope (June 27, 1923 – May 19, 1967) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, chiefly in the bebop and hard bop genres. He grew up playing and listening to jazz and classical music with Bud Powell, and both were ...

, and

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

Biography

Jones was born in New York on October 20, 1929. He mainly taught himself to play the drums, and played left handed.Kelley, Robin (2009) ''Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original''. Simon and Schuster. He played and recorded with pianist

in 1953, including on the album ''

Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins ''Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins'' is a compilation album by jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk and saxophonist Sonny Rollins released in 1956 by Prestige Records. The tracks on it were recorded in three sessions between 1953 and 1954. ...

''. This recording, on November 13, was Jones' first. He also appeared with Monk on the television program ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'', on June 10, 1955. Jones was sideman for another pianist's recording in 1955 –

's ''

Meditations ''Meditations'' () is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the ''Meditations'' in Koine ...

''; Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008) ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings'' (9th edition).

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

. . and for

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

's ''

The Modern Art of Jazz by Randy Weston ''The Modern Art of Jazz by Randy Weston'' (also released as ''How High the Moon'') is a jazz album by American pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1956 and released on the Dawn label. Reception Allmusic awarded the album 3 stars, with the review b ...

'' in the following year. In 1956 Jones had a two-week engagement with Monk in Philadelphia. Jones also played with

Kenny Dorham McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention or public ...

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Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

, and

Cecil Payne Cecil Payne (December 14, 1922 – November 27, 2007) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, New York. Payne also played the alto saxophone and flute. He played with other prominent jazz musicians, in particular Dizzy Gilles ...

in the mid-1950s. In 1955–56 Jones was part of

' Jazz Workshop, and was the drummer in the bassist's band that recorded ''

Pithecanthropus Erectus Java Man (''Homo erectus erectus'', formerly also ''Anthropopithecus erectus'', ''Pithecanthropus erectus'') is an early human fossil discovered in 1891 and 1892 on the island of Java (Dutch East Indies, now part of Indonesia). Estimated to be ...

'', which helped develop a freer form of group improvisation. Jones was tenor saxophonist

's drummer from late 1956 to early 1959. In 1961, Jones played on

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

's ''

The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra ''The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra'' is an album by the American jazz musician Sun Ra and his Arkestra, recorded on October 10, 1961, for the Savoy Records, Savoy label and released in 1962. The album was supervised by Tom Wilson (producer), Tom W ...

''. After this, nothing is known about Jones, and his date of death was taken from social security records. These associations – with the traditional Young and the avant-garde Sun Ra – illustrated Jones' versatility.Chadbourne, Eugen
"Willie Jones – Artist Biography"
AllMusic. Retrieved May 17, 2014.

Discography

As sideman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Willie 1929 births American jazz musicians 1991 deaths 20th-century American musicians