Remembrance of ELVIN JONES, 1927-2004

May 19, 2004

Remembrance of ELVIN JONES, 1927-2004

One of the greatest of the greats passed on yesterday after a long illness. He deserves a better tribute than I'd be able to offer, so I reached out to one of his peers, my good friend and stepfather Warren Smith, a top jazz drummer in his own right and founding member of Max Roach's M'Boom. Warren offers his memories of Elvin:

ELVIN JONES, this name should always be capitalized when referred to in musical contexts.
I first met ELVIN in Chicago in 1959 while on tour with the West Side Story. ELVIN was playing at a local club "the Blue Note" (Chicago had one too) with the trumpet star Harry Sweets Edison. I had come to hear the organist Jimmy Smith and his drummer Donald Bailey. ELVIN caught me completely off guard. And he sat and talked with me late into the night. When he moved to New York in the next year or so we had a chance to hang quite few times. We found that we shared many common values apart from music. He spoke of his love for his brothers as I did for mine, and our common love of music and various drummers. Max Roach was equally held in esteem by us both. Then ELVIN came to sub for Charli Persip in the orchestra of Johnny Richards while I was playing Tympani. I discovered that ELVIN JONES was an excellent sight reader as well as a brilliant player. Then came the famous stint with the John Coltrane Quartet and ELVIN JONES was elevated to his present stature in Musical History. At this point he became for me the most influential percussionist in African-American Music. Even the brilliance of TONY WILLIAMS, the excellence of ROY HAYNES and all the great percussionists who preceded him to stardom failed to dim the beacon of light that ELVIN cast upon the field throughout the rest of his life.

It was painful to all of us drummers to read of his suffering thru a debilitating illness in various e-mails, and rumors of his ultimate demise. We could sense the inevitability of this occurrence, as we shall enter such a phase in our own lives eventually. But we all love and respect and admire ELVIN JONES and the gift he presented to us over the last 45 years of this great music misnamed "Jazz". ELVIN JONES was, is a great American artist and we shall never forget that fact.

Respectfully,
Warren Smith

Just remember all caps when you spell the man's name...

Posted by jsmooth995 at May 19, 2004 07:26 PM

Comments

En Paz Descanse, Mr. JONES

Posted by: pexdiggy at May 19, 2004 07:33 PM

Another genius I regret not seeing when I had the chance(s).

Jack "Theresnoemotioninjustrhythm" White, don't you know ELVIN made the drums sing better than you ever will?

Posted by: ozu at May 19, 2004 08:00 PM

ELVIN was the reason why Jimi Hendrix' drummer Mitch Mitchell sounded so good.

ELVIN jammed with Jan Hammer on "On The Mountain" and created a masterpiece.

ELVIN JONES was unparalleled.

RIP ELVIN

Posted by: James at May 19, 2004 08:14 PM

Yes "On the Mountain" is a nice one..

Incidentally Warren played on Gil Evans' album where he did all the Hendrix covers.

Posted by: Jay Smooth at May 19, 2004 08:40 PM

wow, so sad. unparalleled.

Posted by: nash at May 19, 2004 09:28 PM

I am very sad to hear about the news of the dead of Elvin Jones. He made me sound the way I do on the drums. I still play the coltrane quartet records very often. I've seen him the last time in Amsterdam (where I live)playing with so much pleasure, you couldn't believe he has been playing for so many years.

I first met him backstage in 1980 (still got the autographe) and to my suprise he was very willing to tell me about the technical things on drums in answer of my questions about this.His feel for polyrhytmic playing can't be beaten in my oppinion.
Later I've seen him on a few occasions when he played in Europe.
I recall one beautiful thing he sad about his own compositions. Elvin Jones:"I wrote a few compositions my own, and we're gonna play one now" he said at the end of the concert. "I hope You'll like it, I like it very much, as a matter of fact: I think I'm the biggist fan i've got!!"

Beautiful!!!

His dead makes me very very sad.
Peter,

Posted by: Peter de Heer at May 21, 2004 05:53 AM

now you`re with John and Jimmy and
all the other greats 2gether again...
what a great session it will be...
goodbye elvin,
we will miss U...

Posted by: Dieter at May 21, 2004 11:17 AM

He was one of the greatest innovators ever to pick up a pair of drumsticks . The drumming world lost the picasso of drums .
'Elvin Baba' , rest in peace ....

Posted by: Emre Yenson at May 21, 2004 05:40 PM

Bye...

Posted by: Joel Silva at May 21, 2004 06:11 PM

Just got back into town today and hadn't heard this news yet - ELVIN was truly one of the great ones. He will be missed.

Posted by: Rob at May 24, 2004 01:14 AM

ELVIN was one of the baddest drummers the world has ever seen. He took the music to places it had never been before, providing the pulse for one of the greatest groups in the history of music. I regret never hearing him play live, but am eternally grateful for the music he left to us on so many wonderful recordings.

Peace, and

RIP ELVIN JONES

Posted by: Stephen at May 25, 2004 07:42 PM

I'm so upset. I'll miss you ELVIN. PEACE.

Posted by: John at May 26, 2004 03:34 PM

Elvin changed my way of hearing music. He makes everything full of beauty.
I'll never stop marvelling at what he did. His sound will keep the whole world trembling.
bye Elvin, a Love Supreme.
Ludwig

Posted by: Ludwig at May 27, 2004 07:34 AM

ELVIN , GREATEST DRUMMER OF THEM ALL. WE'LL MISS YOU.

Posted by: MARKKU at May 28, 2004 03:37 AM

Elvin, may your soul rest in peace! We will remember you, and we will miss you... Thank you for what you did for all of us!

RIP Elvin!

Kasper

Posted by: Kasper at May 28, 2004 08:05 AM

I met Elvin and his wife, Keiko in 1972 in Albany, New York. My friend Sam Farkas interviewed him for the local jazz radio station (RPI). I sat next to him on the stage (The Last Chance Saloon at the time)and watched him play. Elvin said to me, "If you want to play drums, go to school, get an education"! Consequently, I went to school, graduate degrees, and still continue to play an 18 inch Gretsch set of drums. I'm 50 years old now and will always appreciate the talks we had and the inspiration received from ELVIN. I've always wanted to write an article for Modern Drummer about these experiences.

Posted by: Newell Canfield at May 29, 2004 03:23 AM

I went to Elvin's wake in NYC Tuesday. He was holding his drum sticks, ready to play with Trane and Duke again...Sorry to say Max Roach is in a Wheelchair now..
We heard a commotion coming down the street, and it was Wynton Marsalis leading a band of about twelve players New Orleans style, marching into the Funeral Home. What a great moment..Bravo Wynton for such a great gesture to Elvin..

Posted by: Greg Packham at May 29, 2004 07:59 PM

So sad, another member of a passing generation gone. At least, his music and memory have allready been preserved in so many ways, for future generations to hear and enjoy anew. Just look on the bright side however, with ELVIN and TRANE up there in heaven, imagine what a reunion show god must be looking forward to! Whenever it rains, and I hear thunder, I'll know that it's ELVIN...

Posted by: Jordan Rosenberg at May 29, 2004 10:10 PM

Whenever I saw Elvin play at the Regattabar in Cambridge, Mass., after each set, dozens of people would flock to him, wanting to talk, get his autograph, shake his hand, or just be near him. I have never seen that kind of attention paid to any other jazz musician. And it was like that every time, every year. Without even trying, Elvin had a kind of natural, spontaneous charisma that was instantly apparent to everyone. Everyone wanted to be near him because we could sense that this man had some kind of quality that was truly radiant and beneficent. Who else has that?

Posted by: Robert Rotstein at May 30, 2004 11:06 AM

Oh my god.... ELVIN... you left me alone in the Jazz field like this... ELVIN.. I hope you have wonderful time above the Sky...

whoever you've played w/ be it, Wyane, Coltrane.
you made the band alive. thanks.

-JH
from Seoul, South Korea

Posted by: JH at June 4, 2004 01:36 PM

Gracias Elvin! nunca te olvidaremos, tu swing, tus fills tus ideas estan vivas en toda una comunidad de musicos que nunca te olvidaran.

Mariano

Posted by: Mariano Cordoba at June 6, 2004 03:19 PM

I MET ELVIN AT HIS 75TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION .HE PLAYED WITH RAVI COLTRANE IN TRIBUTE TO JOHN COLTRANE. HE INVITED ME IN TO HIS DRESSING ROOM ALONG WITH MY WIFE BONNIE AND SIGNED MY MODERN DRUMMER MAGAZINE.HE WAS SO GRACIOUS...HIS PLAYING WAS AWESOME....HE INSPIRES ALL OF US DRUMMERS TO "TELL OUR STORY".......HE MAY BE GONE PHYSICALLY BUT ELVIN LIVES SPIRITUALLY FOREVER . FOR ME ...HIS PLAYING ACHIEVED THE HEIGHTS OF MT EVEREST....BUT, AS A PERSON HE WAS ALWAYS GRACIOUS AND WILLING TO SHARE HIS GREAT WISDOM.BYE ELVIN I WILL MISS YOU,BUT THE MUSIC CARRIES ON............VINCENT ROSA

Posted by: vincent rosa at June 12, 2004 12:51 PM

Thanks Elvin.
Gracias por tu aporte, he aprendido mucho de ti.
Eternamente agradecido.
Descansa en paz.

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