Victor Jones Story

about Victor Jones

Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1954, Victor Jones started his musical journey playing trumpet in the symphonic orchestra of the Elmwood Elementary School in East Orange. After 10 years of studying the instrument, he developed an intense interest in the drums as a result of seeing the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show.

While Jones continued his trumpet playing, the drums became his real passion. As a teenager, he won several awards for outstanding musicianship, and in 1975, was discovered by Lou Donaldson. This led to a string of prestigious gigs, incliding two years with Donaldson's outfit and then a stint with Stan Getz's band. Touring with Getz introudeced Jones to an international audience, and he has since toured and recorded with a multitude of renown artists, such as james Moody, Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Clarke, Phyllis Hyman, Stanley Turrentine, Masabumi Kikuchi, Michel Pettruciani, Dizzy Gillespie and Chaka Khan. For the last two years, he has been touring wit the world famous Jimmy Scott.

Between his tours with other artists, Jones has formed his own group, The Victor Jones R&B Bop Band, which has performed extensively throughout the United States and Japan. In 1995, he issued his first release under his own name on New Frontier Records. Created through the union of music and the visual art of Tom Reyes, "Visible Sound Groove" was inspired by a current musical direction in New York known as Acid Jazz.

"Visible Sound Groove" boasts a distinguished lineup of session players assembled by Jones himself, including guitarist Barry Finnerty, saxophonist Alex Foster, trombonist Conrad Herwig, and vibraphonist Joe Locke. "I always try to stay in touch with new trends in music. Jazz runs the risk of losing its creative edge by focusing on artists who are reproducing music that was perfected before they were born", states Jones.

After years playing as a sideman on over 100 releases and on film and production work, Victor Jones is now emerging as a new breed of band leader. He is currently working on material for his next release.