SOUND PROJECTIONS
AN ONLINE QUARTERLY MUSIC MAGAZINE
EDITOR: KOFI NATAMBU
SUMMER, 2022
VOLUME ELEVEN NUMBER THREE
Featuring the Musics and Aesthetic Visions of:
REVOLUTIONARY ENSEMBLE
(June 11-17)
OLU DARA
(June 18-24)
WALTER SMITH III
(June 25-July 1)
BOBBY WATSON
(July 2-8)
JAMES MOODY
(July 9-15)
RONALD SHANNON JACKSON
(July 16-22)
LEYLA McCALLA
(July 23-29)
RUSSELL MALONE
(July 30-August 5)
JOHN HANDY
(August 6-12)
STANLEY CLARKE
(August 13-19)
CHARLIE ROUSE
(August 20-26)
WILLIE JONES III
(August 27-September 2)
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/willie-jones-iii-mn0000581973/biography
Willie Jones III
(b. June 8, 1968)
Biography by Eugene Chadbourne
Drummer Willie Jones III would probably rather have people paying attention to his stick, brush, and pedal work, but first a beat must be struck concerning the odd lineage of this particular name in jazz. It represents an example of performers who actually have no family relation to each other, but make use of Roman numerals so that they don't get confused with each other. Or at least this drummer, whose career began picking up steam in the '90s, saw fit to do so. The man who was logically Willie Jones II never saw fit to make use of that form of identification, sometimes using Willie Jones Jr. but often just getting mixed up with the first Willie Jones in this lineage. While "Junior" usually indicates that "Senior" is the father, these two musicians were actually born less than a decade apart. To set matters straight instrumentally, Willie Jones the first was a pianist mostly known in Chicago while Jones Jr. and Jones III are both drummers, both working with big jazz names, stylistically similar but belonging to different eras.
Jones III came out of the Los Angeles scene and his relevance to the '90s is instantly identifiable through associations with projects such as Jungle Music by Black/Note. He performed on the Grammy-grabbing Hot House album by trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and was also part of pianist Horace Silver's lineup of horns in the '90s. Gigs such as these and an ensuing relationship with trumpeter Roy Hargrove are all part of a spice cabinet rich enough to convince the drummer that he ought to begin serving up a stew of his own. Solo projects began appearing in 2001, with the intent being some Straight Swingin'. Jones III and bassist George Mraz were the rhythm section for an all-star ensemble that pianist Herbie Hancock put on tour in 2003.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/willie-jones-iii
Willie Jones III
Born in Los Angeles, California on June 8, 1968, Jones' earliest exposure to music was through his father, Willie Jones II, an accomplished and notable jazz pianist, who offered guidance and inspiration to his gifted son. Dedicated to the further development of his skills, the younger Jones spent the next few years working diligently with acclaimed drummers and music instructors and began performing with distinguished musicians by the time he was in his teens. He completed his academic training after receiving a full scholarship to the California Institute of the Arts where he studied under the tutelage of the legendary Albert "Tootie" Heath. Before he was a semifinalist in the 1992 Thelonious Monk Jazz Drum Competition, Jones co-founded jazz band Black Note. Influenced by the rich soulful energy of the West Coast bop movement, Black Note's hard-swing sound propelled them to first place in the prestigious John Coltrane Young Artist Competition in 1991. Jones contributed his skillfulness as both musician and producer on all four Black Note recordings: 43rd & Degnan and L.A. Underground (World Stage Records), Jungle Music (Columbia) and Nothin' But the Swing (Impulse!). By 1994, the band had toured Europe and across the U.S. and was the opening act for Wynton Marsalis.Near the end of 1994, while Jones was reaching for a higher level of drumming dexterity, he gained the privilege of playing sideman to the renowned vibist Milt Jackson, where Jones learned the importance of pacing and sensitivity. Meanwhile, his musical career continued to unfold. From 1995 through 1998, he was a member of Arturo Sandoval's band and is featured on Sandoval's GRAMMY® award winning release Hot House (N2K). Subsequently, Jones recorded with Horace Silver on Jazz Has a Sense of Humor (Impulse!).
From 1998-2005, Jones was a member of Roy Hargrove's Quintet and is featured on Roy Hargrove's CD releases on Verve: Moment To Moment, Hard Groove, Nothing Serious and RH Factor's Distractions. Jones can be heard on a host of recordings including Kurt Elling's GRAMMY® nominated Night Moves (Concord) and Eric Reed's Here (Max Jazz). Jones has worked with Sonny Rollins, Ernestine Anderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Wynton Marsalis, Cedar Walton, Frank Wess, the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Houston Person, Billy Childs, Eric Reed, Ryan Kisor, Eric Alexander, Bill Charlap, Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock and Hank Jones. In 2000, Jones' released his debut CD, Vol 1...Straight Swingin' on his own label, WJ3 Records. He continues to reveal his proficiency as a composer as well as a producer on Vol II...Don't Knock The Swing (2002); Volume III (2007); WE 2 (2008), a trombone and piano recording featuring Wycliffe Gordon and Eric Reed; and Jones' latest release The Next Phase (2010).Willie Jones III: Ode to Fallen Heroes
by Stephanie Jones 
On his new recording, Jones honors friends and mentors he has recently lost. (Photo: Rayon Richards)
Sheltered in his music room, Willie Jones III adjusts the volume on a Billy Taylor record. He swivels around to face his Yamaha Maple Custom drum set. Since March 2020, the soundproof corner of his Brooklyn apartment has served as practice space, office and composer’s chamber.
It’s tricky, but it’s been cool,” said the Los Angeles native, who’s lived in Brooklyn for more than two decades. “And finally, there’s some daylight.”
As dawn has taken its time to break, Jones has taken time to reconcile memory and mourning, arriving at a place of gratitude. This March, he issued Fallen Heroes, his eighth release as a leader and the 23rd on WJ3 Records, the label he launched in 2000. In 2018, Jones hadn’t considered releasing an homage album, at least not intentionally. But life happens and, unfortunately, death followed.
“That was a major blow,” said Jones, recalling the moment that he learned Roy Hargrove had passed away. At that point, he began envisioning a project dedicated to Hargrove, whose ensemble he’d served in from 1998 to 2006. Jones set up a tribute gig at Caramoor Jazz Festival, inviting personnel from different eras of Hargrove’s touring band, including Larry Willis, who soon followed Hargrove. “Then Jimmy Heath made his transition, and it just opened up for me conceptually,” he said.
Producing a project that would honor those fallen heroes of the bandstand, Jones sought to include another icon whose influence he considers significant to his artistry though not explicit in his sound: Ndugu Chancler, one of the first drummers Jones heard live.
“He was always very supportive,” Jones said. “It’s one thing to be inspired by somebody from listening to their records, but knowing someone personally, in the way I knew Ndugu, has a different impact on you.”
Fallen Heroes opens in artful rumination. Jones’ solo piece “Something For Ndugu” bonds foundational elements heard throughout the album: influence, spontaneity and personal expression. Borrowing a phrase from the brief but distinctive intro to Michael Jackson’s “Baby Be Mine,” he honors Chancler’s figure as a medium for his own improvisation. During a West Coast tour, Jones allowed the figure to spark his solo performance. By the time he booked a studio date in January 2020, he’d decided the improvised gesture would serve as track one. “The only thing that’s worked out [beforehand] is the opening phrase,” Jones said.
Bookended by Jones’ original tunes, Fallen Heroes features compositions from Willis, Heath and Hargrove. “Generally, I like song lists to be upbeat,” Jones said. “But that’s not what we recorded. This is what we documented. It’s a lot of songs that have vibe.” The album’s mood casting includes contributions from Jones colleagues who have also enjoyed seminal associations with his fallen heroes — including Justin Robinson, Sherman Irby, Steve Davis, Gerald Cannon, Renee Neufville and Jeremy Pelt. After booking George Cables for the January date, Jones invited emerging pianist-composer Isaiah Thompson for sessions in August as a way to continue the legacy of mentorship. “It just made sense to include him,” he said.
Thompson, who released his debut album on WJ3, feels grateful for the opportunity to be part of the continuum. “When you play with more experienced musicians, you can feel the legacy of the artists they played with,” he said. “That’s what keeps the music moving forward.”
Part of the WJ3 catalog, Jones’ album in effect pays tribute to a fifth hero who instilled in him the importance of artistic ownership: Billy Higgins. “He always told me how important it is to own your own music,” said Jones, who also serves as label producer.
In early 2020, Jones tracked Thompson’s record — along with releases from Gregory Tardy and Teodross Avery — even though his calendar brimmed with performance dates. By April, he’d lost his gigs and arrived at a crossroads: release the music or put it on hold. “I just thought, I’m going to put [these records] out, anyway,” Jones said. “People need to hear this music now more than ever.”
Over the past two decades, Jones’ relationship with WJ3 Records has gone through changes. And while the pandemic has diminished certain returns, he takes the long view: “If you’re not losing money, then you’re winning.”
“In any type of market where you’re doing what you love and you’re in total control of it as your own boss — if you’re able to do all that and not lose money, you’re ahead of the game. So I put out those records during the pandemic, and now I’m dropping mine. Hopefully, I’ll have some gigs to support that. I’m confident I will.” DB
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Jones_III
Willie Jones III
Willie Jones III (born June 8, 1968 in Los Angeles, California) is a jazz drummer. He has played, toured, and recorded with Horace Silver, Roy Hargrove, Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, and Herbie Hancock. He played on Arturo Sandoval's Grammy-winning album Hot House (1998).[1]
Early life
Jones' father, also named Willie Jones, was a pianist, composer and arranger, who moved to Los Angeles from Jacksonville in 1961.[2] By the time Jones was born, his father "was gigging locally and working as a vocal coach for entertainers, including Ann-Margret."[2]
Willie Jones III was born on June 8, 1968, in Los Angeles.[3] Jones reported that he wanted to be a jazz musician from the age of seven.[2]
Later life and career
Jones was one of the founding members of the band Black Note in 1990.[3] Members of this ensemble included, at various times, Ark Sano, Eric Reed, Gilbert Castellanos, James Mahone, Kenneth Crouch, Mark Shelby, and Richard E. Grant.[4] They released several albums.[4]
In 1991, Jones began studying at the California Institute of the Arts, where he took drum lessons from Albert "Tootie" Heath.[3] Jones played with Milt Jackson in 1994, and toured with trumpeter Arturo Sandoval from 1994 to 1998.[3]
Jones was based in Los Angeles until he moved to New York in 1997.[2] He played in trumpeter Roy Hargrove's quintet from 1998 to 2006.[2]
In 2000, Jones founded an independent jazz label, WJ3 Records. He said in 2017 that "It's a self-investment, [...] I'm not making a profit, but I'm not losing any money. I've become more proficient at putting out each project."[2] He has regularly played with pianist Eric Reed, as the drummer for Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center, and has several CDs released as a leader on his own label, playing hard bop and swing.
Jones has taught at Northwestern University since 2010.[2]
In 2014, Jones filed a lawsuit against California rapper Kendrick Lamar for allegedly sampling "The Thorn" illegally in Lamar's song "Rigamortus".[5]
Playing style
Guitarist Russell Malone commented in 2017 that, "Some drummers can't get through two bars of music without trying to do something cute and slick, but with Willie, the time and the groove is not an afterthought. He's aware of each component of the song – the melody, the changes and the form. I like to incorporate different grooves into my things, and Willie does not turn up his nose at them. He knows exactly what to do."[6]
Discography
An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.
As leader/co-leader
As sideman
| Year recorded | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes With Black Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 43rd & Degnan | World Stage | With Black Note |
| 1993 | L.A. Underground | Red | With Black Note |
| 1994 | Jungle Music | Columbia | With Black Note |
| 1996 | Nothin' but the Swing | Impulse! | With Black Note[4] |
| 1996–99 | Vol. 1...Straight Swingin' | WJ3 |
|
| 2001 | Vol. 2...Don't Knock The Swing | WJ3 |
|
| 2006 | Vol. III | WJ3 |
|
| 2009 | The Next Phase | WJ3 |
|
| 2012 | Willie Jones III Sextet Plays The Max Roach Songbook | WJ3 | In concert |
| 2016* | Groundwork | WJ3 | [7] |
| 2017* | My Point Is... | WJ3 |
|
| Year recorded | Leader | Title | Label |
| 1994 | Kei Akagi | Mirror Puzzle | AudioQuest |
| 2001 | Peter Beets | New York Trio | Criss Cross Jazz |
| 2002 | Peter Beets | New York Trio – Page Two | Criss Cross Jazz |
| 1998 | Ryan Kisor | The Usual Suspects | Lightyear |
| 2007 | Houston Person | Thinking of You | HighNote |
| 2010 | Houston Person | Moment to Moment | HighNote |
| 1998 | Arturo Sandoval | Hot House | N2K |
| 1998 | Horace Silver | Jazz Has a Sense of Humor | Verve |
| 1999 | Roy Hargrove | Moment to Moment | Verve |
| 2002 | Jesse van Ruller | Here and There | Criss Cross |
| 2005 | Harold Mabern | Somewhere Over the Rainbow | Venus |
| 2005 | Peter Zak | For Tomorrow | SteepleChase |
| 2009 | Cedar Walton | Voices Deep Within | HighNote |
| 2011 | Cedar Walton | The Bouncer | HighNote |
| 2013 | Peter Zak | The Disciple | SteepleChase |
| 2022 | Ron Jackson | Standards and My Songs | Roni Music |
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/nyregion/willie-jones-iii-jazz-drummer-.html
How This Top Jazz Drummer Spends His Sundays
Willie Jones III starts the day with basketball and ends it going to one of his favorite clubs to “just listen.” (O.K., sometimes he’ll play.)
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Willie Jones III, in his home studio in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Credit: Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times
Willie Jones III knows it’s not easy to make a living as a jazz drummer in 2019.
But he also knows that, for those willing to hustle, there’s a way. Mr. Jones started playing with Roy Hargrove when he moved to New York from Los Angeles in 1997. He went on to join the bands of Horace Silver, Cedar Walton and others. “Now I don’t have to make calls or send emails, because a lot of great musicians know me,” he said.
From Nov. 14 through 17 at Dizzy’s Club (part of Jazz at Lincoln Center) Mr. Jones, 51, will lead a quintet playing music inspired by his “all-time favorite drummer,” Billy Higgins, who recorded with Ornette Coleman and Thelonious Monk, among others.
When Mr. Jones is not leading a band or playing in someone else’s, he is teaching or recording. Twice a month, he flies to Chicago to teach in the jazz studies program at Northwestern University. Alongside Wynton Marsalis, he is currently featured on the soundtrack of the film “Motherless Brooklyn.”
Mr. Jones lives with his wife, Zooey Tidal Jones, a publicist, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
SEVEN UP No matter how late I’m up the night before, I’m up before 7. It’s because Zooey is not a night owl like me. I hear the TV in the living room. She’s in there doing yoga stretches. Usually, we’re on the subway to Equinox in Manhattan by 7.
BALL Zooey takes a class. I go straight to the basketball courts. I don’t have the discipline for weights. A lot of times, I play by myself, but I’ll also play pickup games. There’s a lot of cardio involved, which keeps Father Time off my back. I played basketball in high school. I like to say I’m pretty good. As a matter of fact, for a musician, I’m very good. For a musician over 40, I’m really good.
NO MENU REQUIRED Then we eat. We go to this place called the Smith down the street from Equinox. It’s one of my favorite breakfast spots because I know what to get: the caramelized French toast with bananas. It’s not the healthiest thing, but it’s the weekend.
CLEANING GROOVE When we get home I put on music, either jazz or ’70s soul. If it’s jazz, it could be Art Blakey or Max Roach or Lee Morgan or anything that features Billy Higgins.
If it’s soul, it’ll be Marvin Gaye or Minnie Riperton or Donny Hathaway. I’m giving you the obvious names. Also Al Wilson. I like to have music on when I’m cleaning the house. Sometimes on weekdays when Zooey’s at work I’ll make a mess. I try to clean up by the time she gets home but it doesn’t always work out, so I’ll clean on weekends.
SCREEN TIME If it’s football season, which it is right now, we go into our separate rooms. She’s in the bedroom, and I’m watching the Giants or the Jets on the big screen. I’m not sure how big it is. It’s huge. If I’m not watching football, then I’m watching an old detective show or movie. My mom turned me on to detective shows like “Perry Mason” many years ago, and I’ve seen them all a million times now but I still love them. Sometimes I’ll break down and watch something with Zooey like “Dr. Phil.” If I do, half of my attention is on my computer, checking the scores.
STUDENT SESSION We have a music room that’s full of books and CDs and records, and in the middle there’s a drum setup. It’s pretty crowded in there, but it’s where I give drum lessons. A student will come by from 2 to 3 or 3 to 4. Fortunately none of the neighbors have complained about the noise.
PASTA, NOT PILLS Half the time we’ll go out for dinner, and half the time Zooey cooks. I can make scrambled eggs, but it ends there. We’ll go to this Italian place that looks like a pharmacy on the outside, then you go in and there’s a bar and tables.
ZOOEY’S CHOICE Dinner happens early, because Zooey goes to bed early, like 9. We watch “60 Minutes” and then a show of her choosing, usually “90 Day Fiancé.” It’s not my favorite but she loves it.
OUT ON THE TOWN When she goes to bed, there’s a good chance I’m going to go into the city and listen to music. Usually I’ll go uptown to Smoke, one of my favorite clubs, but I also go to Smalls in the Village. Sometimes they’ll have a late-night session and they’ll ask me to come up and play, but I try not to do that too often because if I’m not actually on the gig I like to sit in the back and just listen.
JUST NOT SLEEPY I get back home maybe 2 or 2:30 and Zooey’s knocked out, but I’m just not sleepy. I’ll spend 30 minutes walking back and forth in the living room, then I’ll get in bed and put my headphones on. I’ll listen to Nat King Cole or Johnny Hartman. I try to get to sleep by 3:30.
Courtesy of WJIII Records.
Bands led by stellar drummers—Max Roach, Elvin Jones, and Roy Haynes, for example—play to international jazz audiences keen to hear hard-edged jazz. Not a subcategory, bop or hard bop is jazz. For his debut recording, Straight Swingin’ (WJ3 Records), drummer Willie Jones Ill steers clear of soft pop influences. As a member of Roy Hargrove’s Quintet since 1997, he has developed a repertoire of distinct rhythms admired by worldwide fans loyal to this high art.
For his “Volume I” date, Jones enlists major-leaguer Eric Reed, a mainstay pianist who plays with Wynton Marsalis. Reed unreels engaging runs a la early McCoy Tyner, and offers articulate vectors of melody on ballads and fluency in displays of speed. “Ornate,” Reed’s tip of the hat to Ornette Coleman, goes for studied cogency if not a Monkish moment. Anyone into the piano will find him worthy of the spotlight.
Jones includes two accomplished colleagues from the Hargrove band, bassist Gerald Cannon and Sherman Irby on alto. Making more of a duet than a duel, the altoists’ sizzling repartee closes “Blues for Dat Taz” and signals their different takes on “Little G’s Walk,” a complex, musical portrait. “Wide Open,” a tune penned by Sherman Irby, illustrates just how important free thought is to musical structures no matter how ephemeral. The composition brings out the best in the rhythm section. If that feeling akin to soaring becomes apparent, it is because Gerald Cannon understands that the fullest exigencies of pulse, hum, tone, and accents propel music to its apogee.
Jones must place importance on striving as a “unit,” since his few solos are not of a heavyweight crash-and-boom sort, but balance strength with lyricism. In the role of composer, he provides the trio ballads “Jessica’s Theme” and “Ballad,” sumptuous melodies that defy time and space like a couple’s midnight interlude. Straight Swingin’ passes the test: it’s to be listened to over and over.
Straight Swingin’, by Willie Jones III, was released by WJ3 Records last spring.
Willie Jones III: From the World Stage to the World’s Stages
The drummer and record label head reflects on the lessons he’s learned over three decades
For drummer Willie Jones III, Fallen Heroes is more than just the name of his most recent album. The title also relates deeply to his life as a jazz musician. After all, the impact of many a lost mentor echoes through his now nearly 30-year career as an in-demand sideman, dynamic bandleader, and determined record label owner. Jones’ current recording, released on his own WJ3 label, specifically pays tribute to the recently passed Roy Hargrove, Larry Willis, Jimmy Heath, Ndugu Chancler, and Jeff Clayton, but the long list of elders who’ve lifted Jones up also includes Los Angeles-based musicians such as Billy Higgins, Henry Franklin, George Bohannon, Larance Marable … and a pianist named Willie Jones, Jr.
Indeed, growing up in various neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Jones III couldn’t help but follow in the footsteps of his pianist father, a journeyman musician who had moved to the area from Jacksonville and worked as music director for the Platters and other groups, as well as a vocal coach to Hollywood actors. There was plenty of jazz in the Jones household, thanks to an extensive record collection packed with Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and many more giants of classic jazz. More importantly, Jones’ father would take him to see shows, or bring him along to his own gigs leading a piano trio at small clubs around town. “Those were my beginnings,” the younger Jones recalls. “So I knew that’s what I was going to do from when I was six or seven. And it never changed.”
As Willie III got older, his father even put him on the bandstand. “When I was 17 or 18, I couldn’t really play but he’d let me sit in with him,” he explains. “He was the one who introduced me to the music.”
Leimert Park Central
Jones was also fortunate to fall in with the vibrant scene around the World Stage, a performing-arts center in the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles founded in the ’80s by Billy Higgins, who soon became an important influence on the young drummer. “I got hip to it in the ’90s,” Jones says. “That’s where I met [bassist] Marcus Shelby, and we formed [the ’90s ensemble] Black Note out of the World Stage. It started out with everybody going to Billy’s place on Thursday night to jam. But even on the other nights we’d go there to hang out. Marcus even got a key to it. Billy became more like a mentor to me.”
This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. For the next three decades, multiple generations of young jazz musicians were drawn to the action near Leimert Park—from Billy Childs to Kamasi Washington. But it was the advice Higgins offered Jones that would resonate, then and now: “He was the first person to put the bug in my ear about owning my own music. He’d talk about Strata-East in New York. And Black Jazz in Los Angeles. ‘You can do it yourself,’ he’d say.”
That notion was put on hold because, shortly after Black Note’s debut album was released on Higgins’ World Stage label in 1991, Columbia came along with an offer to sign the fledgling group featuring Jones, Shelby, trumpeter Richard Grant, and saxophonist James Mahone. At the same time, Jones was a student at the renowned CalArts jazz program, studying with Tootie Heath, and he had also entered the prestigious Monk Competition, which in 1992 featured drums. There were clearly irons in the fire.
“Even though I didn’t get out of the [Monk] semifinals, that experience of being there in New York put the stamp on it,” Jones recalls. “I went to gigs, saw Betty Carter, and met all the other contestants. Even though we had just signed with Columbia, I knew I would end up here [NYC].” It would take five years to make that move, though, a period during which Black Note released one album on Columbia and another on Impulse! Both attracted some critical acclaim but not much in the way of sales; the group disbanded in 1996. In the meantime, Jones was picking up work as a sideman, including his first serious road gig with Arturo Sandoval—an association that lasted several years.
Once again, it was advice from Higgins that guided Jones to his future. “Billy always said to me, ‘You should go to New York.’ I had never thought about it. At that point, when I was 19 or 20, if I could make a living doing gigs around L.A., that was the ceiling for me. That’s what I wanted to do. But Billy told me, ‘No, this [L.A.] is not it.’” When he got booked to play with Sandoval at the Blue Note in New York, Jones asked for a one-way ticket, and the L.A. native made his move east in a relatively smooth transition.
“I often wondered what it would be like to play with Clifford Brown or Lee Morgan. For me, Roy Hargrove was the closest thing to that.”
Joining Roy
Later leaving Sandoval to work in Horace Silver’s band, Jones still had
his eyes on a particular prize: backing up one of the music’s greatest
innovators. “Three months before I moved to New York, I played in L.A.
with Roy Hargrove for a week at Catalina’s. That was my favorite band,
and whenever they came to L.A., me and [multi-instrumentalist/megastar
producer-to-be] Greg Kurstin would go to see them.” After Karriem
Riggins left Hargrove’s band to go with Ray Brown, the drum chair went
to Jones, and he would go on to play with the gifted trumpeter for the
next eight years.
Already planning to be a future bandleader himself, Jones picked up plenty of lessons during his time with Hargrove. “One thing I learned and observed even before I joined his band, when I used to see his group on stage, was that energy coming from every instrument,” he says. “I often wondered what it would be like to play with Clifford Brown or Lee Morgan. For me, Roy Hargrove was the closest thing to that.”
Jones experienced firsthand how Hargrove would “bring it” every night. “He always played like it was the last time he did a gig. You never know who’s listening, whether you’re playing a 2 a.m. set at Smalls or a Friday night at the Vanguard. 110%, bringing it every night. That’s what he brought to the bandstand every time. It was almost too much. We’d be out for six weeks in Europe or wherever and we’d come back and he’s at Smalls that night at a jam session. That’s how he lived. That’s the most important thing I got from him—what to bring to the bandstand musically and energy-wise.”
During the first decade of the 21st century, Jones would also work with Cedar Walton, Hank Jones, Kurt Elling, Ernestine Anderson, and Bobby Hutcherson, among others. He had become a first-call sideman, but he hadn’t given up the idea of not only leading his own groups but also recording albums as a leader—on his own label, no less. “I wasn’t sure I was ready to record an album, but when are you ready? I felt like, well, everyone else is making records. I thought I could make a record just as good, because I have something creative to say. At first, I thought I’ll just make one and if it sells two copies, well …” That first album on his WJ3 label was Straight Swingin’, an apt description of Jones’ hard-bop style.
“But I didn’t have any gigs,” Jones notes. “I had distribution
because Billy hooked me up with his distributor, City Hall Records.
Eventually I was making records every other year, but I had to get some
gigs to make this work because otherwise it’s just an expensive habit or
hobby.” That helped push him both to lead his own bands live and to
record other artists for his label, including Eric Reed, Cyrus Chestnut,
and Justin Robinson. “When I started recording other people, that’s
when I realized that I was functioning like a real independent label,”
he says. “But I like the process of making records. Even sitting at the
soundboard and listening to the playback.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lee Mergner is JazzTimes‘ Contributing Editor. Between 1990 and 2018, he served the magazine in a multitude of roles, including Editor and Publisher.
Drummer Willie Jones III on his music education and development
In this video interview done during the 2014 Jazz Cruise, drummer Willie Jones III talks about his early musical development and education, as well as about his important teachers and mentors. Jones, who grew up in a musical family in Los Angeles, was particularly influenced by Billy Higgins whose World Stage performing arts center became a significant inspiration for the young drummer. Jones also discusses coming to New York City. Jones performed on the cruise with Cedar Walton's group (bassist David Williams and saxophonist Dmitri Baevsky) with Benny Green substituting for Walton on piano.
This interview is part of the In Person series of videos for JazzTimes magazine and was done by Lee Mergner, with video production by Melissa Mergner.
Drummer Willie Jones III on his record label and his tribute to Max Roach
My Point is ... is drummer Willie Jones III’s most recent long-playing album. (Photo: Anna Yatskevich)
It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to complete the elliptical title of Willie Jones III’s new album, My Point is… (WJ3), on which the 49-year-old drummer helms a quintet with tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, pianist Eric Reed and bassist Buster Williams.
“The common ground for these musicians is that they all love to play in a style that some would call hard-bop or straightahead—what I’d call real jazz,” Jones said of his bandmates over breakfast near his home in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood in late September. Bolstered by a four-night run at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola before entering the studio, the players navigate the eight-piece program with abundant energy and a fresh approach. A similar descriptor fits Jones’ five previous albums on his imprint label, WJ3, and another 11 releases on the label, including works by Reed, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, and alto saxophonist Justin Robinson, as well as guitarist Jacques Lesure and veteran bassist Henry Franklin. (The latter two, like Jones, are natives of Los Angeles.)
“Real jazz to me has the rhythmic feel of swinging,” Jones said. “You can improvise, but change the rhythm base, and the style is different. It’s great if blues is in it, but there doesn’t necessarily have to be. The groove basis for jazz is the ride cymbal. If I want to play r&b or funk, then the emphasis will be on the backbeat with the snare drum and hi-hat. I can do that. I grew up loving Donny Hathaway, Earth, Wind & Fire, Roberta Flack. I’m the generation of hip-hop. I love black music. But I’m all about that spang-a-lang on the ride cymbal. I’m all about the finger-poppin’. That’s what I was raised in. I breathe it.”
Jones is best known for applying these aesthetics during a 1998–2006 stint with trumpeter Roy Hargrove’s quintet, and subsequent tenures as drummer-of-choice for the late piano masters Cedar Walton and Hank Jones.
These days he most frequently plays with guitarist Russell Malone’s quartet, with whom he performed on Sept. 22 at the uptown Manhattan club Smoke to promote the group’s third HighNote album, Time For The Dancers.
Jones seemed to barely move a muscle above his shoulders, propelling the flow with deep focus, impeccable time and a keen instinct for conjuring combinations of rhythm timbre most apropos to each environment. Throughout the set, he displayed a mastery of diverse feels: backbeat-to-swing on Mulgrew Miller’s “Soul-Leo”; medium swing on Walton’s “Rubber Man”; brush-stroked rubato on Jimmy Webb’s “By The Time I Get To Phoenix”; spare, crisp tippin’ on Malone’s blues-drenched “The Ballad Of Hank Crawford”; groove-rich tone-painting on Bobby Hutcherson’s “Little B’s Poem”; and, yes, high-octane spang-a-lang on Freddie Hubbard’s “Sweet Sue,” which climaxed with well-designed drum solo.
“Willie makes everything feel good,” Malone said during a subsequent phone conversation. “Some drummers can’t get through two bars of music without trying to do something cute and slick, but with Willie, the time and the groove is not an afterthought. He’s aware of each component of the song—the melody, the changes and the form. I like to incorporate different grooves into my things, and Willie does not turn up his nose at them. He knows exactly what to do. That’s why so many people want to utilize his skills.”
The qualities to which Malone referred pose certain complexities for Jones in balancing the various components that comprise his career matrix. As we spoke, he was anticipating his semimonthly two-day trip to Northwestern University, where he’s taught since 2010, to be followed by a European tour with an Eric Reed-led quartet featuring Italian tenor saxophonist Piero Odorici and bassist Dezron Douglas. He noted a recent New York engagement with Javon Jackson’s superb but intermittently convened Sax Appeal, with Gary Bartz, Donald Harrison, and Jimmy Heath, and cited gigs with Diane Schuur and Vincent Herring.
The release of My Point Is… was imminent, and he was preparing to drop new WJ3 releases by Reed and Moore.
“It’s a full schedule,” Jones said. “I’d like to transform into getting more gigs with my own band and play as a sideman with maybe one or two groups. I’d like it to be 50-50.”
Toward that end, Jones was trying to book his My Point Is… quintet, which he calls the WJ3 All-Stars, on the 2018 U.S. and European festival circuits. “It’s a difficult mountain to climb when you don’t have big-time management,” he said. “It’s stressful. But once I get the gig, getting [the band] together in one room or at the airport or to a recording session is no problem.”
Jones is anything but a bombastic player; a blindfolded fan could listen to My Point Is…several times without realizing the drummer is the leader.
“Willie doesn’t necessarily put himself out front on the bandstand, but he’s very much a leader in the sense that he hustles the gigs, pulls the guys together, handles the logistics, and does it with a sense of ease,” Moore said. “When he asked me to do a record [for WJ3], I agreed immediately. He gave me complete leeway with the music, but he was totally hands-on.”
Moore was referring to his new album, Three Score, which is an intense quartet recital with Reed, Jones and bassist Gerald Cannon. It’s the saxophonist’s first leader album since 1993, a few years before he heard Jones for the first time. The event was a Sunday cocktail hour gig that Moore held with fellow Tonight Show band members Robert Hurst and Marvin “Smitty” Smith at a bar in Inglewood called the Main Event. “When Smitty couldn’t make it, Willie was the first call,” Moore said. “He never said a word—just set up his drums, took care of business, and left. A few years later, I went to Catalina’s Bar and Grill [in Los Angeles] and he was there with Roy Hargrove. He’d moved to New York. When a musician moves to New York, he or she gets some kind of edge, an awareness about the music that they didn’t have before. Willie definitely had it.”
Before relocating to New York in 1997, Jones had accumulated a formidable c.v. as a working L.A. musician—consequential touring with Arturo Sandoval; weekly sinecures at local boîtes; gigs with West Coast heroes like Teddy Edwards, Billy Childs and Kei Akagi; and albums for Sony and Impulse! with Black Note, a collective combo with bassist Marcus Shelby, trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos and alto saxophonist James Mahone. He met them at the World Stage, the workshop-performing space that poet Kamau Daáood and drummer Billy Higgins co-founded in Leimert Park in 1989.
“Billy was always in my ear,” Jones said. “He told me from the beginning, ‘What you’re doing here is ne, but you want to go to New York. Don’t get too comfortable.’ He also was the first one who put the bug in my ear about having a label. He always talked about Strata-East [the label founded by Charles Tolliver and Stanley Cowell in 1971]. I never studied with him officially, but I’d watch him practice at midnight. That’s the best drum lesson you can get.”
During these years, Jones was taking official lessons with Albert “Tootie” Heath at California Institute of the Arts. “I knew I wanted to be a jazz musician as early as 7,” Jones recalled. “But at CalArts they hipped me what to listen for, what I needed to do and how to go about it. I had technique at that point. Tootie didn’t need to teach me paradiddles. He was always like, ‘Let me hear you play.’ Back then, the concept of phrasing wasn’t in my vocabulary. It was like one stream of consciousness. Tootie said, ‘Man, that’s great, but you’ve got to say something. What are you trying to tell me?’
“Two years later, he got me on a three-week tour with Milt Jackson that he couldn’t make, and Milt Jackson said the same thing: ‘You want to play music; you don’t want to play drums.’ He also told me, ‘If I have to count while you’re soloing, then you’re not playing anything.’
So I tell my students: ‘I should just be able to listen to how you’re phrasing on the kit, and I should know where we are in the tune.’”
Jones inherited his jazz obsession from his namesake father, a pianist, composer and arranger who moved from Jacksonville to L.A. in 1961 at the instigation of his childhood friend Freddie Hill, a trumpeter whose credits include multiple appearances with Gerald Wilson during the 1960s. Six weeks after he’d arrived, père Jones became pianist and music director for The Platters, the popular vocal group. By 1968, when Jones was born, he was gigging locally and working as a vocal coach for entertainers, including Ann-Margaret.
“My father knew all the musicians,” Jones said. “I met Higgins when I was a kid, although I didn’t know who he was then. I got to know [drummer] Larance Marable and Henry Franklin very well, and I met Teddy Edwards, who I played with when I was older. My father loved all black music and was into gospel, but he was a bebopper at heart. I think he had his own voice—he loved Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and Wynton Kelly, but I don’t think he sounded like any of them. He was very thorough rhythmically and harmonically. He’d have rehearsals at the house, and I’d get all excited just watching the drummer set up the drums. Then I’d sit right next to the floor tom watching him play.”
“Willie’s father was sort of like the Detroit session cats who did all those Motown records,” Reed said. “His jazz playing was funky and jagged—it reminded me of [pianist] Elmo Hope.”
Reed’s November release, a hardcore jazz- meets-gospel quartet recital titled A Light In Darkness, is his fourth on WJ3. He and Jones first shared a bandstand circa 1985 on a gospel gig with Jones’ uncle by marriage, singer-preacher Eric Claybon. “Meeting Willie helped me fuse a lot of things I was trying to do in combining gospel and jazz music,” Reed said. “We’d both grown up on so many different types of music, including r&b and pop. We just wanted to play. He always played with taste. He loves to play time. Like Billy Higgins, he doesn’t talk a lot; he reminds me of Higgins because his swing has a West Coast swagger, with a looseness that isn’t lackadaisical and an edge that isn’t overwhelming.”
As Jones approaches age 50, he’ll follow his lodestar principle of “documenting my stage of development.” He continued, “If I’m around musicians writing originals, or if we’re playing standards, that’s what we’ll record.”
Jones mentioned his 2013 WJ3 release,Plays The Max Roach Songbook, capturing an event at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. “That concept was suggested to me as a show, then they recorded it and I decided to put it out,” Jones said. “But I didn’t sit down and think about doing a record dedicated to Max or Art Blakey or Billy Higgins—although I do have an idea for Billy. So many roads go through Higgins.”
A prime example of one such interstitial tributary was Jones’ tenure with Cedar Walton, who worked steadily with Higgins from the early ’70s until shortly before Higgins’ death in 2001. “Higgins would bring Cedar to his workshop,” Jones said. “Cedar taught us his songs, and listened to us play, critiqued us. I didn’t get close to him then, though once he called me for a couple of gigs. I knew his book the first time I played with him. After I moved to New York, he’d call me as a sub, and in 2008 I started playing with him all the time. Playing through Cedar’s songbook and his arrangements took my playing to an even more musical level.”
Having cultivated WJ3 to the point where it is self-sustaining, Jones plans to remain on the DIY pathway that Higgins advocated so assiduously. “It’s a self-investment,” Jones said. “I’m not making a profit, but I’m not losing any money. I’ve become more proficient at putting out each project. If a major label came along and said, “Not only will we put your project out, but we’ll send you on the road for a tour” or something like that—which we know isn’t going to happen ... . But under those circumstances, I would jump at the opportunity.”
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