Rifftide: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones
Papa Jo Jones
Abstract
This book presents Papa Jo Jones’s (Jonathan David Samuel Jones) inimitable life and opinions, as originally told to the prominent jazz historian and novelist Albert Murray and now transcribed, arranged, and introduced by Paul Devlin. Drawn from fourteen tapes recorded over eight years beginning in 1977, the book is an impressionistic series of riffs and tales by Jones: his life as a musician on the road in segregated America, his outstanding solo career following his years with the Basie band, and his interactions with iconic artists and cultural figures of the time, including Ralph Ellison, ... More
This book presents Papa Jo Jones’s (Jonathan David Samuel Jones) inimitable life and opinions, as originally told to the prominent jazz historian and novelist Albert Murray and now transcribed, arranged, and introduced by Paul Devlin. Drawn from fourteen tapes recorded over eight years beginning in 1977, the book is an impressionistic series of riffs and tales by Jones: his life as a musician on the road in segregated America, his outstanding solo career following his years with the Basie band, and his interactions with iconic artists and cultural figures of the time, including Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and Satchell Paige. A true American original and jazz luminary, Papa Jo Jones bedazzled and intrigued many with his outrageous, volatile personality and his innovative drumming—and nowhere does his fierce intellect and humor shine more marvelously than in his life’s telling.
Keywords:
Albert Murray,
riffs,
musician,
segregated America,
solo career,
Basie band,
jazz,
Papa Jo Jones,
autobiography
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2011 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780816673001 |
| Published to Minnesota Scholarship Online: August 2015 |
DOI:10.5749/minnesota/9780816673001.001.0001 |
