Chris Jones is an American bluegrass singer, guitarist, songwriter, and broadcaster, singing in a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

voice. He fronts the Night Drivers.

Biography

Jones started out in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, where his mother was a singer and actress. His uncle played Scruggs-style and clawhammer banjo. But Jones's interest in bluegrass was sparked when he lived in Albuquerque with his father and stepmother, who listened to country and bluegrass. Jones took up guitar at age 12 or 13. When Jones was age 18 and back in New York, he joined Horse Country as lead singer and guitarist, led by banjoist Bob Mavian. After four years with Chicago's

the Special Consensus The Special Consensus is an acoustic bluegrass group led by banjoist Greg Cahill.http://specialc.com Biography History In 1973, graduate student Cahill jammed with other bluegrass musicians at the University of Chicago Folk Festival. They began ...

, Jones played with Whetstone Run, the

Lynn Morris Lynn Morris (1954–2017) was a Christian fiction author. She was the daughter of Gilbert Morris and co-wrote with him on most of her books. Books by Lynn Morris Cheney Duvall, M.D. Series This series was co-written with her father, Gil ...

Band, the McCarters, and Dave Evans. Jones moved to Nashville in 1989 as a member of the band Weary Hearts, which included Ron Block,

Mike Bub The Del McCoury Band is a Grammy award-winning American bluegrass band. History Originally the band was called Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals with Del on guitar and his brother Jerry on bass. The band went through a number of changes in personn ...

, and the late

Butch Baldassari Jerome Henry "Butch" Baldassari (December 11, 1952 – January 10, 2009) was an American mandolinist, recording artist, composer, and music teacher. Biography Early life Baldassari played guitar in rock bands as a teen with his brother Buster, b ...

. He formed Chris Jones & The Night Drivers in 1995, and they've been recording and touring ever since. Current members are Jones, Marshall Wilborn (bass), Mark Stoffel (mandolin), and Grace Van't Hof (banjo). Jones has performed with the Chieftains, Vassar Clements, Tom T. Hall, and Earl Scruggs.

Writing and broadcasting

Jones writes a weekly column for the website Bluegrass Today. Jones has been a broadcaster for SiriusXM's

Bluegrass Junction Bluegrass Junction is a bluegrass music channel on Sirius XM Radio. It is billed as "America's Bluegrass Home", and primarily airs complete versions of music from many bluegrass artists. Some of those are Bill Monroe, Seldom Scene, Flatt & Scr ...

for more than 15 years. He also hosts the classic bluegrass show "Truegrass." Ned Luberecki and Jon Weisberger are also broadcasters. He has also appeared in the PBS series "The Appalachians" as a both a performer and commentator.

Songwriting

Jones's compositions have been recorded by the Gibson Brothers, the Infamous Stringdusters, the Chapmans, and Lou Reid.

Awards

International Bluegrass Music Association The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music. Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International ...

(IBMA) awards received: * 2005: Album Of The Year (for his role in the

Larry Sparks Larry Sparks (born September 25, 1947) is an American Bluegrass singer and guitarist. He was the winner of the 2004 and 2005 International Bluegrass Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year Award. 2005, won IBMA for Album of the Year and Re ...

album ''40'') * 2007: Song Of The Year (co-writer of "Fork In The Road" by the

Infamous Stringdusters The Infamous Stringdusters are a progressive acoustic/bluegrass band. The band first emerged in 2006 with the limited release of a five-song extended play CD ''The Infamous Stringdusters,'' followed in 2007 by their first album ''Fork in the Road ...

) * 2007: Broadcaster Of The Year * 2014 Print Media Person Of The Year for his writing at Bluegrass Today * 2014: Best Graphic Design for ''Lonely Comes Easy'' (with designer Lou Everhart and Rebel Records) * 2014: Broadcaster Of The Year

Personal life

Jones and his wife Sally Jones live in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Discography

Solo albums

* 1995: ''Blinded by the Rose'' (Strictly Country) * 1998: ''Follow Your Heart'' (

Rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; s ...

) * 2000: ''Just A Drifter'' (Rebel) * 2006: ''Too Far Down the Road'' (Little Dog)

Compilations

* 2002: ''A Few Words: The Best Of The Originals'' (Rebel)

Chris Jones & The Night Drivers

* 1997: ''No One But You'' (Rebel) * 2009: ''Cloud of Dust'' (GSM) * 2013: ''Lonely Comes Easy'' (Rebel) * 2014: ''Live At The Old Feed Store'' (GSM) * 2015: ''Run Away Tonight'' ( Mountain Home) * 2017: ''Made To Move'' (Mountain Home)

As a member of
The Special Consensus The Special Consensus is an acoustic bluegrass group led by banjoist Greg Cahill.http://specialc.com Biography History In 1973, graduate student Cahill jammed with other bluegrass musicians at the University of Chicago Folk Festival. They began ...

* 1983: ''Blue Northerns'' (Acoustic Revival)

As a member of Weary Hearts

* 1989: ''By Heart'' ( Flying Fish)

Also appears on

* 1980: Tom MacKenzie – ''Finally Tuned'' (Rooster) * 1995: Cornerstone – ''Lonesome Town'' (Folk Era) – vocals * 1995:

– ''Mama's Hand'' (

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

) – guitar * 2005:

– ''40'' (Rebel) – vocals on track 14, "It's Too Late To Walk The Floor" * 2008:

Sierra Hull Sierra Dawn Hull (born September 27, 1991) is an American bluegrass singer-songwriter, mandolinist, and guitarist. Hull was signed to Rounder Records at the age of 13 and released her debut vocal album, ''Secrets'', in 2008 at the age of 16. ...

– ''Secrets'' (Rounder) – vocals on track 11, "Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder" * 2010: Special Consensus – ''35'' (

Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

) * 2012: Special Consensus – ''Scratch Gravel Road'' (Compass) * 2016: Kristin Scott Benson – ''Stringworks'' (Mountain Home) – vocals

Music instruction

* 1993: ''The Traditional Bluegrass Songbook'' book, CD (Musicians Workshop) * 1999: ''The Bluegrass Wordbook with Chris Jones'' book, CD (Musicians Workshop) * 2002: ''The Art of Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar with Chris Jones'' DVD (Musicians Workshop) * 2003: ''Learn the Art of Bluegrass Guitar'' streaming video (Musicians Workshop) * 2004: ''Bluegrass Guitar Solos with Chris Jones'' DVD (Musicians Workshop)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Chris Living people American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists Year of birth missing (living people) American bluegrass musicians American country singer-songwriters Country musicians from New York (state) American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from New York (state)