Rufus "Speedy" Jones
Rufus "Speedy" Jones ( born May 27, 1936 in Charleston (South Carolina), † April 25, 1990 in Las Vegas ) was an American jazz drummer.
Life and work
Jones first learned trumpet, before switching to drums at age 13. He played as a teenager in the Jenkins Orphanage band, Lionel Hampton ( 1954), Henry " Red" Allen and 1959-1963 with Maynard Ferguson. He then worked with his own band (1963 /64), with which he presented an album that involved, inter alia, Major Holley, Gene Bertoncini, Jaki Byard, Joe Farrell, Seldon Powell and Tommy Turrentine. Subsequently, Jones was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra (1964-1966) and Duke Ellington Orchestra (1966-1970), whose Far East Suite his dynamic drumming becomes clear. In 1967, he took with Johnny Hodges on (triple play ); Duke Ellington came in 1972 also with Jones and Joe Benjamin ( bass) trio on ( Live at the Whitney, released on Impulse! Records).
Disco Graphical Notes
- Five on Eight ( Cameo, 1964)
- Maynard Ferguson / Teddy Wilson / Clark Terry / Rufus Jones - Jazz Festival ( Wyncote )
- Duke Ellington 's 70th Birthday Concert ( 1970)