I just sat down to read this week's issue of Time, and in their "Notebook" section, they mentioned that Elvin Jones passed away. Instantly, I went to Zildjian.com to see if they had anything, and there it was. Wow. He was one of my heroes. My freshman year in college, the only thing I really did was transcribe performances of his off of John Coltrane albums. I'm absolutely at a loss for words here. Time had this to say: Elvin Jones, 76, post-bebop drummer best known for pushing the innovative saxophonist John Coltrane to rapturous heights; in New York City. In the early 1950s he redefined his explosive, polyrhythmic style in the fertile Detroit jazz scene, and in 1955 he moved to New York, where he recorded with Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins. He joined Coltrane's quartet in 1960 and later led the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. Zildjian.com added this: Farewell to a gentle giant... Dear Friends, It's with a heavy heart and deep sadness that I inform you all that our beloved friend Elvin Jones passed away Tuesday, May 18th at 2:46 p.m. eastern time in New York. He was 76 years young. Please take a moment to pause and remember this very special person. Sincerely, John P. DeChristopher Director of Artist Relations & Event Marketing Worldwide Avedis Zildjian Company If this has already been discussed, I apologize. I can't believe I missed this info. One of the true greats of music. RIP Elvin. I will now listen to Coltrane's "Crescent" album.
News to me as well. Very sad news indeed I read an interview with Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix drummer) years ago where he was talking about their first trip to the U.S. He said while they were in New York he went to a tiny little club (the name escapes me) one night and Elvin Jones was playing drums and the place was empty. First off, he couldn't believe he was actually watching his hero and main inspiration in this tiny, dark club. Secondly, he couldn't believe the place was empty. He went back every night they were in NY to watch Elvin play.
Great story I have of Elvin from my combo instructor my freshman year in college. It was the mid 70s and Elvin was doing a drum clinic at a store in Chicago. My instructor, Bob, said that the room wasn't really that big, maybe 30'x20'. They had the drums set up and everyone was waiting, standing room only. Well, Elvin finally showed up 30 minutes late, and was absolutely reeking of alcohol. Two guys were practically carrying Elvin in, just set him behind the drums. The owner of the place walked up, said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you..." *turns towards Elvin's ears and screams* "MR ELVIN JONES!" Elvin suddenly sits up and starts playing. Incredible solo, goes on for 15-20 minutes. They then open the clinic for questions. Naturally, there's that one kid (and everyone who's been to a music clinic knows this kid) that raises his hand and says, "Mr. Jones, you know in measure XX in *insert song name here* that you did on *insert album here*? Was that a paradiddle or a double stroke pattern you did?" Elvin stops for a second, stares at the kid, and just starts playing another solo for about 15-20 minutes. Afterwards, they had him sign a drum head, like they did for all clinicians. He said it was great to look at the heads on the wall as you see all these signatures that are legible, then there's Elvin's which looks like an E and then the pen exploded.
RIP ELVIN - im not a "jazz" drummer, but your style has been a huge influence on my playing and i love your drumsticks! sadly, his death will probably go largely unnoticed by mags like rolling stone, spin, ect.
Elvin ranked right up there with Art Blakey as one of my all-time favorite jazz drummers. He will be missed - +.
A buddy of mine on a Steely Dan site mentioned his passing the day it happened. That night I wore a little strip of black electrical tape on my sportcoat during my set, I mentioned Elvin during said set, and nobody had a clue. It's nice to see you cats recognizing him for what he was and what he accomplished. A brilliant, soulful, and entertaining skinsman.
I heard a rumor that he was very sick about a month ago. Then I heard it wasn't true. Then I heard about him passing last week. Very sad.
I heard the rumors too, and was concerned until the next day I heard that it wasn't serious and he would be out in no time.
