Jazz Articles about Hank Jones

like 809

Hank Jones

by AAJ Staff
October 27, 2003

One of the first records I ever owned was Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else with Miles Davis, Sam Jones, Art Blakey, and the veritable Hank Jones. The fact that Jones was on that session didn't register with me completely - he was on so many records I just became used to seeing his name, not realizing at the time how this amazing musician contributed to recordings that have spanned jazz genres for seven decades alongside most of jazz' legends. A player ...

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Hank Jones/The Great Jazz Trio: Autumn Leaves

by Mark Corroto
September 25, 2003

As quiet and unassuming as Hank Jones’ music tends to be, matching him with brother Elvin doesn’t interrupt his thoughtful manner. This session, recorded in May of 2002, is only the fourth time the two brothers from Detroit have recorded together, the last being Upon Reflection–The Music of Thad Jones, a tribute to their departed sibling for Emarcy (1994).

Pianist Hank Jones is the eldest of the Jones boys at 85 years. He helped usher in the bebop revolution, recording ...

like 234

Sonny Stitt: Goin

by C. Michael Bailey
April 9, 2003

Goin’ Down Slow was recorded during the same period as Bobby Timmons’ Orchestra and Trio, both recordings made in the 1970s to appeal to '70s sensibilities. That it is unfair to compare these recordings by today’s or today’s retro-sensibilities goes without saying. But nothing takes the grease out of hard bop faster than strings and other ornamentations, particularly on a blues. This certainly almost destroyed the spirit of Timmons, and it has the same hard swing at Sonny Stitt on ...

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Jonah Jones Quartet: Jumpin' With Jonah

by AAJ Staff
January 20, 2003

Hey, who’s that swingin’ that horn? That sounds like Pops!

Well, though Jonah Jones and Louis "Pops" Armstrong were contemporaries, the comparisons stop there.

Actually, Jonah and Louis do sound alike. And on this album (which takes its title from Jones’s third LP, but which is here reissued with some additional tracks), Jones puts his bell mute to many of the same songs Satchmo was known for, such as "A Kiss To Build A Dream On," "Do You Know What ...

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Hank Jones: Ain't Misbehavin'

by Derek Taylor
January 1, 2000

In the world of jazz few names register as deep a sense of nostalgia as Fats Waller. Emperor of the stride piano, raconteur and comedian, Waller built up a persona that is an indelible part of jazz history. This recording from the late 70s finds Jones in trio and sextet settings and firmly entrenched in the Waller bag that was his repertoire of the time. Rather than simply aping Waller’s fathoms deep legacy Jones makes certain to place his own ...

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Hank Jones: Ain't Misbehavin'

by AAJ Staff
December 1, 1999

This one runs by so fast: subtle grace, flawless hands, a playful wink at odd moments. That Hank Jones, and it’s also Fats Waller, two great stylists best known for other things. (Fats for his composing; for Hank, it’s his brothers!) In 1978 came a dream job: Jones joined the theatre band for the show Ain’t Misbehavin’, in effect taking the part of Waller. For Hank, who played these songs in his youth, it was a reacquaintance with an old ...