Elvin is dead

[Guest Chaney]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/19/obituari...6&ex=1085945238

As the above link won't last long...

May 19, 2004

Elvin Jones, Jazz Drummer With Coltrane, Dies at 76

By PETER KEEPNEWS

Elvin Jones, whose explosive drumming powered the John Coltrane Quartet, the most influential and controversial jazz ensemble of the 1960's, died yesterday in Manhattan. He was 76 and lived in Manhattan and Nagasaki, Japan.

Mr. Jones's death, which came after several months of failing health, was announced by John DeChristopher, director of artist relations for the Avedis Zildjian Company, maker of Mr. Jones's cymbals. Mr. Jones continued to perform until a few weeks ago, often taking an oxygen tank onto the bandstand.

Mr. Jones, a fixture of the Coltrane group from late 1960 to early 1966 and for more than three decades the leader of several noteworthy groups of his own, was the first great post-bebop percussionist. Building on the innovations of the jazz modernists Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, who liberated the drum kit from a purely time-keeping function in the 1940's, he paved the way for a later generation of drummers who dispensed with a steady rhythmic pulse altogether in the interest of greater improvisational freedom. But he never lost that pulse: the beat was always palpable when he played, even as he embellished it with layer upon layer of interlocking polyrhythms.

The critic and historian Leonard Feather explained Mr. Jones's significance this way: "His main achievement was the creation of what might be called a circle of sound, a continuum in which no beat of the bar was necessarily indicated by any specific accent, yet the overall feeling became a tremendously dynamic and rhythmically important part of the whole group."

But if the self-taught Mr. Jones had a profound influence on other drummers, not many of them directly emulated his style, at least in part because few had the stamina for it. None of the images that the critics invoked to describe his playing — volcano, thunderstorm, perpetual-motion machine — quite did justice to the strength of his attack, the complexity of his ideas or the originality of his approach.

Elvin Ray Jones was born in Pontiac, Mich., on Sept. 9, 1927. The youngest of 10 children, he was the third Jones brother to become a professional musician, following Hank, a respected jazz pianist who is still active, and Thad, a cornetist, composer, arranger and bandleader, who died in 1986.

He began teaching himself to play drums at 13, but he had lost his heart to the instrument long before then. "I never wanted to play anything else since I was 2," he told one interviewer. "I would get these wooden spoons from my mother and beat on the pots and pans in the kitchen."

After spending three years in the Army he joined his brothers as a fixture on the busy Detroit jazz scene of the early 1950's. As the house drummer at a local nightclub, the Bluebird Inn, he worked with local musicians like Tommy Flanagan and Kenny Burrell as well as visiting jazz stars like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis.

In 1956 after briefly touring with the bassist Charles Mingus and the pianist Bud Powell, Mr. Jones moved to New York, where he was soon in great demand as an accompanist. He occasionally sat in with Miles Davis, and he later recalled that Coltrane, who was then Davis's saxophonist, promised to hire Mr. Jones whenever he formed his own group. In the fall of 1960 Coltrane made good on that promise.

Working with Coltrane, a relentless musical explorer, emboldened Mr. Jones to expand the expressive range of his instrument. "My experience with Coltrane," he told the writer James Isaacs in 1973, "was that John was a catalyst in my finding the way that drums could be played most musically." He in turn influenced Coltrane, Mr. Jones's ferocious rhythms goading Coltrane to ecstatic heights in performance and on recordings like "A Love Supreme" and "Ascension."

Coltrane's quartet helped redefine the concept of the jazz combo. Mr. Jones and the other members of the rhythm section, the pianist McCoy Tyner and the bassist Jimmy Garrison, did not accompany Coltrane so much as engage him in an open-ended four-way conversation. Audiences found the group's intensity galvanizing, and many critics shared their enthusiasm.

But despite its popularity, the group divided the jazz world. John Tynan of Down Beat magazine dismissed its music as "anti-jazz," and others agreed. Mr. Jones's drumming, a revelation to some listeners, was dismissed by others as overly busy and distractingly loud.

Mr. Jones left the group in March 1966, shortly after Coltrane, as part of his constant quest for new sounds, began adding musicians. Although he never publicly explained why he left, he was widely believed to have been insulted by Coltrane's decision to hire a second drummer.

Mr. Jones spent two weeks with Duke Ellington's big band and briefly worked in Paris before returning to the United States, where he formed a trio with Garrison, who had also recently left Coltrane, and the saxophonist Joe Farrell. That group was short-lived, but Mr. Jones continued to lead small groups for the rest of his life. Over the years many exceptional musicians passed in and out of the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine, as the ensemble came to be known in all its various incarnations, and the group performed regularly all over the world and recorded prolifically.

Mr. Jones's survivors include his wife, Keiko, who also managed his career and composed several of the pieces in his band's repertory, and his brother Hank.

Mr. Jones came to see it as his mission to offer training and experience to promising young musicians, and in recent years he gave early exposure to budding jazz stars like the saxophonist Joshua Redman, the trumpeter Nicholas Payton and the trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis. A particularly noteworthy addition to the Jazz Machine lineup in the 1990's was the saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, John's son.

Mr. Jones was also a tireless proselytizer for an instrument that he believed was too often maligned and misunderstood. "I played a job in a bar once as a young man," he told his fellow drummer Lewis Nash in a 1997 interview for Down Beat. "One of the customers came up to me and said, `Hey, make some noise.' What he really meant was that he wanted me to play a drum solo. So that is a general perception, and that way of thinking still exists."

"People never understood," he continued, "that the drum is a musical instrument."

[Peter Johnson]

Good bye, Elvin, and thanks for years of musical enjoyment.

[Hardbopjazz]

This time it is true. I had made phone reservations for his Blue Note shows. I gave my email when I made the reservations. I was emailed this morning saying the shows are off. No other information given. They still have the shows listed on their site.

R.I.P Elvin. Hope you're playing with Trane, Eric Dolphy and Jimmy Garrison as we talk about you.

[Hardbopjazz]

Streaming some of his music out of WKCR.ORG

[neveronfriday]

[Michel_M]

Elvin was supposed to come here in Montréal this summer for the Montréal International Jazz Festival. Terrible news for all jazz fans

[Dan Gould]

I was fortunate to see Elvin twice; once was at a Bu tribute at Lincoln Center. On "Moanin'" he was hittin it so hard, pieces of drumsticks were flying into the audience, like at a rock concert.

The other time was just a couple of years ago when he brought the Jazz Machine to West Palm Beach. That memory is a bit bittersweet though, as I skipped the meet-and-greet he did after the show due to some time constraints and only learned afterward how friendly and cool he was.

[mikeweil]

My favourite Elvin anecdote will always remain John Coltrane's words after Elvin wrecked Trane's car: "I can always get another car, but there's only one Elvin!"

So true.

[JSngry]

Elvin is not dead. Just his body is.

A spirit like that can NOT be destroyed!

[HWright]

Since I got into jazz by listening to Miles, Monk and Elvin's work with Trane, I feel Elvin's music and sound has always been very important to me and my appreciation of modern jazz. Later I discovered his work with Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Ornette Coleman, his brothers and others.

[7/4]

Elvin is not dead. Just his body is.

A spirit like that can NOT be destroyed!

Elvin lives.

[JohnS]

RIP Mr Jones. Thank you for everything.

[sal]

My hero is gone. Yet his spirit shall live forever. May he rest in peace.

[Rooster_Ties]

Elvin is not dead. Just his body is.

A spirit like that can NOT be destroyed!

Very true.

[RDK]

Off to that great Gig in the Sky...

RIP

[DrJ]

I just ordered the Elvin Mosaic set in tribute to and celebration of his life. A force of nature has move to another plane. I take comfort in the notion that wherever he is now, Mr. Jones is still playing and smiling just like always.

[Stefan Wood]

I am glad I had the opportunity to see him play with his brother late last year in DC. He will be missed.

BTW, his Vanguard recordings are nice as well. Maybe not as good as his Blue Note trio dates with Joe Farrell (my favorites!), but they are well worth a spin.

Edited May 19, 2004 by Stefan Wood

[randissimo]

The first time I heard Elvin was on A Love Supreme over six years ago.  He quickly became one of my favorite jazz drummers.  He'll be missed, but he left one hell of a legacy.

      Guy

One of the first times I heard Elvin was at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago... It was back in 1977 and a drummer I knew was there and half in the bag and grumpy because his old friend Ira Sullivan hired Wilbur Campbell instead of him to open for Elvin....So my grumpy friend just keeps getting drunker and grumpier... So by the time Elvin comes on, my friend becomes rather vocal.... Elvin starts the set with a 5 minute drum solo, followed by a slow burning blues. The next tune is another slow burner that goes on for about 10 - 15 minutes with another 5 minute drum solo.... When the tune is finally ended, my drunken friend yells up to Elvin, "Come on Elvin, stop bullshittin and take it upstairs ".... With the timing of Jack Benny, Elvin comes back with, "He's right,,,, it's time to take it to the mezzanine" . The room exploded in a roar of laughter and applause..... Then Elvin kicks off a blistering 8 bar intro and just burns for the rest of the set! That was an unforgettable night for me! And Wilbur Campbell also played his ass off that night!

God Bless you Elvin and thank you so much for all the great music!

Edited May 19, 2004 by randissimo

[Jerry]

The last time I saw him in Seattle he handed his sticks to the youngest member of the audience when it was over. He then handed out several more pairs to kids in the audience. I very seldom stayed for the second show at Jazz Alley but when Elvin plays you can't leave.

Edited May 19, 2004 by Jerry

[montg]

Elvin was a peace-maker, something the world seems to need now more than ever.

The WKCR tribute is about to resume (at 1:00)--it's supposed to last until thursday night, I beleive.

[ADR]

Good night Elvin.

You kindness and generosity will be sorely missed.

Your music will last for the ages.

ADR

[7/4]

The WKCR tribute is about to resume (at 1:00)--it's supposed to last until thursday night, I beleive.

They say Friday now.

[Cali]

Does anybody else have any Elvin stories? I was fortunate enough to see Elvin with Trane and with his own groups in recent years. He was a beautiful spirit. Once, at the Mannehole, with Trane, he played with his shirt off! He and Trane were smokin'!

One of my favorite, non-Trane, recorded performances by Elvin is his so-hip playing on the tune DELUGE from the Wane Shorter album, JU-JU. Check it out.

Oh, wait a minute! How about his brush work on ORIENTAL FLOWER from the ILLUMINATION! album on Impulse!? And, and..........I could go on forever.

[Brad]

I wonder how many people have just ordered the Jones Mosaic. I have and I see that Tony (Dr. J) has. I also believe Tony's words are right on the mark.

[7/4]

I wonder how many people have just ordered the Jones Mosaic. I have and I see that Tony (Dr. J) has. I also believe Tony's words are right on the mark.

I wonder if it'll sell out now.