Hank Jones

Hank Jones
File:Hank Jones.jpg
Background information
Birth name	Henry Jones Jr.
Born	(1918-07-31)July 31, 1918 Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States
Died	The Bronx, New York, United States
Genres	Bebop, jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, bandleader, composer
Instruments	Piano
Years active	1944–2010
Labels	Verve, Savoy, Epic, Capitol, Argo, Impulse, Concord, Chesky, Sony
Associated acts	Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Haden, Nancy Wilson, Charlie Parker, Salena Jones, Roberta Gambarini
Website	Hank Jones official site

Henry "Hank" Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award. He was also honored in 2003 with the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award. In 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. On April 13, 2009, the University of Hartford presented Jones with a Doctorate Degree for his musical accomplishments.

Jones recorded more than 60 albums under his own name, and countless others as a sideman, including Cannonball Adderley's celebrated album Somethin' Else. On May 19, 1962, he played piano as actress Marilyn Monroe sang her famous "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" song to then U.S. president John F. Kennedy.

Biography

Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Henry "Hank" Jones moved to Pontiac, Michigan, where his father, Henry Jones Sr. a Baptist deacon and lumber inspector, bought a three-story brick home. One of seven children, Jones was raised in a musical family. His mother Olivia Jones sang; his two older sisters studied piano; and his two younger brothers—Thad, a trumpeter, and Elvin, a drummer—also became prominent jazz musicians. He studied piano at an early age and came under the influence of Earl Hines, Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, and Art Tatum. By the age of 13 Jones was performing locally in Michigan and Ohio. While playing with territory bands in Grand Rapids and Lansing in 1944 he met Lucky Thompson, who invited Jones to work in New York City at the Onyx Club with Hot Lips Page.

In New York City, Jones regularly listened to leading bop musicians, and was inspired to master the new style. While practicing and studying the music he worked with John Kirby, Howard McGhee, Coleman Hawkins, Andy Kirk, and Billy Eckstine. In autumn 1947, he began touring in Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic package, and from 1948 to 1953 he was accompanist for Ella Fitzgerald, and accompanying her in England in the Fall of 1948, developed a harmonic facility of extraordinary taste and sophistication. During this period he also made several historically important recordings with Charlie Parker, which included "The Song Is You", from the Now's the Time album, recorded in December 1952, with Teddy Kotick on bass and Max Roach on drums.

Engagements with Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman followed, and recordings with artists such as Lester Young, Cannonball Adderley, and Wes Montgomery, in addition to being for a time, 'house pianist' on the Savoy label. From 1959 through 1975 Jones was staff pianist for CBS studios. This included backing guests such as Frank Sinatra on The Ed Sullivan Show. He played the piano accompaniment to Marilyn Monroe as she sang "Happy Birthday Mr. President" to John F. Kennedy on May 19, 1962. By the late 1970s, his involvement as pianist and conductor with the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin' (based on the music of Fats Waller) had informed a wider audience of his unique qualities as a musician.

During the late 1970s and the 1980s, Jones continued to record prolifically, as an unaccompanied soloist, in duos with other pianists (including John Lewis and Tommy Flanagan), and with various small ensembles, most notably the Great Jazz Trio. The group took this name in 1976, by which time Jones had already begun working at the Village Vanguard with its original members, Ron Carter and Tony Williams (it was Buster Williams rather than Carter, however, who took part in the trio's first recording session in 1976); by 1980 Jones' sidemen were Eddie Gómez and Al Foster, and in 1982 Jimmy Cobb replaced Foster. The trio also recorded with other all-star personnel, such as Art Farmer, Benny Golson, and Nancy Wilson. In the early 1980s Jones held a residency as a solo pianist at the Cafe Ziegfeld and made a tour of Japan, where he performed and recorded with George Duvivier and Sonny Stitt. Jones' versatility was more in evidence with the passage of time. He collaborated on recordings of Afro-pop with an ensemble from Mali and on an album of spirituals, hymns and folksongs with Charlie Haden called Steal Away (1995).

Some of his later recordings are For My Father (2005) with bassist George Mraz and drummer Dennis Mackrel, a solo piano recording issued in Japan under the title Round Midnight (2006), and as a side man on Joe Lovano's Joyous Encounter (2005). Jones made his debut on Lineage Records, recording with Frank Wess and with the guitarist Eddie Diehl, but also appeared on West of 5th (2006) with Jimmy Cobb and Christian McBride on Chesky Records. He also accompanied Diana Krall for "Dream a Little Dream of Me" on the album compilation, We all Love Ella (Verve 2007). He is one of the musicians who test and talk about the piano in the documentary Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037, released in November 2007.

In early 2000, the Hank Jones Quartet accompanied jazz singer Salena Jones at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho, and in 2006 at the Monterey Jazz Festival with both jazz singer Roberta Gambarini and the Oscar Peterson Trio.

Hank Jones lived in upstate New York and in Manhattan. He died at a Calvary Hospital Hospice in The Bronx, New York, on May 16, 2010, survived by his wife Theodosia.

Awards and recognitions

Grammy history

• Career Wins: 2009: Lifetime Achievement Grammy
• Career Nominations: 5

Hank Jones Grammy Awards History
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

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Year	Title	Personnel	Label
1947-53	Urbanity		Clef
1955	The Trio	Trio with Wendell Marshall and Kenny Clarke	Savoy
1955	Quartet-Quintet	Quartet/Quintet with Donald Byrd, Eddie Jones, Kenny Clarke + Matty Dice	Savoy
1955	Bluebird	Quartet/Quintet with Wendell Marshall/Eddie Jones, Kenny Clarke + Herbie Mann/Jerome Richardson/Donald Byrd and Matty Dice/Joe Wilder	Savoy
1956	Have You Met Hank Jones	Solo piano	Savoy
1956	Hank Jones' Quartet	Quartet with Bobby Jaspar, Paul Chambers and Kenny Clarke	Savoy
1958	Gigi	Quartet with Barry Galbraith, Arnold Fishkin, Donald Lamond	Golden Crest
1958	The Talented Touch	Quartet with Barry Galbraith, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson	Capitol
1958	Porgy and Bess	Quartet with Kenny Burrell, Milt Hinton, Elvin Jones	Capitol
1963	Here's Love	Quartet with Kenny Burrell, Milt Hinton, Elvin Jones	Argo
1964	This Is Ragtime Now!	Trio with Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson	ABC-Paramount
1966	Happenings	with Oliver Nelson and Orchestra	Impulse!
1975	Hanky Panky	Trio with Ron Carter and Grady Tate	East Wind
1976	Satin Doll: Dedicated to Duke Ellington	Solo Piano	Trio
1976	Jones-Brown-Smith	Trio with Ray Brown and Jimmie Smith	Concord Jazz
1976	Arigato	Trio/Quartet with Richard Davis/Jay Leonhart, Ronnie Bedford + Ray Rivera,	Progressive
1977	Bop Redux	Trio with George Duvivier and Ben Riley	Muse
1977	Just for Fun	Trio/Quartet with Ray Brown, Shelly Manne + Howard Roberts	Galaxy
1977	I Remember You	Trio with George Duvivier and Oliver Jackson	Black & Blue
1977	Have You Met This Jones?	Trio with Isla Eckinger and Kurt Bong	MPS
1977	The Trio	Trio with Milt Hinton and Bob Rosengarden	Chiaroscuro
1977-78	Tiptoe Tapdance	Solo piano	Galaxy
1978	Groovin' High	Quintet with Sam Jones, Mickey Roker, Thad Jones, and Charlie Rouse	Muse
1978	Our Delights	Piano duo with Tommy Flanagan	Galaxy
1978	More Delights	Piano duo with Tommy Flanagan	Galaxy
1978	Compassion	Trio with George Duvivier and Alan Dawson	Black & Blue
1978	Ain't Misbehavin'	Trio/Sextet with Richard Davis, Roy Haynes + Bob Ojeda, Teddy Edwards, and Kenny Burrell	Galaxy
1979	Easy to Love	Trio with George Duvivier, Shelly Manne	Lobster
1979	Hank Jones Trio Live in Japan	Trio with George Duvivier, Shelly Manne	Trio
1979	Trio 1979 Discoveries	Trio with George Duvivier, Shelly Manne	55
1979	Bluesette	Trio with George Duvivier, Alan Dawson	Black & Blue
1983	I'm All Smiles	Piano duo with Tommy Flanagan	MPS
1985	Great Jazz Quartet Live in Japan	Quartet with Sam Most, Ray Brown, Alan Dawson	TDK
1987	Duo	Duo with Red Mitchell	Timeless
1989	The Oracle	Trio with Dave Holland, Billy Higgins	EmArcy
1989	Lazy Afternoon	Quartet with Ken Peplowski, Dave Holland, Keith Copeland	Concord Jazz
1990	Hank Jones with the Meridian String Quartet	With the Meridian String Quartet conducted by Manny Albam	LRC
1991	Hank Jones Trio with Mads Vinding & Al Foster	Trio with Mads Vinding, Al Foster	Storyville
1991	Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Sixteen	Solo piano	Concord
1993	Upon Reflection: The Music of Thad Jones	Trio with George Mraz, Elvin Jones	Verve
1995	Steal Away	Duo with Charlie Haden	Verve
2004	'Round Midnight	Solo piano	Eighty-Eight's
2004	For My Father	Trio with George Mraz, Dennis Mackrel	Justin Time
2005	My Funny Valentine		Sony/CBS
2006	Round Midnight		Sony
2006	Kids: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola	Duo with Joe Lovano	Blue Note
2006	West of 5th	With Jimmy Cobb and Christian McBride	Chesky
2006	Hank and Frank		Lineage
2009	Hank and Frank II	Frank Wess, Ilya Lushtak, Marion Cowings, John Webber, and Mickey Roker.	Lineage
2009	Pleased to Meet You	Oliver Jones, Brandi Disterheft and Jim Doxas	Justin Time Records
2009	Trio Hank Jones	George Mraz, Willie Jones	Multisonic
2012	Come Sunday	Duo with Charlie Haden	EmArcy

With Great Jazz Trio

Year	Title	Personnel	Label
1976	I'm Old Fashioned	with Sadao Watanabe, Ron Carter, Tony Williams	East Wind
1976	Love for Sale	with Buster Williams, Tony Williams	East Wind
1977	The Great Jazz Trio at the Village Vanguard	with Ron Carter, Tony Williams	East Wind
1977	The Great Jazz Trio at the Village Vanguard Vol. 2	with Ron Carter, Tony Williams	East Wind
1977	The Great Jazz Trio at the Village Vanguard Again	with Ron Carter, Tony Williams	East Wind (released 2000)
1977	Bird of Paradise	with Sadao Watanabe, Ron Carter, Tony Williams	Flying Disk
1977	Kindness Joy Love & Happiness	with Ron Carter, Tony Williams	East Wind
1977	Direct from L.A.	with Ron Carter, Tony Williams	East Wind
1978	Milestones	with Ron Carter, Tony Williams	East Wind
1978	New Wine in Old Bottles	with Jackie McLean, Ron Carter, Tony Williams	East Wind
1978	The Great Tokyo Meeting	with Ron Carter, Tony Williams	East Wind
1980	Chapter II	with Eddie Gómez, Al Foster	East Wind
1980	Moreover	with Eddie Gómez, Al Foster	East Wind
1982	Threesome	with Eddie Gómez, Jimmy Cobb	Eastworld
1983	N.Y.Sophisticate: a Tribute to Duke Ellington	with Eddie Gomez, Jimmy Cobb, The Strings Quartet	Denon Records
1984	Monk's Mood	with Eddie Gomez, Jimmy Cobb, Terumasa Hino	Dennon
2003		Autumn Leaves	with Elvin Jones (drums), Richard Davis (bass)	441 Records

As sideman

With Cannonball Adderley

• Somethin' Else (Blue Note, 1958)

With Manny Albam

• The Soul of the City (Solid State, 1966)

With Gene Ammons

• Bad! Bossa Nova (Prestige, 1962)
• Got My Own (Prestige, 1972)
• Big Bad Jug (Prestige, 1972)

With Louis Bellson

• Drummer's Holiday (Verve, 1958)

With Bob Brookmeyer

• Tonite's Music Today (Storyvile, 1956) with Zoot Sims
• Whooeeee (Storyville, 1956) - Zoot Sims-Bob Brookmeyer Quintet
• Brookmeyer (Vik, 1956)
• Stretching Out (United Artists, 1958) - Zoot Sims-Bob Brookmeyer Octet
• Jazz Is a Kick (Mercury, 1960)
• Gloomy Sunday and Other Bright Moments (Verve, 1961)

With Ruth Brown

• Late Date with Ruth Brown (Atlantic, 1959)
• Ruth Brown '65 (Mainstream, 1965)

With Kenny Burrell

• Bluesin' Around (Columbia, 1962 [1983])
• Night Song (Verve, 1969)

With Rusty Bryant

• For the Good Times (Prestige, 1973)

With Donald Byrd

• Byrd's Word (Savoy, 1955)
• New Formulas from the Jazz Lab (RCA Victor, 1957) with Gigi Gryce
• Jazz Lab (Jubilee, 1958) with Gigi Gryce

With Ron Carter

• Carnaval (1978)

With Paul Chambers

• Bass on Top (Prestige, 1957)

With Jimmy Cleveland

• Introducing Jimmy Cleveland and His All Stars (EmArcy, 1955)
• Rhythm Crazy (EmArcy, 1959 [1964])

With Al Cohn

• That Old Feeling (RCA Victor, 1955)
• The Brothers! (RCA Victor, 1955) with Bill Perkins and Richie Kamuca
• From A to...Z (RCA Victor, 1956) with Zoot Sims
• The Sax Section (Epic, 1956)
• Cohn on the Saxophone (Dawn, 1956)

With Art Farmer

• Last Night When We Were Young (ABC-Paramount, 1957)
• Portrait of Art Farmer (Contemporary, 1958)
• The Aztec Suite (United Artists, 1959)

With Ella Fitzgerald

• Rhythm Is My Business (Verve, 1962)

With Curtis Fuller

• New Trombone (Prestige, 1957)
• Cabin in the Sky (Impulse!, 1962)

With Dizzy Gillespie

• A Portrait of Duke Ellington (Verve, 1960)
• The Bop Session (Sonet, 1975) – with Sonny Stitt, Percy Heath and Max Roach

With Dexter Gordon

• Ca'Purange (Prestige, 1972)
• Tangerine (Prestige, 1972)

With Johnny Griffin

• Soul Groove (Atlantic, 1963) – with Matthew Gee

With Gigi Gryce

• Gigi Gryce (MetroJazz, 1958)

With Lionel Hampton

• You Better Know It!!! (Impulse!, 1965)

With Johnny Hartman

• I Just Dropped By to Say Hello (Impulse!, 1963)
• The Voice That Is! (Impulse!, 1964)

With Donna Hightower

• Take One (Capitol, 1959)

With Bobbi Humphrey

• Flute In (Blue Note, 1971)

With Milt Jackson

• Opus de Jazz (Savoy, 1956)
• The Jazz Skyline (Savoy, 1956)
• Bags & Flutes (Atlantic, 1957)
• Bags & Trane (Atlantic, 1960) – with John Coltrane
• Statements (Impulse!, 1962)
• Big Bags (Riverside, 1962)
• For Someone I Love (Riverside, 1963)
• Milt Jackson Quintet Live at the Village Gate (Riverside, 1963)
• Much in Common (Verve, 1964) – with Ray Brown
• Ray Brown / Milt Jackson (Verve, 1965) – with Ray Brown

With Illinois Jacquet

• Groovin' with Jacquet (Clef, 1951-53 [1956])

With Elvin Jones

• Elvin! (Riverside, 1962)
• And Then Again (Atlantic, 1965)
• Dear John C. (Impulse!, 1965)

With Clifford Jordan

• Hello, Hank Jones (Eastworld, 1978)

With Joe Lovano

• I'm All For You (Blue Note, 2004)
• Joyous Encounters (Blue Note, 2005)

With Herbie Mann

• Salute to the Flute (Epic, 1957)

With Shelly Manne

• 2-3-4 (Impulse!, 1962)

With Gary McFarland

• The Jazz Version of "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" (Verve, 1962)

With Helen Merrill

• Helen Merrill with Strings (EmArcy, 1955)

With Wes Montgomery

• So Much Guitar (Riverside, 1961)

With James Moody

• Great Day (Argo, 1963)

With Oliver Nelson

• Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle (Impulse!, 1966)
• The Spirit of '67 (Impulse!, 1967) – with Pee Wee Russell
• The Kennedy Dream (Impulse!, 1967)

With Joe Newman

• Salute to Satch (RCA Victor, 1956)
• The Midgets (Vik, 1956)

With Charlie Rouse and Paul Quinichette

• The Chase Is On (Bethlehem, 1958)

With A. K. Salim

• Flute Suite (Savoy, 1957) with Frank Wess and Herbie Mann

With Johnny Smith

• Johnny Smith (Verve, 1967)

With Bob Stewart

• Welcome to the Club (1986)
• Talk of The Town (2004)

With Sonny Stitt

• Sonny Stitt Plays Arrangements from the Pen of Quincy Jones (Roost, 1955)
• Sonny Stitt Plays (Roost, 1955)
• Sonny Stitt with the New Yorkers (Roost, 1957)
• Stitt in Orbit (Roost, 1962)
• Goin' Down Slow (Prestige, 1972)

With Clark Terry and Bob Brookmeyer

• Gingerbread Men (Mainstream, 1966)

With Lucky Thompson

• Lucky Thompson Plays Jerome Kern and No More (Moodsville, 1963)
• Lucky Strikes (Prestige, 1964)

With Ben Webster

• See You at the Fair (Impulse!, 1964)

With Nancy Wilson

• But Beautiful (1969)

With Lester Young

• Laughin' to Keep from Cryin' (Verve, 1958)

External links

• Official website
• Hank Jones at the Internet Movie Database
• Hank Jones complete discography
• Arnold Jay Smith, "Profile: Hank Jones", Jazz.com.
• Peter Keepnews, "Hank Jones, Versatile Jazz Pianist, Is Dead at 91", New York Times, May 17, 2010.
• "Magic Numbers: Hank Jones, Ron Carter, Tony Williams", Do the Math, July 17, 2010.