Sam Jones

by Scott YanowSam Jones, a greatly in-demand bassist who often teamed up with drummer Louis Hayes, was also a talented jazz cello soloist. He always took advantage of the fairly rare opportunities he had to lead sessions to create memorable music. He played with Tiny Bradshaw (1953-1955), moved to New York in 1955 and worked with the groups of Kenny Dorham, Cannonball Adderley (1957), Dizzy Gillespie (1958-1959), and Thelonious Monk, among others. While a member of Cannonball Adderleys very successful quintet (1959-1965), Jones wrote such originals as Unit 7 and Del Sasser and led three highly recommended albums for Riverside during 1960-1962 (all have been reissued in the OJC series) that featured some of his finest cello playing. Sam Jones was with the Oscar Peterson Trio (as Ray Browns first replacement) during 1966-1970 and then freelanced for the remainder of his life, making many recordings, including albums of his own for East Wind (1974), Xanadu, Muse, Inner City, SteepleChase, Interplay, and SeaBreeze.