"Philly" Joe Jones

 Born Joseph Rudolph Jones in the city of Philadelphia on July 15, 1923. 

Died August 30^th, 1985

Studied the drums with drummers the likes of Cozy Cole and Charles Wilcoxon, receiving valuable advise from Art Blakey and a then younger Max Roach. 

He established himself as "Philly Joe" Jones, from the name of the city of his birth, to distinguish himself from the mainstay Count Basies drummer, Jo Jones. But just as Jo Jones established the rhythm section standard in the 30s and 40s, Philly Joe would do the same in the 50s. 

The two major influences that have shaped Philly Joes career was his work with Tadd Dameron in the late 40s to 1953 and then with Miles Davis from 1952-58.

In 1962 there was a sharp decline in Jones career. He was ignored and almost forgotten. One reason was a drummer named Elvin Jones with John Coltranes quartet, who stole some of the limelight. Perhaps this the reason that Jones moved to England in 1968. There he made his mark as a teacher, tremendously improving the local talent. He eventually returned to the New York and west coast jazz scene, however lost from the forefront of it all. He did work regularly in his home town of Philadelphia. In 1977 he cut an LP for the Sonet label: Mean What You Say, an good eample of latter-day bebop.

Jones, in the 80s, formed Dameronia, a group dedicated to playing original recordings of Tadd Damerons music. This resulted in two Uptown label LPs in 82 and 84 which were well received by critics. However on August 30^th, 1985, his electrifying solos would be no more as he passed away of a heart attack in his home in "Philly."