WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.140 If you want to genuinely understand the golden 00:00:03.140 --> 00:00:07.280 era of jazz, you know, you don't actually look 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:09.160 at the guys with their names in giant lights 00:00:09.160 --> 00:00:11.240 on the marquee. Right. You really don't. You 00:00:11.240 --> 00:00:13.060 look at the guy sitting in the back, the guy 00:00:13.060 --> 00:00:16.000 holding the sticks, just controlling the pulse 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.039 of the entire room. So welcome in. It's great 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:21.300 to be here. If you're joining us, you are probably 00:00:21.300 --> 00:00:24.440 the kind of person who loves to learn, who thrives 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:27.539 on picking up new knowledge. But, you know, you 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:30.079 also really value your time. Exactly. Time is 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:32.460 precious. Right. You want the deep understanding. 00:00:32.579 --> 00:00:35.380 You want those aha moments. But you absolutely 00:00:35.380 --> 00:00:38.000 do not want to drown in some sea of information 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:40.320 overload. Yeah, nobody wants a textbook read 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:42.539 to them. Exactly. Well, you are in the exact 00:00:42.539 --> 00:00:45.500 right place. We've got a fantastic deep dive 00:00:45.500 --> 00:00:47.859 for you today. Custom tailored to get you up 00:00:47.859 --> 00:00:50.729 to speed on a truly... fascinating life and legacy. 00:00:51.329 --> 00:00:54.170 And just to set the stage, we aren't going to 00:00:54.170 --> 00:00:56.329 call this a typical podcast episode. No, definitely 00:00:56.329 --> 00:00:58.509 not. This is a deep dive. We're going into the 00:00:58.509 --> 00:01:00.890 archives, the history and the rhythm of one of 00:01:00.890 --> 00:01:03.590 the most remarkable, yet maybe sometimes overlooked 00:01:03.590 --> 00:01:08.200 figures in 20th century music. Overlooked by 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:10.560 the general public, maybe, but certainly not 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:13.519 by the musicians. Right. So today, our source 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:16.099 material is a comprehensive Wikipedia article 00:01:16.099 --> 00:01:19.879 detailing the life, the career, and the incredibly 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:23.299 dense discography of Joseph Rudolph Jones. The 00:01:23.299 --> 00:01:25.859 one and only. Yep. He is much better known to 00:01:25.859 --> 00:01:28.579 the world as Philly Joe Jones, who lived from 00:01:28.579 --> 00:01:32.379 1923 to 1985. It is just a phenomenal source 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:35.299 document to dig into. It's completely packed 00:01:35.299 --> 00:01:37.680 with these intersecting timelines of musical 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:40.359 history. Oh, yeah. It really tracks the evolution 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:43.359 of American music through the lens of one man's 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:46.420 career. It really does. But before we go a single 00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:48.459 step further, I need to make a very quick, very 00:01:48.459 --> 00:01:50.799 crucial clarification for you. Oh, the name thing. 00:01:50.939 --> 00:01:53.900 Yes, please do. Yeah. If you are taking notes 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:55.459 or like if you plan on bringing this up at a 00:01:55.459 --> 00:01:57.939 dinner party later, please do not confuse Philly 00:01:57.939 --> 00:02:00.379 Joe Jones with Joe Jones. An incredibly common 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:03.159 mistake. Right. Joe Jones, who was often called 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:06.099 Papa Joe Jones, was the legendary drummer for 00:02:06.099 --> 00:02:08.180 the Count Basie Orchestra. So that's a completely 00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:09.979 different guy, different era, different style. 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:12.219 We are specifically talking about Philly Joe 00:02:12.219 --> 00:02:15.900 Jones today. Yeah. Jazz history is honestly littered 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:18.340 with folks who share similar names, but it is 00:02:18.340 --> 00:02:20.180 an important distinction to make right out of 00:02:20.180 --> 00:02:23.240 the gate so we know exactly whose rhythm we are 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:26.599 analyzing here. Absolutely. So what is our mission 00:02:26.599 --> 00:02:29.080 for this deep dive? We are going to explore exactly 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:32.520 how one man became the undisputed heartbeat of 00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:36.099 jazz's most creatively explosive era. And that's 00:02:36.099 --> 00:02:38.580 not an exaggeration. No, it's really not. We 00:02:38.580 --> 00:02:41.719 are talking about a musician who mastered everything 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:45.400 from bebop to hard bop, from cool jazz to modal 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:47.960 jazz. And just so we aren't throwing jargon around, 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:50.039 because, you know, our source text uses these 00:02:50.039 --> 00:02:52.060 terms quite a bit. Yeah, it helps to define them 00:02:52.060 --> 00:02:54.740 quickly. Exactly. Let's do that. So bebop is 00:02:54.740 --> 00:02:57.699 that incredibly fast, complex, almost frantic 00:02:57.699 --> 00:03:00.580 style of jazz. Hard bop is a little more bluesy. 00:03:00.580 --> 00:03:03.159 It's got a heavier driving beat. Cool jazz slows 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:05.439 things down with a more relaxed... dude tempo 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:08.819 and then modal jazz is much more open spacious 00:03:08.819 --> 00:03:12.659 and focused on mood rather than like rapid chord 00:03:12.659 --> 00:03:14.719 changes and philly joe jones mastered literally 00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:17.979 all of them all of them but the way he did it 00:03:17.979 --> 00:03:21.000 is the real secret we're unpacking today he didn't 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:24.389 just impose his own loud will on the music He 00:03:24.389 --> 00:03:27.250 mastered the art of adaptability. That's the 00:03:27.250 --> 00:03:30.509 key word, adaptability. He became exactly what 00:03:30.509 --> 00:03:32.909 The Room and whatever the other musicians needed 00:03:32.909 --> 00:03:35.629 him to be in that precise moment. And that kind 00:03:35.629 --> 00:03:38.569 of adaptability is an incredibly rare trait. 00:03:38.770 --> 00:03:40.969 I mean, not just in music, but in any professional 00:03:40.969 --> 00:03:44.449 field. The ability to completely mold yourself 00:03:44.449 --> 00:03:47.569 to your environment, to support the varying visions 00:03:47.569 --> 00:03:49.990 of different leaders, while still maintaining 00:03:49.990 --> 00:03:52.669 your own fundamental identity. That is a real 00:03:52.669 --> 00:03:55.069 superpower. OK, let's unpack this. Let's go right 00:03:55.069 --> 00:03:57.090 back to the beginning to see where that specific 00:03:57.090 --> 00:03:59.949 superpower actually came from. Our source material 00:03:59.949 --> 00:04:02.270 tells us that Joseph Rudolph Jones was born in 00:04:02.270 --> 00:04:05.789 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 15th, 1923. 00:04:06.030 --> 00:04:08.069 Hence the nickname. Right. Hence Philly Joe, 00:04:08.189 --> 00:04:09.810 which really helped distinguish him from the 00:04:09.810 --> 00:04:11.889 other Joe Jones we mentioned earlier. But the 00:04:11.889 --> 00:04:13.949 detail that really jumps off the page regarding 00:04:13.949 --> 00:04:17.310 his childhood is his very first foray into the 00:04:17.310 --> 00:04:19.759 entertainment world. This part is so cool. It 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:21.819 really is. He wasn't sitting behind a drum kit 00:04:21.819 --> 00:04:24.019 as a little kid. Yeah. According to the text, 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:26.639 as a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:29.060 dancer on The Kitty Show, and that was broadcast 00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:31.620 on the Philadelphia radio station WIP. Yeah, 00:04:31.699 --> 00:04:34.180 on the radio. Right. Now, I have to ask, because 00:04:34.180 --> 00:04:36.759 on the surface, that sounds like a fun trivia 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:40.810 fact. But does it actually mean anything? Like, 00:04:40.870 --> 00:04:43.410 how does a kid doing tap dancing on the radio 00:04:43.410 --> 00:04:46.050 translate to sitting behind a massive drum kit 00:04:46.050 --> 00:04:48.529 decades later? Isn't that a totally different 00:04:48.529 --> 00:04:50.790 physical skill? What's fascinating here is how 00:04:50.790 --> 00:04:54.269 perfectly that specific early experience sets 00:04:54.269 --> 00:04:56.470 the stage for everything that comes later. Really? 00:04:56.610 --> 00:04:59.189 Oh, absolutely. It is actually the exact same 00:04:59.189 --> 00:05:01.790 foundational skill. Think about what tap dancing 00:05:01.790 --> 00:05:04.670 inherently is. You are essentially creating rhythm, 00:05:04.769 --> 00:05:08.089 not with an external inanimate instrument. but 00:05:08.089 --> 00:05:10.509 with your own physical body. Oh, wow. You are 00:05:10.509 --> 00:05:12.750 using your limbs, your weight distribution, gravity, 00:05:12.949 --> 00:05:15.889 and your feet to create syncopation and time. 00:05:16.110 --> 00:05:17.769 So you are essentially the instrument yourself. 00:05:18.370 --> 00:05:21.949 Exactly. You are the drum kit. So before he ever 00:05:21.949 --> 00:05:24.149 picked up a pair of wooden sticks to hit a snare 00:05:24.149 --> 00:05:27.410 drum or a brass cymbal, he had already internalized 00:05:27.410 --> 00:05:31.240 rhythm at a deeply physical bodily level that 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:33.860 makes so much sense he understood instinctively 00:05:33.860 --> 00:05:36.600 how to hold a groove how to entertain an audience 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:39.839 with comedic or dramatic timing and how to express 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:42.819 musicality purely through physical movement right 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:45.319 because you have to feel it to dance it precisely 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:48.319 when you eventually transition from tap dancing 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:51.339 to playing the drums you aren't learning rhythm 00:05:51.339 --> 00:05:54.379 from scratch you are merely transferring that 00:05:54.379 --> 00:05:57.519 internal bodily rhythm outward into the drums 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:00.670 wow It's no wonder he had such a profound, innate 00:06:00.670 --> 00:06:04.290 sense of swing later in his career. The foundation 00:06:04.290 --> 00:06:06.550 was literally built into his footsteps. He was 00:06:06.550 --> 00:06:08.569 polyrhythmic before he even knew the word for 00:06:08.569 --> 00:06:10.689 it. That paints such a vivid picture. You can 00:06:10.689 --> 00:06:12.870 almost see him as a kid, learning how to make 00:06:12.870 --> 00:06:14.689 those sharp, percussive sounds with his shoes 00:06:14.689 --> 00:06:16.709 on a studio floor. He probably didn't even realize 00:06:16.709 --> 00:06:18.550 he was running drills for a legendary career 00:06:18.550 --> 00:06:21.009 in jazz. Oh, definitely not. But it was all logging 00:06:21.009 --> 00:06:23.430 into his muscle memory. From there, the article 00:06:23.430 --> 00:06:26.689 notes a brief but important period. He served 00:06:26.689 --> 00:06:29.449 in the U .S. Army during World War II, and then 00:06:29.449 --> 00:06:32.470 after his service, the timeline jumps to a major 00:06:32.470 --> 00:06:35.990 career -defining milestone. The year is 1947, 00:06:36.370 --> 00:06:39.189 and Philly Joe Jones becomes the house drummer 00:06:39.189 --> 00:06:41.850 at Cafe Society in New York City. A legendary 00:06:41.850 --> 00:06:44.810 venue. Now, for you listening who might not know 00:06:44.810 --> 00:06:47.250 the dynamic of these old jazz clubs, being a 00:06:47.250 --> 00:06:48.949 house drummer means you are the resident guy. 00:06:49.529 --> 00:06:51.970 When guest musicians and traveling headliners 00:06:51.970 --> 00:06:54.110 come through the club, you don't get a week to 00:06:54.110 --> 00:06:55.689 rehearse with them. You'd be lucky to get an 00:06:55.689 --> 00:06:58.189 hour. Right. You are the one playing behind them, 00:06:58.269 --> 00:07:00.689 often sight reading or just feeling it out live 00:07:00.689 --> 00:07:03.089 on stage. And the source notes that during this 00:07:03.089 --> 00:07:05.230 time, he played with the leading bebop players 00:07:05.230 --> 00:07:08.579 of the day. This included forming a crucial early 00:07:08.579 --> 00:07:10.879 relationship with the composer and pianist Tad 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:12.879 Dameron. Being a house drummer at a prestigious, 00:07:13.139 --> 00:07:16.639 bustling place like Cafe Society in 1947 is the 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.939 ultimate trial by fire. I can't even imagine 00:07:18.939 --> 00:07:21.569 the pressure. It's immense. You do not have the 00:07:21.569 --> 00:07:23.670 luxury of just playing your own specific comfortable 00:07:23.670 --> 00:07:25.810 style every single night. You have different 00:07:25.810 --> 00:07:28.529 headliners, vastly different tempos, contrasting 00:07:28.529 --> 00:07:31.350 moods, and you have to instantly figure out what 00:07:31.350 --> 00:07:34.350 makes that specific guest sound best. You're 00:07:34.350 --> 00:07:37.350 just reacting in real time. Exactly. It is a 00:07:37.350 --> 00:07:40.649 grueling nightly masterclass in reading a room 00:07:40.649 --> 00:07:43.850 and reading your fellow musicians. And meeting 00:07:43.850 --> 00:07:46.310 someone like Tad Dameron, who is such a brilliant 00:07:46.589 --> 00:07:49.149 sophisticated composer and arranger in the bebop 00:07:49.149 --> 00:07:52.149 scene would have pushed Jones to really elevate 00:07:52.149 --> 00:07:54.350 his understanding of musical structure. Form 00:07:54.350 --> 00:07:57.170 and melody, right. Yes. He wasn't just back there 00:07:57.170 --> 00:07:59.529 keeping a metronome -like time. He was learning 00:07:59.529 --> 00:08:01.930 how a song is built from the ground up. And all 00:08:01.930 --> 00:08:04.170 of that intense training, that deep reactive 00:08:04.170 --> 00:08:06.470 listening he had to do night after night as a 00:08:06.470 --> 00:08:09.149 house drummer, it pays off in a massive way just 00:08:09.149 --> 00:08:11.509 a few years later. We are moving into what many 00:08:11.509 --> 00:08:14.230 historians consider the absolute golden era of 00:08:14.230 --> 00:08:17.040 his career. The mid -50s. Stretching from roughly 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:20.779 1955 to 1958, this is when Jones starts touring 00:08:20.779 --> 00:08:22.819 and recording with a group that literally changed 00:08:22.819 --> 00:08:25.639 the trajectory of modern music, the Miles Davis 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:28.680 Quintet. A powerhouse. And the lineup of this 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:31.060 band, as listed in our source, is incredible. 00:08:31.629 --> 00:08:33.769 It actually became known in jazz circles simply 00:08:33.769 --> 00:08:36.789 as The Quintet, capital T, capital Q, because 00:08:36.789 --> 00:08:39.350 it was so definitive. You don't even have to 00:08:39.350 --> 00:08:41.950 say Miles' name. People just know. Exactly. You've 00:08:41.950 --> 00:08:44.750 got Miles Davis on trumpet, Red Garland on piano, 00:08:45.190 --> 00:08:48.470 John Coltrane on tenor sax, Paul Chambers on 00:08:48.470 --> 00:08:51.830 bass, and Philly Joe Jones on the drums. Every 00:08:51.830 --> 00:08:54.129 single one of those individuals was a visionary. 00:08:54.669 --> 00:08:57.350 They were pushing the absolute boundaries of 00:08:57.350 --> 00:09:00.250 what jazz could be. To be the rhythmic engine 00:09:00.250 --> 00:09:03.990 for that specific combination of massive contrasting 00:09:03.990 --> 00:09:06.950 talents requires a very specialized set of skills. 00:09:07.169 --> 00:09:09.230 You can't just play standard beats behind them. 00:09:09.350 --> 00:09:11.639 No. You had to be strong enough to drive them, 00:09:11.700 --> 00:09:14.019 but flexible enough not to step on their toes. 00:09:14.139 --> 00:09:16.259 Right. And the source material points directly 00:09:16.259 --> 00:09:18.940 to what that superpower was. It explicitly says 00:09:18.940 --> 00:09:21.220 that Jones was noted for, and I quote, being 00:09:21.220 --> 00:09:23.299 able to adjust his style of playing to allow 00:09:23.299 --> 00:09:26.100 for any group or individual's needs. Which is 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:27.759 exactly what we were talking about earlier with 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:30.440 Cafe Society. He wasn't just banging away with 00:09:30.440 --> 00:09:33.320 one signature beat. He was continuously calibrating 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:35.919 his playing in real time. But I want to ask, 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:37.700 what does that actually look like in practice? 00:09:38.019 --> 00:09:40.539 How does a drummer calibrate for Miles Davis 00:09:40.539 --> 00:09:42.559 versus John Coltrane in the middle of the exact 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:45.120 same song? That is the genius of Philly Joe. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:50.019 So Miles Davis, as a trumpet player, was famous 00:09:50.019 --> 00:09:52.779 for his use of space. Right, the pauses. He played 00:09:52.779 --> 00:09:55.659 fewer notes, but they were incredibly deliberate. 00:09:56.330 --> 00:09:59.009 If you are drumming behind Miles, you cannot 00:09:59.009 --> 00:10:01.750 clutter the airspace. You have to play sparse. 00:10:01.909 --> 00:10:04.029 Maybe you just give him a tight rim click on 00:10:04.029 --> 00:10:06.490 the snare or a very controlled, quiet sizzle 00:10:06.490 --> 00:10:08.730 on the hi -hat. You're essentially framing his 00:10:08.730 --> 00:10:10.710 silence. Giving him room to breathe. Exactly. 00:10:10.929 --> 00:10:13.570 But then John Coltrane steps up to take a solo. 00:10:13.809 --> 00:10:15.850 Coltrane was famous for what critics called sheets 00:10:15.850 --> 00:10:18.230 of sound. He'd play hundreds of notes, exploring 00:10:18.230 --> 00:10:20.529 every single corner of the chord. So if you play 00:10:20.529 --> 00:10:22.610 quiet behind Coltrane... The energy completely 00:10:22.610 --> 00:10:26.289 dies. You lose the momentum. So Jones would instantly 00:10:26.289 --> 00:10:29.009 shift. He'd move to the ride cymbal, playing 00:10:29.009 --> 00:10:31.990 with relentless, driving energy. He'd start dropping 00:10:31.990 --> 00:10:35.049 these loud bombs on the snare drum to push Coltrane 00:10:35.049 --> 00:10:37.710 higher and higher. He was literally changing 00:10:37.710 --> 00:10:39.809 his musical personality based on who was standing 00:10:39.809 --> 00:10:41.990 in front of the microphone. And Miles Davis clearly 00:10:41.990 --> 00:10:44.850 recognized this genius. The article mentions 00:10:44.850 --> 00:10:47.789 that Davis explicitly acknowledged Jones as his 00:10:47.789 --> 00:10:50.230 absolute favorite drummer. The ultimate compliment. 00:10:50.509 --> 00:10:53.470 Even more telling, Davis stated in his autobiography 00:10:53.470 --> 00:10:56.169 that he would always listen for Jones in other 00:10:56.169 --> 00:10:59.029 drummers. He essentially became the gold standard, 00:10:59.169 --> 00:11:01.509 the archetype for what Miles Davis wanted to 00:11:01.509 --> 00:11:03.730 hear behind him for the rest of his life. If 00:11:03.730 --> 00:11:06.600 we connect this to the bigger picture. The true, 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:09.139 staggering depth of his adaptability becomes 00:11:09.139 --> 00:11:11.600 even more apparent when you look at who else 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:14.000 felt that exact same way about him. Oh, who is 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:16.440 that? The text notes that the legendary pianist 00:11:16.440 --> 00:11:19.700 Bill Evans, much like Miles Davis, openly stated 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:22.220 that Philly Joe Jones was his all -time favorite 00:11:22.220 --> 00:11:25.220 drummer. Wow. Okay, now for you listening, it 00:11:25.220 --> 00:11:27.919 is vital to understand just how wildly different 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:30.159 Miles Davis and Bill Evans were as musicians. 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:33.019 Worlds apart. As we said, Miles often played 00:11:33.019 --> 00:11:36.059 with this very cool, sparse, intensely focused, 00:11:36.340 --> 00:11:39.299 sometimes aggressive energy. Bill Evans, on the 00:11:39.299 --> 00:11:41.759 other hand, was deeply impressionistic. Meaning 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:44.740 what exactly in a musical sense? Well, think 00:11:44.740 --> 00:11:47.620 of impressionism in painting like a Monet. The 00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:49.440 edges are blurry. It's more about the interplay 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:52.019 of color and light than harsh, defined lines. 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:55.340 Right. In music, Evans played with highly nuanced. 00:11:56.039 --> 00:11:59.200 delicate floating chord structures. He didn't 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:01.759 want a heavy, driving rock beat. He needed a 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:03.639 drummer who could paint with him. Paint with 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:05.679 him. I like that. Jones would put down the heavy 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:07.899 sticks, pick up the wire brushes, and just sweep 00:12:07.899 --> 00:12:09.679 them in circles across the rough head of the 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:12.460 snare drum. It created this beautiful, continuous 00:12:12.460 --> 00:12:15.860 wash of sound that perfectly cradled Evans' piano 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:19.029 playing. So the fact that an artist could perfectly 00:12:19.029 --> 00:12:22.129 adapt to the wildly contrasting needs of someone 00:12:22.129 --> 00:12:25.049 like Davis who wants cool precision and Evans 00:12:25.049 --> 00:12:28.330 who wants a floating impressionistic wash of 00:12:28.330 --> 00:12:31.149 sound and then be named the absolute favorite 00:12:31.149 --> 00:12:33.610 of both men. It's almost unheard of. It really 00:12:33.610 --> 00:12:35.429 pews that his greatest instrument wasn't the 00:12:35.429 --> 00:12:38.029 physical drum kit. It was his empathy. Empathy. 00:12:38.149 --> 00:12:40.250 That's the perfect word for it. His ability to 00:12:40.250 --> 00:12:42.830 truly hear what another artist was trying to 00:12:42.830 --> 00:12:45.669 communicate emotionally and then instantly build 00:12:45.669 --> 00:12:48.139 the. perfect rhythmic architecture to support 00:12:48.139 --> 00:12:50.539 that specific message. It requires a level of 00:12:50.539 --> 00:12:52.659 active listening that most people simply never 00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:55.279 achieve, not just in music, but in conversation, 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:58.019 in life. I love that concept, musical empathy, 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:01.340 but as incredible and fruitful as the 1950s were 00:13:01.340 --> 00:13:04.159 for him, life as a working jazz musician is rarely 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:06.379 a straight upward line. Here's where it gets 00:13:06.379 --> 00:13:08.720 really interesting. The Europe years. Let's jump 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:11.759 ahead a decade. The source text outlines a major 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:15.700 geographic pivot. Between late 1967 and 1972, 00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:19.080 Philly Joe Jones leaves the United States entirely. 00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:21.740 He packs up and moves to Europe, specifically 00:13:21.740 --> 00:13:24.440 living in London and Paris during this five -year 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:26.840 stretch. Right. And he isn't just taking an extended 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:29.899 vacation. He is actively performing and recording 00:13:29.899 --> 00:13:32.000 over there. The article lists collaborations 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:34.340 with heavy hitters who were also spending time 00:13:34.340 --> 00:13:37.279 abroad, like Archie Shep. Mal Waldron and Hank 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:39.820 Mobley. It was actually quite a common migration 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:42.460 during that specific era. To leave the U .S. 00:13:42.519 --> 00:13:45.860 Yes. American jazz musicians often found incredibly 00:13:45.860 --> 00:13:48.980 receptive. deeply appreciative audiences in Europe. 00:13:49.220 --> 00:13:52.019 They often found more steady, respectful work, 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:54.539 less racial prejudice and sometimes a greater 00:13:54.539 --> 00:13:57.480 level of pure artistic respect than they were 00:13:57.480 --> 00:13:59.879 experiencing in the rapidly changing music scene 00:13:59.879 --> 00:14:03.340 back home in America during the late 60s. But 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:05.500 his time in Europe wasn't just smooth sailing, 00:14:05.659 --> 00:14:07.419 specifically when he was living in the United 00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:10.779 Kingdom. There is this one highly specific, very 00:14:10.779 --> 00:14:12.960 intriguing roadblock mentioned in the Wikipedia 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:15.940 article. The union issue? Yeah. It states that 00:14:15.940 --> 00:14:20.159 for two years, from 1967 to 1969, Jones taught 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:22.240 at a specially organized school in Hampstead, 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:24.899 London. But here's the massive catch. He was 00:14:24.899 --> 00:14:27.019 actively prevented from otherwise working in 00:14:27.019 --> 00:14:29.580 the UK by the Musicians' Union. Which is just 00:14:29.580 --> 00:14:31.620 wild to think about. How does something like 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:34.139 that even happen to a musician of his caliber? 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:36.799 It sounds shocking today, but the Musicians' 00:14:36.820 --> 00:14:39.639 Union in the UK during that period had incredibly 00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:42.740 strict, fiercely protectionist policies. You 00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:45.500 have to remember the context of the 1960s. The 00:14:45.500 --> 00:14:47.799 union was terrified that an influx of famous 00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:50.740 American jazz, blues, and rock musicians would 00:14:50.740 --> 00:14:53.460 come over, take all the prime gigs, and entirely 00:14:53.460 --> 00:14:56.059 displace the local British musicians. They were 00:14:56.059 --> 00:14:58.360 protecting their own turf. Exactly. They wanted 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:00.820 to protect their own members' livelihoods. So 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:03.080 you have this absurd situation. One of the greatest, 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:05.500 most recorded drummers in the world is living 00:15:05.500 --> 00:15:08.039 in London, quietly teaching students in Hampstead. 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:11.279 but officially legally blocked from taking paying 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:13.720 gigs or working freely in the local jazz clubs. 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:16.879 So how does a prolific artist respond to being 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:19.860 told by a union that they literally are not allowed 00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:22.139 to practice their chosen profession in the country 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:24.080 they're residing in? Does he just sit at home 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:26.059 for two years? Definitely not. Not Philly Joe. 00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:28.940 Well, in Jones's case, he just found a brilliantly 00:15:28.940 --> 00:15:31.580 creative way around the bureaucracy. He didn't 00:15:31.580 --> 00:15:34.340 stop creating. The source explicitly mentions 00:15:34.340 --> 00:15:36.919 that despite this ban, he managed to record the 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:41.080 1968 album Mojo, which, if you are looking for 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:43.720 it, was also released under the title Trailways 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:46.000 Express. Great record. Right there in London. 00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:48.580 And the way he got around the union blockade 00:15:48.580 --> 00:15:50.740 was simply by hiring local British musicians 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:53.500 to play on the record. The text lists players 00:15:53.500 --> 00:15:56.600 like Peter King, Harold McNair, Chris Pine and 00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:59.379 Kenny Wheeler. It is a perfect enduring example 00:15:59.379 --> 00:16:02.360 of artistic resilience. You put up a bureaucratic 00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:04.759 wall and a true artist will figure out a way 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:06.639 to build a studio right next to it. Exactly. 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:09.500 By hiring local British musicians, he likely 00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:11.639 navigated the loopholes of the union's restrictions. 00:16:12.019 --> 00:16:15.039 He provided work for local players, which satisfied 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:17.259 the union's core demand, while still getting 00:16:17.259 --> 00:16:19.889 his own musical voice onto tape. And it speaks 00:16:19.889 --> 00:16:22.450 volumes about his character and his tribe. He 00:16:22.450 --> 00:16:24.730 was thousands of miles from his home, restricted 00:16:24.730 --> 00:16:26.909 from doing what he loved most in live venues, 00:16:27.090 --> 00:16:29.389 but he still had a musical message to get out. 00:16:29.690 --> 00:16:32.309 And he found the right local players to help 00:16:32.309 --> 00:16:34.429 him say it. Yes. It just goes to show you really 00:16:34.429 --> 00:16:37.710 can't stop a creative force like that. And speaking 00:16:37.710 --> 00:16:39.769 of getting his musical message out, I want to 00:16:39.769 --> 00:16:42.929 pivot now to look at the sheer overwhelming scale 00:16:42.929 --> 00:16:46.309 of his overall output. The Wikipedia article 00:16:46.309 --> 00:16:49.549 provides a discography, and even the page itself 00:16:49.549 --> 00:16:53.029 openly notes that the list is incomplete. Which 00:16:53.029 --> 00:16:54.850 tells you everything you need to know about how 00:16:54.850 --> 00:16:57.610 much he played. Exactly. Now, instead of just 00:16:57.610 --> 00:16:59.730 reading you a textbook list of dates and album 00:16:59.730 --> 00:17:01.769 titles, I want to frame this by thinking about 00:17:01.769 --> 00:17:04.730 the mental whiplash of his schedule. We've talked 00:17:04.730 --> 00:17:06.349 about his adaptability, but when you look at 00:17:06.349 --> 00:17:09.200 his work as a sideman... It borders on the impossible. 00:17:09.420 --> 00:17:11.880 The sheer diversity of the artists he supported 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:15.319 is a veritable encyclopedia of contrasting jazz 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:18.740 styles. It requires a lack of ego that is, frankly, 00:17:18.819 --> 00:17:21.599 very unusual in artists of his immense caliber. 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:23.680 Right. Just imagine his week in the recording 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:27.079 studio. On a Tuesday in 1958, he might be in 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:28.700 the studio with the trumpet player Chet Baker, 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:31.299 recording Chet Baker in New York. Totally different 00:17:31.299 --> 00:17:34.319 vibe. Chet Baker had this incredibly soft, whispering, 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:37.740 almost fragile style of playing. Jones would 00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:40.559 have to play with pinpoint delicacy, barely breathing 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:43.000 on the cymbals, to ensure he didn't drown out 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:46.359 Baker's intimate sound. But then, maybe on a 00:17:46.359 --> 00:17:48.700 Thursday, he's called into a completely different 00:17:48.700 --> 00:17:51.440 studio to back Sonny Rollins. Wow, yeah. He played 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:53.960 on legendary Rollins albums like Tenor Madness 00:17:53.960 --> 00:17:56.640 and Nuke's Time. Sonny Rollins plays the tenor 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.730 sax like a heavyweight boxer. Huge, muscular, 00:17:59.970 --> 00:18:03.210 aggressive, commanding tones. Jones would have 00:18:03.210 --> 00:18:05.690 to completely unleash on the drum kit, matching 00:18:05.690 --> 00:18:08.109 that raw power stroke for stroke. And then the 00:18:08.109 --> 00:18:10.150 very next week, he might be providing the rhythmic 00:18:10.150 --> 00:18:12.930 foundation for the vocalist Abby Lincoln on albums 00:18:12.930 --> 00:18:16.170 like It's Magic or Abby is Blue. Vocals are a 00:18:16.170 --> 00:18:18.569 whole different ballgame. Playing behind a singer 00:18:18.569 --> 00:18:20.430 is a completely different beast than playing 00:18:20.430 --> 00:18:23.009 behind a saxophonist. You have to breathe with 00:18:23.009 --> 00:18:25.130 them, follow their phrasing, and never obscure 00:18:25.130 --> 00:18:27.890 the lyrics. And remember, all of this staggering 00:18:27.890 --> 00:18:30.210 variety is in addition to the legendary work 00:18:30.210 --> 00:18:32.289 he did with Miles Davis and Bill Evans that we 00:18:32.289 --> 00:18:34.589 already discussed. He wasn't demanding that every 00:18:34.589 --> 00:18:36.849 single record sound like a trademark Philly Joe 00:18:36.849 --> 00:18:39.829 Jones record. He was demanding of himself that 00:18:39.829 --> 00:18:42.109 he make the lead artist, whether it was Chet 00:18:42.109 --> 00:18:44.890 Baker or Sonny Rollins, sound as good as they 00:18:44.890 --> 00:18:48.230 possibly could. consummate, empathetic professional. 00:18:48.529 --> 00:18:50.730 And what is truly beautiful about this story 00:18:50.730 --> 00:18:54.589 is how that deep loyalty to the music and to 00:18:54.589 --> 00:18:57.049 his fellow musicians comes full circle at the 00:18:57.049 --> 00:18:59.130 very end of his life. It's my favorite part of 00:18:59.130 --> 00:19:01.529 his story. It really is incredible. We trace 00:19:01.529 --> 00:19:04.269 this winding transatlantic story all the way 00:19:04.269 --> 00:19:07.349 to the year 1981. Remember way back at the beginning 00:19:07.349 --> 00:19:10.250 of this deep dive, we talked about 1947. Café 00:19:10.250 --> 00:19:12.390 Society. He was a young house drummer at Café 00:19:12.390 --> 00:19:14.569 Society, cutting his teeth, playing with the 00:19:14.569 --> 00:19:17.839 great bebop composer Tad Dameron. Well... The 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:20.700 source text tells us that in 1981, Philly Joe 00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:23.279 Jones helped to found a group called Dameronia. 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:26.380 And this group was not dedicated to his own original 00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:28.900 drum composition. No, not at all. It was dedicated 00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:31.819 entirely to reviving and honoring the music of 00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:35.180 that very same composer, Tad Dameron. The poetic 00:19:35.180 --> 00:19:38.299 symmetry of that choice is just stunning. You 00:19:38.299 --> 00:19:40.259 have a man who has traveled the entire world, 00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:42.859 who has played with literally everyone who is 00:19:42.859 --> 00:19:46.029 anyone in jazz. He has lived through the complete 00:19:46.029 --> 00:19:49.210 evolution of bebop to hard bop to avant -garde. 00:19:49.289 --> 00:19:51.130 He'd seen it all. I could have rested on his 00:19:51.130 --> 00:19:54.269 laurels or formed a vanity project. And where 00:19:54.269 --> 00:19:56.470 does he choose to focus his creative energy in 00:19:56.470 --> 00:19:59.369 his final years? He returns to honor the composer 00:19:59.369 --> 00:20:02.009 who helped shape his foundational years in New 00:20:02.009 --> 00:20:04.809 York City over three decades prior. It's like 00:20:04.809 --> 00:20:06.710 returning to your hometown after conquering the 00:20:06.710 --> 00:20:08.589 globe just to say thank you to the teacher who 00:20:08.589 --> 00:20:10.769 started it all. Exactly. The source notes that 00:20:10.769 --> 00:20:12.750 he recorded critically acclaimed albums with 00:20:12.750 --> 00:20:15.130 this tribute group, like To Tad With Love in 00:20:15.130 --> 00:20:19.329 1982 and Look Stop Listen in 1983. And he passionately 00:20:19.329 --> 00:20:22.710 led Dameronia right up until his passing. He 00:20:22.710 --> 00:20:25.210 suffered a fatal heart attack in 1985 at the 00:20:25.210 --> 00:20:28.390 age of 62, passing away right back in his hometown 00:20:28.390 --> 00:20:31.150 of Philadelphia. He went out championing the 00:20:31.150 --> 00:20:33.549 music of someone he deeply respected, returning 00:20:33.549 --> 00:20:36.529 to his absolute roots. It is a profound testament 00:20:36.529 --> 00:20:40.130 to his character. He never lost his deep reverence 00:20:40.130 --> 00:20:42.029 for the composers and the melodic structures 00:20:42.029 --> 00:20:44.769 that gave jazz its shape, even as he spent a 00:20:44.769 --> 00:20:47.329 lifetime pushing its rhythmic boundaries from 00:20:47.329 --> 00:20:49.950 behind the drum kit. So what does this all mean? 00:20:50.089 --> 00:20:52.849 Why spend our time digging into the life and 00:20:52.849 --> 00:20:55.210 the discography of a jazz drummer who passed 00:20:55.210 --> 00:20:58.109 away decades ago? i think the takeaway for you 00:20:58.109 --> 00:21:01.029 listening right now goes way beyond music history 00:21:01.029 --> 00:21:03.799 oh absolutely Philly Joe Jones's career is a 00:21:03.799 --> 00:21:07.039 brilliant masterclass in the sheer power of adaptability 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:10.119 and empathy. Whether you are a student trying 00:21:10.119 --> 00:21:13.000 to absorb complex new information, a professional 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:15.400 trying to navigate vastly different personalities 00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:18.019 in a corporate boardroom, or an artist trying 00:21:18.019 --> 00:21:20.579 to find your unique place in the world, the lesson 00:21:20.579 --> 00:21:22.680 is about deeply listening to the room you are 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:25.160 in. Being present. It's about figuring out what 00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:27.559 the situation actually requires and having the 00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:29.859 mental and emotional flexibility to provide it, 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:32.529 all without losing your own core complex. He 00:21:32.529 --> 00:21:35.349 became absolutely essential to the greatest musicians 00:21:35.349 --> 00:21:37.970 of the 20th century simply because he made everyone 00:21:37.970 --> 00:21:40.670 around him better. This raises an important question, 00:21:40.789 --> 00:21:43.390 something I've been mulling over as we've reviewed 00:21:43.390 --> 00:21:46.529 this incredibly dense, diverse discography. We've 00:21:46.529 --> 00:21:49.450 spent this time praising his unique ability to 00:21:49.450 --> 00:21:52.349 be a musical chameleon. to perfectly mold his 00:21:52.349 --> 00:21:55.470 playing to the unique, contrasting styles of 00:21:55.470 --> 00:21:57.890 geniuses like Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and Sonny 00:21:57.890 --> 00:21:59.869 Rollins. Right. But it leaves you to wonder, 00:21:59.970 --> 00:22:02.490 if someone's greatest artistic superpower is 00:22:02.490 --> 00:22:04.150 acting as a chameleon and perfectly adapting 00:22:04.150 --> 00:22:06.789 to the styles of others, at what point does their 00:22:06.789 --> 00:22:09.009 ability to reflect other people become a totally 00:22:09.009 --> 00:22:12.210 unique, unmistakable voice of its own? Can pure 00:22:12.210 --> 00:22:15.029 adaptability in and of itself actually become 00:22:15.029 --> 00:22:17.950 a signature, recognizable style? It's a fascinating 00:22:17.950 --> 00:22:19.809 paradox to consider as you listen to his work. 00:22:20.109 --> 00:22:22.190 That is a brilliant point to leave things on. 00:22:22.269 --> 00:22:24.230 Does the mirror eventually become the painting? 00:22:24.470 --> 00:22:27.769 I absolutely love that thought. We want to enthusiastically 00:22:27.769 --> 00:22:29.690 thank you for spending your time with us today 00:22:29.690 --> 00:22:31.750 on this deep dive. We really hope you walk away 00:22:31.750 --> 00:22:34.170 not just informed about jazz history, but genuinely 00:22:34.170 --> 00:22:37.009 inspired by the adaptable, empathetic life of 00:22:37.009 --> 00:22:39.650 Philly Joe Jones. Do yourself a favor today. 00:22:39.809 --> 00:22:42.410 Go look up some of the specific albums we mentioned. 00:22:42.630 --> 00:22:45.210 Put on Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet, 00:22:45.230 --> 00:22:47.970 or Everybody Digs Bill Evans, or Mojo, and just 00:22:47.970 --> 00:22:50.269 listen to the drums. Listen to how he shifts, 00:22:50.369 --> 00:22:52.890 how he responds to the soloist, how he breathes 00:22:52.890 --> 00:22:55.569 literal life into the music. We promise you won't 00:22:55.569 --> 00:22:57.910 hear a jazz record the same way ever again. Keep 00:22:57.910 --> 00:23:00.069 learning, keep adapting, and keep diving deep.