Randall Hodges Jones (January 23, 1944 – June 13, 2016) was a British-born American jazz drummer.

Biography

Born in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

, (now

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

), Jones was a versatile musician capable of driving a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

, but could also play quite well with smaller units. He started playing professionally when he was 16, touring

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

with an English

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

group. In between, he backed up rock and pop artists in television variety shows, while performing on stage or recording in studio. In 1969, Jones worked with

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often serv ...

, when Ferguson signed with CBS Records in England and formed a brawny horns and rhythm ensemble with British musicians that performed the then popular jazz/rock fusion style. During the six years that Jones spent with Ferguson, he performed on the classic album series '' M.F. Horn'' (1970), '' M.F. Horn Two'' (1972), '' M.F. Horn 3'' (1973), and '' M.F. Horn 4&5: Live At Jimmy's''.Discography
''AllMusic''. Retrieved on July 2, 2016. Jones moved to the United States in 1972 and based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He was soon recognized for his work with singing stars such as

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 bir ...

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

and Cleo Laine, as well as for noted instrumentalists like

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 ...

, Milt Jackson, Gerry Mulligan and Bill Watrous.Biography
''Drummer World''. Retrieved on July 2, 2016. In 1980, Jones was invited to join the

Dave Brubeck Quartet David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

- replacing drummer Charles J. Thorton "

Butch Miles Butch Miles (born Charles J. Thorton, Jr. on July 4, 1944) is an American jazz drummer. He has played with the Count Basie Orchestra, Dave Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne and Tony Bennett Career Miles, w ...

," Jr., beginning an association which lasted until the death of Brubeck in 2012. In this period, Jones toured with the quartet throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan, appearing with them on stage and numerous TV shows, while recording several albums for labels as Concord, EMI and

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

. In his private life, Jones was an avid collector of classical music records, and his drum solos reflected that interest dynamically, weaving intricate patterns in the Brubeck Quartet's complex time signatures.Obituary
''New York Times''. Retrieved on July 2, 2016. Some of his most significant records with the quartet includes '' Tritonis'' (1980), '' Paper Moon'' (1981), '' So What's New?'' (1998), '' The Crossing'' (2001), '' Park_Avenue_South'' (2003) and ''

London Flat, London Sharp ''London Flat, London Sharp'' is an album by Dave Brubeck. It was recorded in 2004 and contains quartet performances of new and previously recorded pieces, most of which were written by Brubeck. Recording and music The album was recorded in Janua ...

'' (2005), among others. Jones died in 2016 at the Calvary Hospital in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

at the age of 72, following heart failure.

Sources

External links

Randy Jones drum solos
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Randy 1944 births 2016 deaths English emigrants to the United States English jazz drummers British male drummers English rock drummers Musicians from New York City People from Slough British male jazz musicians Dave Brubeck Quartet members