It shouldn't be a surprise that Oliver Jones - who grew up only a few blocks away from Oscar Peterson, used to hang out on the Peterson stoop listening to Oscar practice, and took lessons from Oscar's sister Daisy - swings so hard. But Oliver Jones is more than just an Oscar Peterson contemporary - over a career spanning more than six decades Oliver has developed a well-deserved reputation as one of Canada's jazz treasures.
I first saw Oliver Jones live about five years ago. I had heard him on the radio and enjoyed his playing - technical wizardry, great feel, and SWING! - but to see him live was a treat. He approached each tune with fire and passion, moving around the piano with great ease and outstanding musicality. I've mentioned this concept of "swing" in past entries. It's very hard to describe - to me it's one of the things that makes a jazz performance just FEEL good. Maybe this will help - Oliver Jones performing "Up Jumped Spring":
As one of my teachers would say at U of T: not bad if you like that "really amazing jazz stuff".
In my mind, one of the things that separates the "pretty good" from the "total pros" is a musician's ability to play well in a variety of settings - bands of various sizes, all sorts of musical genres, solo or accompanied, etc. - and Oliver Jones is clearly comfortable in no matter what setting. We see this by taking a quick look at his career path - as a young musician he played everything from swing to rock-n-roll, then spent sixteen years as pianist and musical director for Jamaican singer Kenny Hamilton - but as usual it's in performance that his true mastery appears. Check out his performance of the ballad "Remembering Chris" - here Oliver is playing solo, and while he hasn't lost the fiery touch on the keys, he has adapted his approach to play in a gentler style:
You could call Oliver Jones the hardest working retired man in show business. He officially retired in 2000...but since then has recorded no less than four albums on the Justin Time record label, inviting a slew of guest artists into the studio with him including Ranee Lee, Brandi Disterheft, Dave Young, Jim Doxas and Hank Jones.
And, for one more taste of Oliver's swinging, gospelly goodness, here he is playing a solo rendition of "Tippin' Home from Sunday School":
Josh
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