Investors Business Daily Article. Elvin?!?

[BeBop]

IBD is a pretty stuffy paper; no false advertising in the title. The article isn't full of revelations, but I thought it was decent, and the source, remarkable. Benny Goodman? And it quotes a record store guy? No author credit. Perhaps this is from another source, reproduced?

Elvin Jones Had The Beat Of A Different Drummer

April 09, 2008: 08:05 PM EST

Apr. 10, 2008 (Investor's Business Daily delivered by Newstex) --

Elvin Jones did a stellar job keeping time on the drums.

But he had no intention of staying in the musical background.

Jones constantly experimented by adding several layers of rhythms. He used his arms and legs to pound and tap out rhythms at varying speeds on various parts of his drum kit -- all at once.

Jones' quest for innovation created a unique sound that took jazz music in a new direction in the mid- to late 1950s, says author Ashley Kahn, whose book "A Love Supreme," a biography on saxophonist John Coltrane, contained a foreword penned by Jones.

Fans call Jones one of the top drummers of the 20th century.

"Elvin took the drums to a whole other plane," Kahn said. "He saw this incredible polyrhythmic possibility there where you do something with each limb that could be totally independent and still lock in together. That could suggest the backbeat, but could also give you a symphony of textures and rhythms."

The young Jones built on the efforts of other jazz drummers of the day such as Max Roach, Shadow Wilson and Roy Haynes, says Adam Mansbach, a novelist who also worked as Jones' drum technician.

"What you get with Elvin is a guy who has effectively figured out how to do by himself on a drum kit what it takes three drummers to do," Mansbach said. "He put drums on the front line, on par with other front-line instruments."

Jones wanted to be more than a human metronome, he told the Chicago Tribune. "I simply never really bought the old concepts of what a drummer should be," he said.

Jones' 60-year career included working with leading jazz artists, including Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans and Joe Henderson.

Jones released nearly 50 albums as a band leader. He recorded more than 500 albums, including band projects and compilations.

He got hooked on drums at age 2 while watching a circus parade. In high school, he played the bass drum in the school marching band.

"Other kids didn't like to carry that bass drum," he told Down Beat magazine. "I was a big kid and I loved it."

He focused on one pursuit. "I didn't want to play baseball, football or anything like that," he said. "I wanted to play drums."

Jones grew up the youngest of 10 children in Pontiac, Mich. His father was a lumber inspector for General Motors. It was the Great Depression. Jones saved what he could while doing odd jobs and got his first drum set at 13.

Brothers Hank, a pianist, and Thad, a trumpeter, also forged careers as jazz musicians and provided guidance, says Hyland Harris, manager of the jazz section for retailer J&R Music. "He was self-taught, but he was in a good environment where he would know things (about music)," Harris said.

Jones also practiced constantly -- up to 12 hours a day. "As a kid he carried a pair of drumsticks with him wherever he went," Mansbach said. "He would basically play on any available surface."

Sure of his direction in life, Jones played his first pro gig at 14. He received a hamburger as payment.

Jones entered the Army in 1946 and played in marching bands. "It gave me the timekeeping and the discipline that's required for coordination," he said.

Aware that music was a mental and physical commitment, Jones concentrated on his breathing while practicing and performing.

"One of the first things to learn is breath control. A drummer uses the same discipline for breath control as a horn player," Jones said.

After leaving the service in 1949, Jones rejoined the jazz scene. Looking to expand his repertoire, he sought to work with a variety of musicians, such as tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray and vibraphonist Milt Jackson. He became the house drummer at Detroit's Bluebird Inn, a noted tour stop for many jazz greats. He listened keenly to each person who played, picking up tips.

By 1956, Jones was ready for bigger challenges. He moved to New York City to get more work.

He failed an audition with the Benny Goodman Orchestra. Still, he picked up a spot with bassist Charles Mingus and toured with him. Later, he played with Miles Davis. In 1961, Jones released his first record as a band leader. Also that year, he joined a new band, the John Coltrane Quartet, considered a hallmark in the history of jazz.

Jones' unique style gave Coltrane a new canvas on which to paint sounds, says Kahn: "Jones had a very elastic sense of time. If you have that, it inspires you to try different things on other instruments."

Jones left Coltrane in 1966. He played briefly with the Duke Ellington Orchestra before pursuing a career as a band leader of the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine.

Believing live music was the best way to touch others, Jones played more than 200 live dates a year through most of his career. He began scaling back live appearances in 2001 because of heart problems.

But he wouldn't quit. In 2002, 10 days after one heart operation, he played for a week at the Blue Note jazz club in New York.

Jones' last performance was at Yoshi's jazz club in Oakland, Calif., in April 2004. His frail health was noticeable. His wife, Keiko, who was also his manager, helped him to the bandstand and handed him his sticks. He died the next month at 76.

This story originally ran July 8, 2004, on Leaders & Success.

[Dan Gould]

IBD is a pretty stuffy paper; no false advertising in the title. The article isn't full of revelations, but I thought it was decent, and the source, remarkable. Benny Goodman? And it quotes a record store guy? No author credit. Perhaps this is from another source, reproduced?

Perhaps there's an answer at the bottom:

This story originally ran July 8, 2004, on Leaders & Success.

[BeBop]

I believe that "Leaders & Success" is just the column/feature name in Investors Business Daily.