Hank Jones | |
|---|---|
 Jones in 1985 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Henry Jones Jr. (1918-07-31)July 31, 1918 Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | May 16, 2010(2010-05-16) (aged 91) New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Piano |
| Years active | 1944–2010 |
| Labels | |
| Website | officialhankjones |
Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010)[1] was an Americanjazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable.[2] In 1989, TheNational Endowment for the Arts honored him with theNEA Jazz Masters Award.[3] He was also honored in 2003 with theAmerican Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award.[4] In 2008, he was awarded theNational Medal of Arts. On April 13, 2009, theUniversity of Hartford presented Jones with an honorary Doctorate of Music for his musical accomplishments.[5]
Jones recorded more than 60 albums under his own name and is estimated to have "appeared on over a thousand recordings" as asideman,[6] includingCannonball Adderley's celebrated albumSomethin' Else withMiles Davis. On May 19, 1962, he played piano as actressMarilyn Monroe sang her famous "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" song to then U.S. presidentJohn F. Kennedy.[7]
Born inVicksburg, Mississippi, Henry "Hank" Jones moved toPontiac, Michigan, where his father, Henry Jones Sr., a Baptist deacon and lumber inspector, bought a three-story brick home. One of ten children, Jones was raised in a musical and religious family.[6] His mother, Olivia Jones, sang; his two older sisters studied piano; and his two younger brothers—Thad, a trumpeter, andElvin, a drummer—also became prominent jazz musicians.[8] He studied classical piano from an early age with Pauline McCann, developing his technique and learning, as he later put it, to approach music "more clearly and more logically." He namedBach,Chopin,Debussy, andRavel among his favorite classical composers, all of whom influenced his playing throughout his career.[9]
Even though his father believed that "playing jazz was the work for the devil,"[6] in time, Jones also came under the influence of the premier jazz pianists of his early years:Earl Hines,Fats Waller,Art Tatum, andTeddy Wilson.[10] Jones said that Tatum was his "all-time favorite player,"[11] and according to a famous anecdote, when he first heard Tatum's ultra-virtuosic recording of "Tiger Rag" (1933), Jones "asked who the three pianists were."[12]
By the age of 13, Jones was performing locally inMichigan andOhio. While playing with territory bands inGrand Rapids andLansing in 1944, he met saxophonistLucky Thompson, who invited Jones to work inNew York City at theOnyx Club withHot Lips Page.[13][14]
In New York City, Jones regularly listened to leadingbop musicians, includingBud Powell andThelonious Monk, and was inspired to master the new style.[15] While practicing and studying the music, he worked withJohn Kirby,Howard McGhee,Coleman Hawkins,Andy Kirk, andBilly Eckstine.[14] Hawkins made the first recording of Jones' composition "Angel Face" (1947; not to be confused with the laterJoe Zawinul piece of the same title), which has gone on to be covered a number of times.[16] Although Jones played only a little on the classic original recording, he later recorded the piece both withMilt Jackson (1956)[17] and as a leader in a trio setting (1978).[18]
In autumn of 1947, Jones began touring inNorman Granz'sJazz at the Philharmonic package,[14] and from 1948 to 1953 he worked as an accompanist forElla Fitzgerald.[19] As he matured as a soloist and an accompanist, he developed "a harmonic facility of extraordinary taste and sophistication."[20] During this period, he also made several historically important recordings withCharlie Parker, which include "The Song Is You", from theNow's the Time album, recorded in December 1952, withTeddy Kotick on bass andMax Roach on drums.
Engagements withArtie Shaw andBenny Goodman followed as well as recordings with artists such asLester Young,Cannonball Adderley, andWes Montgomery. Jones participated in Shaw's final recordings before his retirement, an acclaimed series of small-group sessions.[21] He went on to become the "house pianist" onSavoy, recording a highly regardedtrio album for the label in 1955 with bassistWendell Marshall and drummerKenny Clarke. Other Savoy projects from this period include recordings withDonald Byrd andBobby Jaspar. PianistEthan Iverson says Jones' Savoy-era dates "showcase some of the most lush pre-Bill Evanscomping in jazz and a post-Strayhorn nexus of impressionism and the blues."[22]
From 1959 through 1975, Jones served as staff pianist forCBS studios.[23] He obtained the position through the influence of singerAndy Williams, who admired Jones' playing, and it gave the pianist a steady salary and fringe benefits that performing jazz musicians did not typically have.[9] Jones maintained an extremely busy schedule, rehearsing for and playing on, at various times,The Garry Moore Show,The Jackie Gleason Show, andThe Ed Sullivan Show,[9] sometimes accompanying famous singers such asFrank Sinatra.[24]
In 1961, Jones played on the "beautiful near-minimalist" score thatKenyon Hopkins composed for thePaul Newman filmThe Hustler, which features the alto sax ofPhil Woods and includes a solo number for Jones titled "Derby Time".[25] Jones also played the piano accompaniment forMarilyn Monroe as she sang "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" toJohn F. Kennedy on May 19, 1962. Jones said of the occasion: "She did 16 bars. Eight bars of 'Happy Birthday' and eight bars of 'Thanks for the Memory'. We rehearsed those 16 bars for eight hours. So I think that's something like a half-hour for a bar of music. She was very nervous and upset. She wasn't used to that kind of thing. And I guess who wouldn't be nervous singing 'Happy Birthday' to the president? She actually was a very good singer; however, on this particular occasion I think she was somewhat hampered by having imbibed rather freely. And it was very interesting."[6]
Because of his commitments to CBS, Jones recorded relatively little as a leader during the sixteen years he worked there. During the 1960s, though, he did continue to make jazz recordingsas a sideman and accompanist, appearing on albums by notable artists such as guitaristJohnny Smith, tenor saxophonistBen Webster, and vocalistsJohnny Hartman andNancy Wilson. By the late 1970s, his involvement as a pianist and a conductor with theBroadway musicalAin't Misbehavin' (based on the music ofFats Waller) had, asAllAboutJazz puts it, "informed a wider audience of his unique qualities as a musician."[26]
During the late 1970s and the 1980s, Jones recorded prolifically for many different labels as an unaccompanied soloist, in duos with other pianists (includingJohn Lewis,Tommy Flanagan, andGeorge Shearing), and with various small ensembles, most notablythe Great Jazz Trio, which primarily recorded for the Japanese labelEast Wind Records. The group was given its name by the company'sA&R men in 1976,[9] by which time Jones had already begun working at theVillage Vanguard with its original members, bassistRon Carter and drummerTony Williams, who had famously been part of the rhythm section of thesecond Miles Davis Quintet. It wasBuster Williams rather than Carter, however, who took part in the trio's first recording session in 1976; but the next seven trio recordings, including three recorded live at the Vanguard in 1977, feature the original lineup.Ethan Iverson notes that Jones, Carter, and Williams "allsound like leaders" in these recordings and that their collaborations "show all three at their best." He also refers to Carter and Williams as "the Rolls-Royce of modern swing."[22]
By 1980, Jones' sidemen in the group wereEddie Gómez andAl Foster, and in 1982Jimmy Cobb replaced Foster. The trio recorded on its own and with other all-star personnel, such asArt Farmer,Benny Golson, andNancy Wilson. Jones would continue to record with various iterations of the Great Jazz Trio, including one withRichard Davis and the pianist's brother Elvin, up to the end of his life. Concurrently, he also made many trio recordings under his own leadership, includingBop Redux andI Remember You, both of which receivedGrammy nominations.
Jones' "versatility was more in evidence with the passage of time."[27] During his last decades, he recorded with the Meridian String Quartet, accompanied guitar prodigyEmily Remler on two albums, and collaborated on recordings of an Afro-pop ensemble fromMali as well as on two albums of spirituals, hymns, and folksongs with bassistCharlie Haden, titledSteal Away (1995) andCome Sunday (2010).
Other later recordings include various trio albums (notablyFor My Father from 2005 with bassistGeorge Mraz and drummerDennis Mackrel), a number of solo piano recordings, and sideman recordings on three albums by saxophonistJoe Lovano. Jones made his debut on Lineage Records, recording withFrank Wess and with the guitarist Eddie Diehl, and also appeared onWest of 5th (2006) with Jimmy Cobb andChristian McBride onChesky Records. In addition, he accompanied vocalistsRoberta Gambarini on the acclaimed albumYou Are There (EmArcy, 2007) andDiana Krall for "Dream a Little Dream of Me" on the album compilationWe All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of Song (Verve, 2007). Jones is one of the musicians who test and talk about the piano in the documentaryNote by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037, released in November 2007.
Even late in life, Jones continued to practice assiduously: "You have to stay in shape, so I do scales and exercises three or four hours a day, and then I practise sight-reading," he said at age 78.[28] Near the end of his career, Jones collaborated with some of the most noted pianists of the upcoming generation, making a two-piano recording of theEllington/Strayhorn classic "Tonk" withBill Charlap in 2007[29] and performing a two-piano concert withBrad Mehldau inMontreal in 2008.[30]
Jones lived inCresskill, New Jersey, upstate New York, and Manhattan. He died at age 91 at aCalvary Hospital Hospice inThe Bronx, New York, on May 16, 2010, survived by his wife Theodosia.[31]
Jones said the following about his own playing: "When you listen to a pianist, each note should have an identity; each note should have a soul of its own. I try to play evenly. I don't take too many excursions. I don't go too far away from the melody, I don't go out into the deep water. I want the listener to understand what I'm doing. I try to stay pretty much right down the middle and yet keep it interesting."[6] TheConcord Jazz label, for which Jones recorded various albums as both a leader and a sideman, adds, "Although his sensibility was rooted in the Swing Era ... he had no trouble adapting to bop’s more rigorous harmonic and rhythmic requirements, and evolved a lucid style which ingeniously synthesized swing and bop into an approach that was personal and flexible. He could play with just about anyone."[32]
Despite his relatively low-profile career, Jones was highly regarded by his colleagues.Oscar Peterson said his own "roots" went back toArt Tatum and Jones.[33] He also named Jones as one of the great "long-line players" in jazz, along withBill Evans andCedar Walton.[34]Ahmad Jamal praised Jones for his "wonderful touch."[35]McCoy Tyner said, "I lovedHank's playing ... his playing was something."[36]Keith Jarrett described Jones' playing as "Tasty. Beyond just tasty. No, it's stimulating. Tasty and stimulating."[37]John Lewis named Jones one of the pianists he listened to most often.[38]André Previn called Jones his favorite pianist, "regardless of idiom."[39] AndGeorge Shearing said that Jones was one of his "strongest influences" and that he's "one of the most underrated pianists in the business. He has a beautiful, deep sound, clarity, and a sense of economy. Impeccable taste."[40]
Younger pianists have also expressed their indebtedness to and admiration for Jones, includingKenny Barron,[41]Bill Charlap,Eric Reed, andGeoffrey Keezer,[42] who recorded an album of Jones' compositions forTelarc in piano duos with Barron,Chick Corea,Benny Green, andMulgrew Miller.[43]
In addition to the honors mentioned above, in 2005, Jones was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music fromBerklee College of Music at the 20th anniversary of jazz education at theUmbria Jazz Festival inPerugia, Italy.[44]
| Year | Category | Title | Genre | Label | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance – Soloist | "Bop Redux" | Jazz | Muse | Nominee |
| 1980 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance – Soloist | "I Remember You" | Jazz | Black & Blue | Nominee |
| 1980 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance – Group | "I Remember You" | Jazz | Black & Blue | Nominee |
| 1995 | Best Jazz Instrumental Solo | "Go Down Moses" | Jazz | Verve | Nominee |
| 1995 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance – Individual or Group | "Steal Away" | Jazz | Verve | Nominee |
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