Rusty Jones (musician)

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Rusty Jones
Background information
Birth name Isham Russell Jones II
Born (1942-04-13) April 13, 1942
Origin Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
Genres Jazz
Occupations Musician
Instruments drums
Years active 1955 onwards
Associated acts

George Shearing Marian McPartland

Stéphane Grappelli

Isham Russell Jones II (born April 13, 1942), better known as Rusty Jones, is an American jazz drummer who is Chicago-based. Jones' father was a saxophonist and his mother a vocalist (appearing under the name of Gretchen Lee) with most of their gigs being in and around the Chicago area. His mother was working at the Bismark Hotel in 1936 when the two were wed. Other musicians in Jones' family were his grandfather, a trombonist/bandleader named Frank Jones, who worked in the Saginaw and Detroit area and Jones' mother's brother, Dean Herrick, an early artist on the Hammond organ.[1]

The most famous of these family musicians was Jones' great uncle, Isham Jones who became a renowned American bandleader/songwriter beginning with the 1920s and ending in 1936 when he initially retired. He wrote popular songs of the era such as, "It Had To Be You (song)", "I'll See You In My Dreams", "The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else", "Swingin' Down The Lane", "On The Alamo", "There Is No Greater Love", "We're In The Army Now" and several others.[1][2]

Jones began playing drums at the age of thirteen and continued on throughout his college years, choosing traditional and modern jazz as his preferred mode of music. He went "on the road" after graduating college in 1965 from the University of Iowa with a degree in history and political science, to "get it out of his system", but he never stopped his pursuit of a musical vocation. He moved to the Chicago area in 1967.[1]

Jones appeared with Chicago musician Judy Roberts from 1968 to 1972, soon after becoming a member of George Shearing's trio from 1972 to 1978. Later years he accompanied pianist Marian McPartland for a few years and then freelanced throughout Chicago with several bands, touring the United States and Europe. He has worked quite a bit with Adam Makowicz, Larry Novak, Danny Long, Patricia Barber, Johnny Gabor, Jim Beebe, Charlie Hooks, Frank D'Rone, Art Hodes, Mark Pompe, Frank Portolese, Ron Surace, Ira Sullivan, J.R. Monterose, Stéphane Grappelli and Curt Warren.[1]

Jones has done short gigs with Buddy DeFranco, Art Van Damme, Kai Winding, Curtis Fuller, Lee Konitz, Chuck Hedges, Bill Davison ("Wild Bill"), Anita O'Day, Mark Murphy, Flip Phillips, Sylvia Symms, Morgan King, Red Holloway, Eddie Higgins, Ike Cole, Clifford Jordan, Bill Porter, Polly Podewell, Jim Clark, Franz Jackson, Bobby Enriquez, Monty Alexander, and Catherine Whitney among many others. He has made several recordings (about 43 sessions between 1958 and 2004) with many of these previously mentioned musicians.[3] Currently, Jones appears quite regularly around the Chicago area with the Johnny Gabor Trio featuring vocalist Connie Marshall.

Discography

Official website

http://www.chicagojazz.com/musician.php?artist=rustyjones&muid=159 The performer's website @ ChicagoJazz.com

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Publication: Illiana Club of Traditional Jazz Article: Information from interview with Rusty Jones conducted by webmaster Glen Bailia Date: July 4th 2001 Website: http://www.illianajazz.com/
  2. ↑ Website: http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/discog_song_list.asp?exhibitId=295
  3. ↑ Website: http://www.lordisco.com/musicians/J8.html
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