Jones, Willie [William] (New York, 20 Oct 1929)

Drummer

He was largely self-taught. His first important association was with Thelonious Monk, with whom he performed and recorded in 1953. In the mid-1950s he played with Cecil Payne, Charlie Parker, Kenny Dorham, J. J. Johnson, and Lester Young, and recorded with Elmo Hope (1955) and Randy Weston (1956). He was a member of Charles Mingus's first Jazz Workshop (1955-6), with which he recorded three albums, including Pithecanthropus erectus (1956, Atlantic 1237).

The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, © Macmillan Reference Ltd 1988