Willie Jones III (born June 8, 1968, in Los Angeles, California) is a jazz drummer. He has played, toured, and recorded with Horace Silver, Roy Hargrove, Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, and Herbie Hancock. He played on Arturo Sandoval's Grammy-winning album Hot House (1998).
Early life Jones' father, also named Willie Jones, was a pianist, composer and arranger, who moved to Los Angeles from Jacksonville in 1961. By the time Jones was born, his father "was gigging locally and working as a vocal coach for entertainers, including Ann-Margret."
Willie Jones III was born on June 8, 1968, in Los Angeles. Jones reported that he wanted to be a jazz musician from the age of seven.
Later life and career Jones was one of the founding members of the band Black Note in 1990. Members of this ensemble included, at various times, Ark Sano, Eric Reed, Gilbert Castellanos, James Mahone, Kenneth Crouch, Mark Shelby, and Richard E. Grant. They released several albums.
In 1991, Jones began studying at the California Institute of the Arts, where he took drum lessons from Albert "Tootie" Heath. Jones played with Milt Jackson in 1994, and toured with trumpeter Arturo Sandoval from 1994 to 1998.
Jones was based in Los Angeles until he moved to New York in 1997. He played in trumpeter Roy Hargrove's quintet from 1998 to 2006.
In 2000, Jones founded an independent jazz label, WJ3 Records. He said in 2017 that "It's a self-investment, [...] I'm not making a profit, but I'm not losing any money. I've become more proficient at putting out each project." He has regularly played with pianist Eric Reed, as the drummer for Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center, and has several CDs released as a leader on his own label, playing hard bop and swing.
Jones has taught at Northwestern University since 2010.
In 2014, Jones filed a lawsuit against California rapper Kendrick Lamar for allegedly sampling "The Thorn" illegally in Lamar's song "Rigamortus".
Playing style Guitarist Russell Malone commented in 2017 that, "Some drummers can't get through two bars of music without trying to do something cute and slick, but with Willie, the time and the groove is not an afterthought. He's aware of each component of the song – the melody, the changes and the form. I like to incorporate different grooves into my things, and Willie does not turn up his nose at them. He knows exactly what to do."
Discography An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.
As leader/co-leader Year recordedTitleLabelPersonnel/Notes With Black Note199143rd & DegnanWorld StageWith Black Note1993L.A. UndergroundRedWith Black Note1994Jungle MusicColumbiaWith Black Note1996Nothin' but the SwingImpulse!With Black Note1996–99Vol. 1...Straight Swingin' WJ32001-02Vol. 2...Don't Knock The SwingWJ32006Vol. IIIWJ32009The Next PhaseWJ32012Willie Jones III Sextet Plays The Max Roach SongbookWJ3In concert2014GroundworkWJ32016My Point Is...WJ32020Fallen HeroesWJ3
As sideman Year recordedLeaderTitleLabelYear released1994Mirror PuzzleAudioQuest19941998The Usual SuspectsLightyear19981998Hot HouseN2K19981998Jazz Has a Sense of HumorVerve19991999Moment to MomentVerve20002001New York TrioCriss Cross Jazz20012001Here and ThereCriss Cross Jazz20022002New York Trio – Page TwoCriss Cross Jazz20032005Somewhere Over the RainbowVenus20062005For TomorrowSteepleChase20072007Thinking of YouHighNote20072008?Conception: Cool and HotBirds20082009Voices Deep WithinHighNote20092010Moment to MomentHighNote20102011The BouncerHighNote20112012Floriaan WempeFlo's FlowChallenge Records20122013The DiscipleSteepleChase20142022?Standards and My SongsRoni Music2022
References