Papa Jo Jones

This 1957 film footage captures the amazing drum talent of Jo Jones.

*Jo Jones got his start working as a drummer and tap-dancer in carnival shows until joining Walter Page’s Oklahoma City band, the “Blue Devils” during the late 1920’s. He went on to recorded with trumpeter Lloyd Hunter’s “Serenaders” in 1931, and in 1934 joined pianist Count Basie’s band.

*He was one of the first drummers to promote the use of brushes on drums, shifting the role of timekeeping from the bass drum to the hi-hat cymbal.

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