Say it Loud @blackexcellencestv - Tumblr Blog

Papa Jo Jones’ uncanny way around the drums, ability to truly swing a band without ever overpowering it, and slick, smiling sense of showmanship made him one of the most influential of the early swing band drummers. Jones made an art form of the use of brushes on the drum kit, with accents timely and thoroughly appropriate for whatever band with which he played. Jo Jones is credited with the transfer of the essential pulse of jazz music from the bass drum to the hi-hat cymbal.

He was known as Papa Jo Jones to distinguish him from younger drummer Philly Joe Jones. His technique was to leave the hi-hat cymbals just slightly apart, which produced a sound different from the relative staccato approach of his predecessors. Never one to engage in extended solos, his delight was in driving a band with his incomparable swing.

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