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American drummer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harold Jones (born February 27, 1940) is an American traditional pop and jazz drummer[1][2] who is best known as the drummer for Tony Bennett and for his five years with the Count Basie Orchestra.[3]
Harold Jones | |
|---|---|
 Performing at the White House in 1962 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | February 27, 1940 Richmond, Indiana, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, traditional pop, swing |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1950s–present |
In a career spanning six decades, Jones has toured and recorded with Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, B.B. King, Ray Charles and Tony Bennett. He has also played with major symphony orchestras, including those in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vienna.
Born and raised in Richmond, Indiana, Jones's parents encouraged his childhood musical development.[3] Already a skilled drummer by high school, his mother drove him to Indianapolis, Indiana, to perform with Wes Montgomery, who left the stage with his band while Jones played a twenty-minute drum solo.[4]
He attended the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago on a scholarship, then took work where he could find it, including theaters and night clubs. In 1967, while house drummer at the Chicago Playboy Club, he was invited to New York for what was intended to be a two-week engagement with Count Basie's orchestra but which lasted five years. Jones played on fifteen albums with Basie. He also appears in a scene featuring the Basie band in the movie Blazing Saddles.[5][6]
Jones says he was an avid student of other drummers, but he was especially influenced by one of Basie's drummers. "I am proud to say that I took everything that I could from Sonny Payne," he told an interviewer.[7]
After leaving the Basie band, Jones was much in demand. He toured with Ella Fitzgerald, then for ten years with Sarah Vaughan. He also toured and recorded with Natalie Cole, including on her album Unforgettable... with Love. In 1962, he was a member of the Paul Winter Sextet, the first jazz group to play at the White House since the 1920s.[8][9][10] The group had finished a tour of Latin America on behalf of United States Cultural Exchange Programs.[11] Jones has played at the White House five times.[3] In 2004, Jones joined Tony Bennett as his drummer for recordings and touring. He stayed with him until Bennett retired in 2021.[12] Still a touring drummer, Jones also teaches drumming at college workshops.
Jones has lived for many years with his second wife Denise in Woodacre, California.[5] The pair married June 9, 1983, and they have a son. Jones married his first wife, Paulette, in 1961. During their ten-year marriage they had a son and a daughter: Jay and Joy.[13]
Jones's brother, Melvyn "Deacon" Jones, was a blues and soul organist.[14]
In 2013 Jones was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame. In 1972 he won Best New Artist in the Down Beat magazine critics' poll. Saxophonist and band leader Paul Winter called Jones "the personification of jazz."[15] Music critic Bruce H. Klauber has written that, "Jones is the quintessential big-band drummer with a crisp, clean sound notable for the high-pitched snare drum crack."[1] Critic Jess Hamlin called Jones, "One of the best drummers in the business."[5] Basie is said to have told drummer Louie Bellson that "Harold Jones was my favorite drummer."[13]
Jones is the subject of a biography published in 2011, Harold Jones: The Singer's Drummer.
Unless otherwise noted, Information is based on Harold Jones' AllMusic web page[16]
With Christina Aguilera
With Ernestine Anderson
With Count Basie
With Tony Bennett
With Elvin Bishop
With Raquel Bitton
With Richard Boone
With Bruce Broughton
With Red Callender
With Judy Carmichael
With Benny Carter
With Natalie Cole
With Michael Feinstein
With Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett
With João Gilberto
With Amy Grant
With Bunky Green
With John Handy
With Gene Harris
With Linda Hopkins
With Quincy Jones & Sammy Nestico Orchestra
With Marian McPartland
With Walter Norris Trio
With Oscar Peterson
With Pitbull
With Diane Schuur
With Michael W. Smith
With Thomas Talbert
With Clark Terry
With John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
With Sarah Vaughan
With Sarah Vaughan and Los Angeles Philharmonic
With Larry Vuckovich and Jon Hendricks
With Robbie Williams
With Paul Winter Sextet
With Paul Winter Consort
With Amy Winehouse
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