Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American

jazz drummer Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques an ...

Biography

Early career

As a child, Jones appeared as a featured

tap dance Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

r on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio station WIP. He was in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1947 he became the house drummer at

Café Society Café society was the description of the "Beautiful People" and " Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafés and restaurants in New York, Paris and London beginning in the late 19th century. Maury Henry Biddle Paul is credited wi ...

in New York City, where he played with the leading

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

players of the day, including

Tadd Dameron Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dameron was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote charts for swi ...

. From 1955 to 1958, Jones toured and recorded with the Miles Davis Quintet – a band that became known as "the Quintet" (along with

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

on piano,

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

on sax, and

Paul Chambers Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. (April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969) was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop er ...

on bass). Davis acknowledged that Jones was his favorite drummer, and stated in his autobiography that he would always listen for Jones in other drummers. From 1958, Jones worked as a leader, but continued to work as a sideman with other musicians, including

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

and

Hank Mobley Henry Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neithe ...

. Evans, like Davis, also openly stated that Jones was his all-time favorite drummer.

Europe

Between late 1967 and 1972 Jones lived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, performing and recording with musicians including

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

and Hank Mobley. For two years (1967–1969) Jones taught at a specially organized school in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, London, but was prevented from otherwise working in the UK by the Musicians' Union. His 1968 album ''Mo' Joe'' (also released as ''Trailways Express'') was recorded in London with local musicians (including Peter King,

Harold McNair Harold McNair (5 November 1931 – 7 March 1971) was a Jamaican-born saxophonist and flautist. Early life McNair was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He attended the Alpha Boys School under the tutelage of Vincent Tulloch, while playing with Joe ...

, Chris Pyne,

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, Order of Canada, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he w ...

and others)."Philly Joe Jones: Mo' Joe – Credits"
AllMusic.

Later years

Jones toured with Bill Evans in 1976 and 1978, recorded for

Galaxy A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...

in 1977–1979, and made studio and live recordings with Red Garland in 1977. In 1981, Jones helped to found the group Dameronia, dedicated to the music of the composer

, and led it until Jones' death from a heart attack in 1985.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

With

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

* '' Chet Baker in New York'' (Riverside, 1959) – rec. 1958 * '' Chet Baker Introduces Johnny Pace'' with Johnny Pace (Riverside, 1959) – rec. 1958 With

Sonny Clark Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom. Early life Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town east of P ...

* '' Cool Struttin''' (Blue Note, 1958) * '' Sonny Clark Trio'' (Blue Note, 1958) – rec. 1957 With

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

* '' The Musings of Miles'' (

Prestige Prestige may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films *Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband *The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...

, 1955) * '' Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet'' (Prestige, 1956) * '' Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet'' (Prestige, 1956) * '' Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet'' (Prestige, 1956) * '' Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet'' (Prestige, 1956) * '' Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet'' (Prestige, 1956) * ''

'Round About Midnight ''Round About Midnight'' is a studio album by the jazz trumpeter and composer Miles Davis with his quintet. It was released through Columbia Records in March 1957, and is Davis's first record on the label. The recording took place at Columbia's ...

'' (Columbia, 1957) * ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...

'' (Columbia, 1958) * ''

Milestones A milestone is a marker of distance along roads. Milestone may also refer to: Measurements *Milestone (project management), metaphorically, markers of reaching an identifiable stage in any task or the project *Software release life cycle state, s ...

'' (Columbia, 1958) With

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born on August 28, 1928, in New York City, United States, and he received piano lessons from the age of five. Feather, ...

* '' Kenny Drew Trio'' (Riverside, 1956) * '' Pal Joey'' (Riverside, 1958) – rec. 1957 With

* 1958: '' Everybody Digs Bill Evans'' (Riverside, 1959) * 1959: '' On Green Dolphin Street'' (Milestone, 1995) * 1962: '' Interplay'' (Riverside, 1963) * 1962: '' Loose Blues'' (Milestone, 1977) * 1967: '' California Here I Come'' (Verve, 1982) * 1976: '' Quintessence'' (Fantasy, 1977) With

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doub ...

* ''

Art Farmer Quintet featuring Gigi Gryce ''Art Farmer Quintet featuring Gigi Gryce'' (also released as ''Evening in Casablanca'') is an album by trumpeter Art Farmer's Quintet featuring saxophonist Gigi Gryce. It was recorded in 1955 and released on the Prestige label.Brass Shout'' (United Artists, 1959) With

* '' Red's Good Groove'' (Jazzland, 1962) * '' Keystones!'' (Xanadu, 1977) * '' Crossings'' (Galaxy, 1978) With

Benny Golson Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a p ...

* '' The Other Side of Benny Golson'' (Riverside, 1958) * '' Benny Golson and the Philadelphians'' (United Artists, 1958) With

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

* '' Dexter Calling...'' (Blue Note, 1961) * ''

Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

'' (Blue Note, 1980) – rec. 1961-1962 With Ernie Henry * '' Seven Standards and a Blues'' (Riverside, 1957) * '' Last Chorus'' (Riverside, 1956–1957) With Elmo Hope * '' The Elmo Hope Trio'' (Blue Note, 1953) * '' Here's Hope!'' (Celebrity, 1961) * '' High Hope!'' (Beacon, 1961) * '' Homecoming!'' (Riverside, 1961) * '' Sounds from Rikers Island'' (Audio Fidelity, 1963) * '' The Final Sessions'' (

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

, 1996) – rec. 1966 With

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

* '' Goin' Up'' (Blue Note, 1960) * '' Hub Cap'' (Blue Note, 1961) * '' Here to Stay'' (Blue Note, 1962) With

Bobby Hutcherson Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note Records, Blue Note album ''Components (album), Components'', is one of his best-known composi ...

* '' Four Seasons'' (Timeless, 1985) – rec. 1983 * '' Good Bait'' (Landmark, 1985) – rec. 1984 With

Duke Jordan Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (April 1, 1922 – August 8, 2006) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Jordan was born in New York and raised in Brooklyn where he attended Boys High School. An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regul ...

* '' Duke's Artistry'' ( SteepleChase, 1978) * '' The Great Session'' (SteepleChase, 1981) – rec. 1978 With

Abbey Lincoln Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist and songwriter. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of delivering dee ...

* '' It's Magic'' (Riverside, 1958) * '' Abbey Is Blue'' (Riverside, 1959) With

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz Flute, flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet ...

*'' Salute to the Flute'' (Epic, 1957) *'' Herbie Mann's African Suite'' (United Artists, 1959) With

Howard McGhee Howard McGhee (March 6, 1918 – July 17, 1987) was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger bebo ...

* ''

The Return of Howard McGhee ''The Return of Howard McGhee'' is an album by trumpeter Howard McGhee which was recorded in 1955 and released on the Bethlehem label.

'' (

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

, 1956) – rec. 1955. reissued as ''That Bop Thing'' (Bethlehem, 1978) With Blue Mitchell * '' Big 6'' (Riverside, 1958) * '' Smooth as the Wind'' (Riverside, 1961) – rec. 1960-1961 With

* 1957: '' Hank'' (Blue Note, 1957) * 1957: '' Poppin''' (Blue Note, 1980) * 1961: '' Workout'' (Blue Note, 1962) * 1961: '' Another Workout'' (Blue Note, 1985) * 1963: '' No Room for Squares'' (Blue Note, 1964) With Phineas Newborn Jr. * '' Phineas' Rainbow'' (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

, 1956) * '' A World of Piano!'' (Contemporary, 1961) With

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

* '' Tenor Madness'' (Prestige, 1956) * ''

Newk's Time ''Newk's Time'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins recorded on September 22, 1957 and released on Blue Note in 1959—his third album for the label. Recording The album was recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey, o ...

'' (Blue Note, 1957) With

* '' Blasé'' (BYG Actuel, 1969) * '' Archie Shepp & Philly Joe Jones'' (America, 1969) With

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

* '' Serenade to a Bus Seat'' (Riverside, 1957) * '' In Orbit'' (Riverside, 1958) With others * Chris Anderson, '' Inverted Image'' (Jazzland, 1961) * Evans Bradshaw, '' Look Out for Evans Bradshaw!'' (Riverside, 1958) *

Clifford Brown Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Sprin ...

, '' Memorial Album'' (Blue Note, 1953) *

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

, ''

Ellington Is Forever Volume Two ''Ellington Is Forever Volume Two'' is an album by guitarist Kenny Burrell featuring compositions associated with Duke Ellington recorded in 1975 and released on the Fantasy Records label.Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

, 1975) * Joe Castro, ''Mood Jazz'' (Atlantic, 1957) *

Serge Chaloff Serge Chaloff (November 24, 1923 – July 16, 1957) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist. One of bebop's earliest baritone saxophonists, Chaloff has been described as 'the most expressive and openly emotive baritone saxophonist jazz has eve ...

, '' Blue Serge'' (Capitol, 1956) *

, '' Go'' (Vee-Jay, 1959) *

, '' Blue Train'' (Blue Note, 1958) *

Bennie Green Bennie Green (April 16, 1923 – March 23, 1977) was an American jazz trombonist. Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Green worked in the orchestras of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, and recorded as bandleader through the 1950s and ...

, '' Bennie Green with Art Farmer'' with Art Farmer (Prestige, 1956) *

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

, '' Way Out!'' (Riverside, 1959) *

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

and

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

, '' Bags Meets Wes!'' (Riverside, 1962) *

Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player and composer. Originally from Chicago, Jordan later moved to New York City, where he recorded extensively in addition to touring across ...

, '' The Rotterdam Session'' (Audio Daddio, 1985) *

Warne Marsh Warne Marion Marsh (October 26, 1927 – December 18, 1987) was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as ...

, ''

'' (Atlantic, 1958) * Yoshiaki Miyanoue, ''Song for Wes'' ( King Records, 1979) * J. R. Monterose, '' J. R. Monterose'' (Blue Note, 1956) *

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American jazz musician, most known as an alto saxophonist. He occasionally performed and recorded on tenor saxophone, clarinet (his first instrument) and bass clarinet. Active ...

, '' Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section'' (Contemporary, 1957) *

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. A pioneer in the development of bebop and its associated contributions to jazz theory,Grove Powell's application of complex phrasing to ...

, '' Time Waits'' (Blue Note, 1958) * Jimmy Smith, '' Softly as a Summer Breeze'' (Blue Note, 1958) *

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his era, recording over ...

, '' Sonny Stitt & the Top Brass'' (Atlantic, 1962) *

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...

, ''

Vocalese Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which words are added to an instrumental soloist's improvisation. Definition Vocalese uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos, as opposed to scat singing, which uses nonsen ...

'' (Atlantic, 1985) *

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

, '' Soulmates'' with

Joe Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...

(Riverside, 1963) * Jack Wilson, '' The Two Sides of Jack Wilson'' (Atlantic, 1964) *

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...

, '' Pairing Off'' (Prestige, 1956)

References

External links

Philly Joe Jones on Drummerworld.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Philly Joe 1923 births 1985 deaths African-American drummers American jazz drummers Bebop drummers Hard bop drummers Post-bop drummers Miles Davis Quintet members Jazz musicians from Philadelphia Riverside Records artists 20th-century American drummers American male drummers American male jazz musicians Dameronia members American expatriates in the United Kingdom American expatriates in France Black Lion Records artists Uptown Records (jazz) artists 20th-century American male musicians Modal jazz drummers DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members Drummers from Philadelphia