Oliver Jones. Marthe Sansregret
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Oliver Jones:
The Musician,
The Man
OLIVER
JONES
THE MUSICIAN,
THE MAN
a biography by
Marthe Sansregret
XYZ Publishing
For
Monique, the wife of Oliver Jones,
and Richard, his son
Charles Biddle, bass player, Georges Durst,
owner of the House of Jazz
Alain Simard, President
and André Ménard, Vice-president
Montreal International Jazz Festival
Jim West, President, Justin Time Records Inc.
Copyright © 2006 Marthe Sansregret and XYZ Publishing.
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of the publisher – or, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency – is an infringement of the copyright law.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Sansregret, Marthe
Oliver Jones : the musician, the man
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-894852-22-7
ISBN-10: 1-894852-22-2
1. Jones, Oliver, 1934- . 2. Pianists – Canada – Biography. 3. Jazz musicians – Canada – Biography. I. Title.
ML417.J785S32 2006 786.2’165092 C2006-940991-9
Legal Deposit: Second quarter 2006
Library and Archives Canada
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
The publishers acknowledge the financial support our publishing program receives from The Canada Council for the Arts, the ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec, and the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles.
Except where noted, all the photographs in this book are from the Oliver Jones archives.
Editor: Rhonda Bailey
Linguistic reviewer: Darcy Dunton
Layout: Édiscript enr.
Cover design: Zirval Design
Set in Minion 12 on 14.
Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens, Altona (Manitoba), in June 2006.
XYZ Publishing
1781 Saint Hubert Street
Montreal, Quebec H2L 3Z1
Tel: (514) 525-2170
Fax: (514) 525-7537
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.xyzedit.qc.ca
Distributed by: University of Toronto Press Distribution
5201 Dufferin Street
Toronto, ON, M3H 5T8
Tel: 416-667-7791; Toll-free: 800-565-9523
Fax: 416-667-7832; Toll-free: 800-221-9985
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: utpress.utoronto.ca
International Rights: Contact André Vanasse, tel. (514) 525-2170 # 25
E-mail: [email protected]
Contents
Preface by Oliver Jones
Chapter I: A Quote from Memory 1896–1934
Chapter II: Born with the Beat 1934–1940
Chapter III: A Community Childhood: A Passion for Sports and Music 1940–1945
Chapter IV: Life as a Working Musician 1946–1964
Chapter V: Taking Music to a Higher Level 1965–1980
Chapter VI: Finally, a Return to Jazz, and The First Recordings 1980–1984
Chapter VII: International Fame and Acclaim 1984–1994
Chapter VIII: The Best Years 1995–2000
Chapter IX: Life After Music 2000–2006
Awards
Discography and Videography
Sources
Index
Thank you to Jean Beaudet, Darlene Berenger, Monique Bérubé-Jones, Charles Biddle, Constance Marchand-Biddle, Henri Brassard, Lillian Bryan-Jones, Rev. Wrenfred Bryant, Martine Chartrand, Arlene Cohen, Ray Dawson, Winsome Dawson, Alain DeGrosbois, Lorraine Desmarais, Len Dobbin, Michel Donato, Angèle Dubeau, Martin Duckworth, Simon Durivage, Georges Durst, Denise Émard, Marge Fernley, Louise Fleischman, Shirley Ford-Jones, Freddie Gale, John Gilmore, Pierre Gravel, Francine Grimaldi, Isidore Israelovitch, Richard Jones, Robert “Bud” and Joyce Jones, Violet Jones, Marcel Lafontaine, Brigitte Lang, Lothar Lang, Sylvia Langdon, Maude Leclerc, Lawrence David Lederman, Ranee Lee, Richard Lord, Katie Malloch, Terry Malone, Leroy Mason, Solanges Mason, Robert Masters, André Ménard, Wali Muhammad, Carmen Muhammad, Bruce Parent, Diane Parent, Richard Parris, Bernard Primeau, Joe Pyle, Marguerite Pyle, Richard Ring, Kenny Rockhead, Anthony Sherwood, Alain Simard, Jadranka Subic, Jordi Sunol, Ed Thigpen, Daniel Vachon, Norman Villeneuve, Vic Vogel, Bernice Whims, Ralph Whims, Sharon Whims, Oliver White and Dave Young.
Each of you has opened your home to me – sometimes in the company of your dogs, cats, rabbits, or birds – or welcomed me to your workplace or your holiday resort. Moreover, each of you has opened your heart to me, in order to celebrate your good friend Oliver Jones, as a jazz musician and as an exceptional man. To all of you, I wish to express my deep gratitude for the information you have provided, and also, for the privilege of knowing you.
I wish to express my thanks to Publisher André Vanasse and Editorial Director Rhonda Bailey, along with all the staff at XYZ Publishing, for their enthusiasm and efficiency. Needless to say, I am also deeply grateful to my linguistic reviewer Darcy Dunton for the fine quality of her work.
Oliver Jones would like to convey special thanks to the following people: Johanne Bougie, Caroline Jamet, David Jobin, Maude Leclerc, Michèle Neveu, Laurent Saulnier and the staff at Équipe-Spectra, in addition to Morty Sachs, Jean-Pierre Leduc, Arlene Cohen, Jadranka Subic, Simon Fauteux, Nancy Marley, Nadine Campbell and the staff at Justin Time Records Inc.
Marthe