Chris Jones (November 11, 1958 – September 13, 2005) was an American singer and guitarist who worked mainly in Europe, having moved to Germany after he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He often recorded with the German audiophile label

Stockfisch Records Stockfisch Records is a German independent record label, aimed at audiophile fans of guitar-oriented singer-songwriter music and was formed in 1974 by Günter Pauler. Based in Germany, the main focus is European artists, but there are also Ame ...

Biography

Christopher Paul Jones was born in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

. At the age of five, he began playing the guitar. A few years later, he decided to become a professional musician, and when he was 11 years old, he was admitted to a program at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. There he discovered

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

, to whom he dedicated his student composition "Sonata in D", and for which Jones was awarded the conservatory's "Young Composer of the Year" award. Shortly thereafter, he discovered the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and started listening to

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

, and

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George, bassist Roy Estrada (both formerly of the Mothers of Invention), keyboardist Bill Payne, and drummer Richie Hayward in ...

. In 1976, Jones joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Adenine's, Germany. During this time, the foundation for his musical career in Europe was laid. Over the following decades, he played guitar on albums of artists such as Sara K., Allan Taylor, and

Reinhard Mey Reinhard Friedrich Michael Mey (born 21 December 1942) is a German ''Liedermacher'' (, a German-style singer-songwriter). In France he is known as ''Frédérik Mey''. By 2009, Mey had released 27 German albums, and generally releases a new al ...

. He toured and recorded solo and with the blues

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

musician Steve Baker. In August 2005, Jones was diagnosed with

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...

in an advanced stage. He died on September 13, 2005, in

Northeim Northeim (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the Northeim (district), district of Northeim, with a population of 30,118 as of 31 December 2023. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in ...

, Germany. Many friends and other musicians helped him, either personally or by staging charity concerts to help with his expenses.

Music

Jones' repertoire encompassed various musical styles, among them

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

, much of which was published on Stockfisch Records label.

Selected discography

Solo

* 1983 ''No Looking Back'' * 1995 ''The Dreaming Pool'' * 1998 ''Free Man - StrictlyCountryRecords.com '' * 2000 ''Moonstruck'' * 2003 ''Roadhouses and Automobiles''

with Steve Baker

* 1995 ''Slow Roll'' * 1996 ''Everybody's Crying Mercy'' * 2003 ''Smoke and Noise'' * 2005 ''Gotta Look Up''

with Kieran Halpin

* 1995 ''Glory Dayz'' * 2002 ''Moving Air'' * 2002 ''Back Smiling Again'' * 2004 ''The Roundtower Sessions'' * 2005 ''A Box of Words and Tunes'' * 2024 ''Live in Holland - Part I'' - StrictlyCountryRecords.com * 2024 ''Live in Holland - Part II'' - StrictlyCountryRecords.com

with Liz Meyer

* 2019 ''Blue Lonesome Wind'' - StrictlyCountryRecords.com

with Reinhard Mey

* 2002 ''Rüm Hart'' * 2004 ''Nanga Parbat''

with Sara K.

* 2002 ''Waterfalls'' * 2002 ''Live in Concert: Are We There Yet?'' * 2006 ''Hell or High Water''

with Steve Strauss

*2005 ''Just Like Love''

Early works (with various musicians)

* 1979 ''Friends and Charlie'' * 1980 ''Night Shift'' * 1980 ''Getting Your Own Back'' * 1993 ''Mr. Bluesman'' (

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

)

References

External links

Memorial page of the "bluenote eV"
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Chris 1958 births 2005 deaths Deaths from lymphoma in Germany Deaths from Hodgkin lymphoma 20th-century American classical composers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Songwriters from Nevada American expatriates in Germany Musicians from Reno, Nevada American male classical composers 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Nevada 20th-century American male musicians Stockfisch Records artists American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters