Harold Jones (born February 27, 1940) is an American

traditional pop Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standard ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

drummer who is best known as the drummer for

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

and for his five years with the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

. In a career spanning six decades, Jones has toured and recorded with Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington,

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards ...

, Herbie Hancock,

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

and

. He has also played with major symphony orchestras, including those in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vienna.

Career

Born and raised in Richmond, Indiana, Jones's parents encouraged his childhood musical development. Already a skilled drummer by high school, his mother drove him to Indianapolis, Indiana, to perform with

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

, who left the stage with his band while Jones played a twenty-minute drum solo. He attended the

American Conservatory of Music The American Conservatory of Music (ACM) was a major American school of music founded in Chicago in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt (1851–1931). The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It developed the Conservator ...

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 The Playboy Club was initially a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room, and a Club ...

, he was invited to New York for what was intended to be a two-week engagement with

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

'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''. 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. After leaving the Basie band, Jones was much in demand. He toured with

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, then for ten years with Sarah Vaughan. He also toured and recorded with

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

, 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

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since the 1920s. The group had finished a tour of Latin America on behalf of

United States Cultural Exchange Programs United States cultural exchange programs, particularly those programs with ties to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the United States Department of State, seek to develop cultural understanding between United States citiz ...

. Jones has played at the White House five times. In 2004, Jones joined Tony Bennett as his drummer for recordings and touring. He stayed with him until Bennett retired in 2021. Still a touring drummer, Jones also teaches drumming at college workshops.

Personal life

Jones has lived for many years with his second wife Denise in Woodacre, California. 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. Jones's brother, Melvyn "Deacon" Jones, was a blues and soul organist.

Awards and accolades

In 2013 Jones was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame. In 1972 he won Best New Artist in the ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine critics' poll. Saxophonist and band leader Paul Winter called Jones "the personification off jazz." 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." Critic Jess Hamlin called Jones, "One of the best drummers in the business." Basie is said to have told drummer Louie Bellson that "Harold Jones was my favorite drummer." Jones is the subject of a biography published in 2011, ''Harold Jones: The Singer's Drummer''.

Discography

Unless otherwise noted, Information is based on Harold Jones' AllMusic web page With

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'' (RCA Records, 2000) With

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* ''Live at the 1990 Concord Jazz Festival Third Set'' (Concord Records, 1991) With

* Straight Ahead (Dot Records, 1968) With

* '' Duets: An American Classic'' (Columbia Records, 2006) * '' A Swingin' Christmas'' (Columbia, 2008) * '' Duets II'' (Columbia, 2011) With Elvin Bishop * ''The Blues Rolls On'' (Delta Groove, 2008) With

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* ''Sings Edith Piaf'' (R.B., 1999) * ''Dream a Little Dream'' (R.B., 2002) With

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* ''The Singer'' (Storyville, 1988) With

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* '' Miracle on 34th Street: Original Soundtrack Album'' (BMG, 1994) With

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* ''Basin Street Brass'' (Legend, 1973) With

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* '' 'Live and Well in Japan!'' (Pablo, 1978) With

* '' Unforgettable... with Love'' (Elektra Records, 1991) * '' Take a Look'' (Elektra Records, 1993) * '' Holly & Ivy'' (Elektra, 1994) * '' Stardust'' (Elektra Records, 1996) * '' Snowfall on the Sahara'' (Elektra Records, 1999) * '' Still Unforgettable'' (Atco, 2008) With

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* ''Such Sweet Sorrow'' (Atlantic Records, 1995) With

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and

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'' (Columbia Records, 2014) * '' Love for Sale'' (Columbia Records, 2021) With

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* '' Home for Christmas'' (A&M Records, 1992) With

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* ''João Gilberto and the Stylists of Bossa Nova Sing Antonio Carlos Jobim'' (Cherry Red, 2017) With

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* '' Playin' for Keeps'' (Cadet, 1966) With

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* '' Carnival'' (ABC Records, 1977) With Eddie Harris Jazz Band * '' The Exodus to Jazz'' (Vee-Jay, 1961) * '' Mighty Like a Rose'' (Vee-Jay, 1961) * ''

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'' (Vee-Jay, 1962) With

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* ''Black and Blue'' (Concord Records, 1991) * ''World Tour 1990'' (Concord Records, 1991) With

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* ''Deep in the Night'' (View Video, 2009) With

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& Sammy Nestico Orchestra * ''Basie and Beyond'' (Warner Bros. Records, 2000) With

* '' Live at the Apollo'' (GRP, 1991) With

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* ''Plays the Benny Carter Songbook'' (Concord Records, 1990) * ''Silent Pool'' (Concord Records, 1997) With Walter Norris Trio * ''Lush Life'' (Concord Records, 1991) With

* '' Soul Español'' (Limelight, 1966) With

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'' (Bad Boy Latino, 2006) * ''

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'' (Bad Boy Latino, 2007) With

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* ''Pure Schuur'' (GRP, 1991) With

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* ''

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'' (Blue Note Records, 1973) With Andy Simpkins Quintet * ''Calamba'' (Discovery, 1989) With

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* '' Christmastime'' (Reunion, 1998) With Thomas Talbert * ''Louisiana Suite'' (Sea Breeze, 1977) With Clark Terry * ''Reunion'' (D'Note Classics, 1995) With John Travolta and

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* '' This Christmas'' (UME, 2012) With Sarah Vaughan * '' Crazy and Mixed Up'' (Pablo, 1982) With Sarah Vaughan and Los Angeles Philharmonic * ''

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'' (Columbia Records, 1982) With Larry Vuckovich and

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* ''Reunion'' (Tetrachord, 2004) With

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'' (Chrysalis Records, 2001) With Paul Winter Sextet * ''Jazz Meets the Bossa Nova'' (Columbia Records, 1962) With

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* '' Spanish Angel'' (Living Music, 1993) With

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* '' Lioness: Hidden Treasures'' (Island, 2011)

References

External links

Official site

Harold Jones: Count Basie and Beyond…
''Drummer's Resource'', podcast, Nick Ruffini, April 7, 2014.
Oral Histories: Harold Jones
National Association of Music Merchants Foundation, July 30, 2010.
Drummer Harold Jones Performs at White House Concert
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. November 19, 1962.

Drummerworld Top 500 Drummers. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Harold 1940 births Living people Musicians from Richmond, Indiana American jazz drummers Count Basie Orchestra members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers American male jazz musicians