Randall Hodges Jones (January 23, 1944 – June 13, 2016) was a British-born American

jazz drummer Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques an ...

Biography

Born in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, (now

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

), Jones was a versatile musician capable of driving a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

, but could also play quite well with smaller units. He started playing professionally when he was 16, touring

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with an English

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

group. In between, he backed up rock and pop artists in television variety shows, while performing on stage or recording in studio. In 1969, Jones worked with

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...

, when Ferguson signed with CBS Records in England and formed a brawny horns and rhythm ensemble with British musicians that performed the then popular jazz/rock fusion style. During the six years that Jones spent with Ferguson, he performed on the classic album series '' M.F. Horn'' (1970), ''

M.F. Horn Two ''M.F. Horn Two'' is a 1972 big band jazz album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. It features cover versions of many songs that were popular in the years leading up to its production, including: "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, "Count ...

'' (1972), ''

M.F. Horn 3 ''M.F. Horn 3'' (stylized M.F. Horn, 3) is an album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. After Ferguson moved from England to the U.S. in 1973, his band changed, as British members were replaced by American musicians, primarily from colle ...

'' (1973), and '' M.F. Horn 4&5: Live At Jimmy's''.Discography
''AllMusic''. Retrieved on July 2, 2016. Jones moved to the United States in 1972 and based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was soon recognized for his work with singing stars such as

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

and

Cleo Laine Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Bullock; 28 October 1927)Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

and

Bill Watrous William Russell Watrous III (June 8, 1939 – July 2, 2018) was an American jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known for his rendition of Sammy Nestico's arrangement of the Johnny Mandel ballad "A Time for Love", which he recorded on a 1993 albu ...

.Biography
''Drummer World''. Retrieved on July 2, 2016. In 1980, Jones was invited to join the

Dave Brubeck Quartet David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

- replacing drummer Charles J. Thorton "

Butch Miles Butch Miles (born Charles J. Thorton, Jr. on July 4, 1944) is an American jazz drummer. He has played with the Count Basie Orchestra, Dave Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne and Tony Bennett Career Miles, who ci ...

," Jr., beginning an association which lasted until the death of Brubeck in 2012. In this period, Jones toured with the quartet throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan, appearing with them on stage and numerous TV shows, while recording several albums for labels as

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

and

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

. In his private life, Jones was an avid collector of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

records, and his drum solos reflected that interest dynamically, weaving intricate patterns in the Brubeck Quartet's complex time signatures.Obituary
''New York Times''. Retrieved on July 2, 2016. Some of his most significant records with the quartet includes ''

Tritonis ''Tritonis'' is a 1980 album by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Track listing #"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" (Music: Jay Gorney/Lyrics: Edgar Yipsel "Yip" Harburg - Arr: Dave Brubeck) – 7:08 #" Like Someone in Love" (Music: Edward Chester "Ji ...

'' (1980), '' Paper Moon'' (1981), '' So What's New?'' (1998), '' The Crossing'' (2001), ''

Park_Avenue_South Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...

'' (2003) and '' London Flat, London Sharp'' (2005), among others. Jones died in 2016 at the Calvary Hospital in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

at the age of 72, following heart failure.

Sources

External links

Randy Jones drum solos
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Randy 1944 births 2016 deaths English emigrants to the United States English jazz drummers British male drummers English rock drummers Musicians from New York City People from Slough British male jazz musicians Dave Brubeck Quartet members