Rifftide: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones

(Paperback)

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A true American original and jazz luminary, Papa Jo Jones bedazzled and intrigued many with his outrageous, volatile personality and his innovative drummingand 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.

Reviews

"Jo Jones, an elegant, swinging dude, always had a style of his own. When he was with us, you could hear him, feel himeverything was right there." Count Basie

"I first met Jo Jones at the RKO Theater in Boston when I was a teenager in the early 1940s and we were friends until he passed away. He was my first influence and my major influence. He was Papa Jo to me before they gave him that title. He was like a father to me. For drummers of my generation, Jo was the president of the drums just like Lester Young was president of the tenor saxophone. Jo loved to talk, and when he spoke it was almost as if he was playing the drums: youd give him your undivided attention. Rifftide conveys a fine sense of his voice and the larger than life dimensions of his personality." Roy Haynes

"Albert Murray has helped keep the incomparable Jo Jones alive through the voice of Count Basie in Good Morning Blues and fictionally in The Magic Keys, but in Rifftide, thanks to the persistence of editor Paul Devlin, we get to hear Jo himself in all his dynamic, adrenalized, anecdotal, no-bull gloryriffing with words as heartily as he did on the hi-hat." Gary Giddins, author of Warning Shadows and Jazz

"Rifftide is a gem of a book about one of the forgotten founding fathers of Swing. Jo Jones was more than a jazz geniushe was also one of the great characters and chroniclers of American life during the Swing Era. Based on extensive oral interviews and years of painstaking research, Rifftide is a terrific source not only for students of jazz, but also American history, African-American studies, linguistics, and sociology." Debby Applegate, author of The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher
"Papa Jo Jones is Brer Rabbit with a drum kit and opposable thumbs. In his own spellbinding voice, musical history and philosophy come alive on the page."Mat Johnson, author of Pym

"With a pronounced irascible streak to match his heterodox approach to drumming, Papa Jo Jones (1911-85) was an ideal candidate to star in the kind of book that delights jazz fans: the straight-talking, defiantly espousing firsthand record. Anyone interested in authenticity of voice is going to be on the verge of fist-pumping the air throughout, or else exclaiming, You tell it like it is, baby, as if partaking in a call-and-response with the book."The New York Times

"Devlin does the rare work of presenting the intersection of musicianship and folklore in a volume that belongs in any serious jazz or African American culture collection."Library Journal

"It is a very entertaining, thought provoking, and insightful read in better understanding such a burning talent and innovator. This is Papa Jo Jones, an American original through his riffing and unvarnished commentary on life and music."JazzTimes Magazine

"Rifftide is rife with stories of musical ingenuity amid the racial strife of the swing era and beyond."The Root

"Rifftide is an easy, fun read that I'll keep returning to."Ethan Iverson

Author Bio

Papa Jo Jones (19111985) was one of the most influential jazz drummers of all time. He played with Count Basie and his orchestra from 1936 until he entered the army in 1944, and again from 1946 to 1948. He also played on Billie Holidays early records. From the late forties on, Jones had a spectacular solo career, playing with Jazz at the Philharmonic and the Newport Jazz Festival, recording under his own name, and playing on albums by Duke Ellington, Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter, and many others.

Albert Murray was a cofounder of Jazz at Lincoln Center. His many books include Train Whistle Guitar and Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie.

Paul Devlin is a doctoral student in the English Department at Stony Brook University. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Slate, the Root, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among other publications.

Phil Schaap has broadcast jazz on New York Citys WKCR for more than forty years. He taught at Princeton University and currently teaches at Julliard. He is the curator at Jazz at Lincoln Center.