Oliver Theophilus Jones, (born September 11, 1934 in

Little Burgundy Little Burgundy (french: La Petite-Bourgogne) is a neighbourhood in the South West borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Geography Its approximate boundaries are Atwater Avenue to the west, Saint-Antoine to the north, Guy Street ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

) is a Canadian

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 ...

pianist, organist, composer and arranger.

Musical career

Born to Barbadian parents, Oliver Jones began his career as a pianist at the age of five, studying with Mme Bonner in Little Burgundy's Union United Church, made famous by

Trevor W. Payne Trevor Winston Payne, (born 21 December 1948) is a Canadians, Canadian musician and member of the Order of Canada (1996). He is the founder of the Montreal Black Comunity Youth Choir, as well as the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir. Early lif ...

Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir The Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir is a choir from Montreal, Quebec, Canada that sings primarily traditional and contemporary Gospel music. The choir's repertoire also includes a mix of music ranging from Gregorian chant to Bach chorales, tradit ...

. He continued to develop his talent through his studies with

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

's sister,

Daisy Peterson Sweeney Daisy Elitha Peterson Sweeney (May 7, 1920 – August 11, 2017) was a Canadian classical music and piano teacher, known for having taught many of the most notable figures in Canadian jazz music. Sweeney was born Daisy Peterson in Montreal in 1920 ...

, starting at eight years old. In addition to performing at Union United Church when he was a child, he also performed a solo novelty act at the Cafe St. Michel as well as other clubs and theaters in the

area. "I had a trick piano act, dancing, doing the splits, playing from underneath the piano, or with a sheet over the keys." He started his early touring in Vermont and Quebec with a band called Bandwagon, and in 1953–63 played mainly in the Montreal area, with tours in Quebec. From 1964 to 1980, Jones was music director for the Jamaican calypso singer Kenny Hamilton, based out of Puerto Rico. In late 1980, he teamed up with Montreal's

Charlie Biddle Charles Reed Biddle, (July 28, 1926 – February 5, 2003) was an American-Canadian jazz bassist. He lived most of his life in Montreal, organizing and performing in jazz music events. Early life and education Biddle was born and grew up in ...

, working in and around local clubs and hotel lounges in Montreal. Jones was resident pianist at Charlie Biddle's jazz club 'Biddles' from 1981 to 1986. His first album, ''Live at Biddles'' recorded in 1983, was the first record on the Justin Time record label. By the mid-1980s, he was travelling throughout Canada, appearing at festivals, concerts and clubs, either as a solo artist or with a trio: Skip Bey, Bernard Primeau, and

Archie Alleyne Archie Alleyne (January 7, 1933 – June 8, 2015) was a Canadian jazz drummer.National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

documentary, ''Oliver Jones in Africa''. His music also appears in the NFB animated short film, ''

Black Soul ''Black Soul'' (french: Âme noire) is a 2000 animated short by Haitian Canadian filmmaker Martine Chartrand that uses paint-on-glass animation and music to portray defining moments of Black history. Produced by the National Film Board of Can ...

''. In 1998, Jones wrote, arranged and performed the original score to the documentary film, Season of Change (Rightime Productions) about

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

's season with the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

baseball club in 1946. In 2011 he was one of the big names on the line up of the P.E.I. Jazz and Blues Festival at

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

. Jones was headliner for the Jazz Sudbury Festival 2013, held from Sept. 6-8, 2013.

Educator

Jones taught music at

Laurentian University Laurentian University (french: Université Laurentienne), officially the Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Lau ...

in 1987, and in 1988 he taught music at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in Montreal. In 2009, Jones mentored jazz artist Dione Taylor through the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) Mentorship Program. The program pairs a mid-career artist with a past GGPAA recipient. The two artists work together to learn and grow from each other's experiences.

Awards and nominations

Officer of the Order of Canada. (1993) In 1994, Jones was bestowed the National Order of Québec, with the rank of Chevalier (Knight). Jones received the

Governor General's Performing Arts Award A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 2005, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts. In 1986, Jones won a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for his album titled ''Lights of Burgundy'', and again in 2009 for ''Second Time around''. He has been nominated nine other times, the most recent being in 2012, with his album ''Live in Baden''. He was given the

Félix Award The Félix Award (french: Trophée Félix or Prix Félix) is an award, given by the ''Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois'' ( ADISQ) on an annual basis to artists working in the music and humor industry in the Canadian ...

, in 1989, 1994, 2007 and 2008. Jones was voted keyboardist of the year, from the National Jazz Awards in 2006. The Oscar Peterson Award (1990) In 1999, Jones was awarded the Special Achievement Award at the

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...

Awards in Toronto.

Discography

References

External links

The Canadian EncyclopediaAll About Jazz: review, ''Just in Time''All About Jazz: review, ''Just You, Just Me'' with Ranee Lee
August 26, 2006 - Montreal Gazette {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Oliver 1934 births Living people People from Le Sud-Ouest Canadian jazz pianists Musicians from Montreal Canadian people of Barbadian descent Black Canadian musicians Laurentian University faculty McGill University faculty Anglophone Quebec people Juno Award for Best Jazz Album winners Officers of the Order of Canada Knights of the National Order of Quebec Governor General's Performing Arts Award winners Juno Award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year winners 21st-century Canadian pianists Justin Time Records artists