''The things that I have, I'll give to you. This is
my legacy with you, Albert. This is my last hoo-rah.
''So begins the autobiography of Jonathan David Samuel
Jones--or as the world better knows him, Papa Jo Jones.
Playing with Count Basie and his orchestra when they
exploded out of Kansas City in 1936 and took the world
by storm, Jones went on to inspire generations of jazz
drummers, but until now few have had access to his own
remarkable story.''Rifftide'' presents Jones's
inimitable life and opinions, as originally told by
Jones 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,
''Rifftide'' 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. With a
fascinating introduction and annotations by Paul Devlin
and an afterword by Phil Schaap, jazz historian and
longtime friend of Jones, ''Rifftide'' reveals a man at
the forefront of both a whole new form of music and a
country in the midst of incredible turmoil and
opportunity. As Jones himself puts it: ''Listen man,
I've had a hell of a time . . .'' |
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