Curtis Jones (pianist)
Curtis Jones | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Curtis Jones |
Born |
Naples, United States | August 18, 1906
Died |
September 11, 1971 65) Munich, Germany | (aged
Genres | Piano blues |
Occupation(s) | Pianist, singer |
Instruments | Piano, guitar |
Years active | Late 1930s–1971 |
Labels | Vocalion, Okeh, Bluebird, Parrot, Bluesville, Delmark, Decca, Blue Horizon[1] |
Curtis Jones (August 18, 1906 – September 11, 1971) was an American blues pianist.
Biography
Jones was born in Naples, Texas, United States, and played guitar whilst young but switched to piano after a move to Dallas. He often played guitar on one or two songs on his albums and at live performances.[2][2] In 1936 he relocated to Chicago, where he recorded between 1937 and 1941 on Vocalion, Bluebird, and OKeh. Among his best-known tunes from these recordings were the hit "Lonesome Bedroom Blues" and the song "Tin Pan Alley".[2] His "Decoration Blues" though unissued at the time, was recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson I in 1938. World War II interrupted his recording career, which he did not resume until 1953, when a single of his, "Wrong Blues"/"Cool Playing Blues", was released on Parrot, featuring L. C. McKinley on guitar.
Jones's first full-length album appeared in 1960 on Bluesville, by which time he had become a noted performer on the Chicago folk music scene.[2] A solo album was released in 1962, by which time Jones had moved to Europe. He lived there and in Morocco for the rest of his life.[2] He made further albums in the UK, including one in 1968 that featured Alexis Korner on guitar.[2]
One of Jones' songs, "Highway 51", was included on Bob Dylan's 1962 debut album, Bob Dylan.
Jones died of heart failure in Munich in 1971, at the age of 65.[3]
Discography
- Trouble Blues (Bluesville Records, 1960)
- Lonesome Bedroom Blues (Delmark Records, 1962)
- Americans in Europe Vol. 2 (Impulse!, 1963)
- In London (Decca, 1964)
- Now Resident in Europe (Blue Horizon, 1968)
- Blues and Trouble (Oldie Blues OL 2824, 1980)
References
- Footnotes
- ↑ Olderen, Martin van, Blues and Troubles, Linernotes OL 2824, 1980
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues – From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 128. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ↑ Doc Rock. "The 1970s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
- Sources
- Curtis Jones at Allmusic
- Harry Shapiro Alexis Korner: The Biography, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London 1997, Discography by Mark Troster, ISBN 0-7475-3163-3
- Olderen, Martin van, Blues and Troubles, Linernotes OL 2824, 1980