Hank Jones
The oldest of the Jones brothers, Hank Jones has been a supreme accompanist and underrated soloist. He's among the most accomplished sight readers in jazz, and his flexibility and sensitive style have kept him extremely busy cutting sessions and working in various groups and styles ranging from swing to bebop. He's worked with vocalists, played in big bands and done many solo, trio, and combo dates.
Born in 1918 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Jones moved with his family to the Detroit area while still a child, and studied piano early, listening carefully to Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, Earl Hines, and Fats Waller. He began playing in the midwest at age 13, and worked in territory bands. Jones met Lucky Thompson in one of these groups, and Thompson invited him to New York in 1944 to work with Hot Lips Page at the Onyx Club. Jones worked for a while with John Kirby, Howard McGhee, Coleman Hawkins, Andy Kirk, and Billy Eckstine, then began touring in 1947. He worked with Jazz at the Philharmonic, then accompanied Ella Fitzgerald from 1948 to 1953. Jones also cut many sessions for Norman Granz's labels in the late '40s and early '50s, many with Charlie Parker. He worked and recorded in the '50s with Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Lester Young, Milt Jackson, and Cannonball Adderley before joining CBS' staff in 1959. He worked on such programs as The Ed Sullivan Show and stayed with CBS until they disbanded the staff in 1976. He recorded several sessions with Savoy in the mid- and late '50s, playing with Donald Byrd, Herbie Mann, Wendell Marshall, and Kenny Clarke, among others. He also recorded solo and quartet dates for Epic. His quartet with Osie Johnson, Barry Galbraith, and Milt Hinton became one of New York's busiest during the early '60s, sometimes doing three dates a day. They cut albums for Capitol and ABC in 1958, though Galbraith missed the ABC sessions. Jones continued recording at Capitol, Argo, and Impulse in the early '60s, at times working with his brother Elvin. He made a host of recordings in the '70s. There were solo dates for Trio and Galaxy, and trio sessions for Interface and Concord, among others in the '70s. There were duo dates with Flanagan for Verve and Galaxy in the late '70s. Jones served as pianist and conductor for the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin in the late '70s. He also played in the Great Jazz Trio, originally with Ron Carter and Tony Williams. (Buster Williams replaced Carter on the trio's first recording date.) Jones continued with the trio into the '80s, though Eddie Gomez and Al Foster later became his mates, and Jimmy Cobb replaced Foster in 1982. The trio also backed Art Farmer, Benny Golson, and Nancy Wilson. Jones was the resident pianist at the Cafe Ziegfeld in the early '80s, and toured Japan with George Duvivier and Sonny Stitt. He kept his recording blitz going into the digital era. In 1989, he was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. In 2004, he was awarded as an ASCAP Jazz Living Legend; five years later, he received a National Medal of Arts; and in 2009, Jones earned a Lifetime Achievement award at the Grammys. One year later, he died in the Bronx while in hospice, just a few weeks after returning from performance dates in Japan.
© Ron Wynn /TiVo
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You Are There
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Group International on 1 Sep 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Last Recording
Hank Jones, The Great Jazz Trio
Jazz - Released by Sony Music Artists Inc. on 1 Sep 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Standard Collections Vol. 2
Hank Jones, Billy Hart, Mads Vinding
Jazz - Released by Limetree on 10 Dec 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Upon Reflection: The Music Of Thad Jones
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Live at Jazzhus Slukefter 1983 (Live)
Hank Jones, Shelly Manne, Mads Vinding
Jazz - Released by Storyville on 26 Jan 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carnval (live)
Ron Carter, Hank Jones, Sadao Watanabe, Tony Williams
Jazz - Released by Original Jazz Classics on 1 Jan 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Standard Collections Vol. 1
Hank Jones, Billy Hart, Mads Vinding
Bebop - Released by Limetree on 10 Dec 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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When There Is Love
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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You Are There - EP
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Group International on 20 Aug 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sarala
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Urbanity (Expanded Edition)
Jazz - Released by Verve on 1 Jan 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live At Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 16
Jazz - Released by Concord Jazz on 11 Nov 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hank Jones Trio with Mads Vinding & Al Foster
Hank Jones, Mads Vinding, Al Foster
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Storyville on 1 Oct 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kids: Live at Dizzy's Club (Live)
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Compassion (The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions)
Bebop - Released by Disques Black & Blue on 17 Jul 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
One More - The Music of Thad Jones
Jazz - Released by IPO Recordings on 19 May 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear / God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Group International on 1 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo