Darius Jones (saxophonist)

Darius Jones
Background information
Birth name Darius Jones
Born (1978-05-03) May 3, 1978
Origin Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
Genres Jazz
avant-garde jazz
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Alto sax
Years active 2006–present
Labels AUM Fidelity
Website Official Website

Darius Jones (born May 3, 1978) is an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer.

Life and career

Darius was born in Virginia. He was raised in the Pentecostal faith; both his grandfathers were preachers in their own churches.[1] He learned to play saxophone in the sixth grade; he played in church by the time he was 13. After attending college for several years in Richmond, VA, Jones moved to Brooklyn in 2005. Through his neighbor in the apartment that he lived in, Jones first met a visual artist, Randal Wilcox. Shortly thereafter, the two became roommates. A conversation started between musician and painter that led to the rise of Jones' The Man’ish Boy epic series, a project that will eventually encompass nine albums.[2][3]

He signed to AUM Fidelity Records in 2009 and released his debut, Man’ish Boy (A Raw and Beautiful Thing) as a bandleader, that same year.[4] He’s since released other collaborative projects, including a duo with pianist Matthew Shipp, the quartet Grass Roots and the collective Little Women, a noise jazz band that explores the extremes of sound by using extended techniques and acoustic manipulation.[5] Jones has worked in a variety of disciplines, from traditional jazz, to electro-acoustic music, chamber ensembles, contemporary and avant-garde jazz groups, modern dance performances, and multi-media events.[6] He has collaborated with other artists including Mike Pride's From Bacteria to Boys, Gerald Cleaver's Black Host, Eric Revis Quartet and Adam Lane Trio.

Darius graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelors in Jazz Studies in 2003, earning a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance/Composition from New York University in 2008. He also taught New Music Improvisation there for a year as an adjunct professor.[7] He was awarded the Van Lier Fellowship by Roulette in 2008, which he used to launch his chamber ensemble, Elizabeth-Caroline Unit, a project dedicated to new works for voice. He was a two-time nominee for Up and Coming Artist in 2010 and 2011, and nominated for Alto Saxophonist of the Year in 2013 by the Jazz Journalists Association. In 2013 he was awarded the French-American Jazz Exchange Grant for a collaboration with French vocalist Emilie Lesbros.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Release year Title Label Notes
2009 Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) AUM Fidelity Trio, with Cooper-Moore (piano & diddley-bo), Rakalam Bob Moses (drums)
2010 Throat AUM Fidelity As the band Little Women; Quartet, with Travis Laplante (tenor sax), Andrew Smiley (guitar), Jason Nazary (drums)
2011 Cosmic Lieder AUM Fidelity Duo with Matthew Shipp (piano)
2011 Big Gurl (Smell My Dream) AUM Fidelity Trio, with Adam Lane (bass), Jason Nazary (drums)
2012 Book of Mæ'bul (Another Kind of Sunrise) AUM Fidelity Quartet, with Matt Mitchell (piano), Trevor Dunn (bass), Ches Smith (drums)
2012 Grass Roots AUM Fidelity As the band Grass Roots. Quartet, with Sean Conly (bass), Alex Harding (baritone sax), Chad Taylor (drums)
2013 Lung AUM Fidelity As the band Little Women; Quartet, with Travis Laplante (tenor sax), Andrew Smiley (guitar), Jason Nazary (drums)
2014 The Darkseid Recital AUM Fidelity Duo with Matthew Shipp (piano)
2014 The Oversoul Manual AUM Fidelity Composer; performed by The Elizabeth-Caroline Unit: Amirtha Kidambi, Sarah Martin, Jean Carla Rodea, Kristin Slipp (voice)
2015 Le bébé de Brigitte AUM Fidelity Quartet, with Matt Mitchell (piano), Sean Conly, Pascal Niggenkemper (bass), Ches Smith (drums), featuring Emilie Lesbros (voice, piano)

As sideman

Release year Leader Title Label
2013 Cleaver, GeraldGerald Cleaver Life in the Sugar Candle Mines Northern Spy
2010 Hooker, WilliamWilliam Hooker Earth's Orbit NoBusiness
2013 Lane, AdamAdam Lane Absolute Horizon NoBusiness
2013 Mateen, SabirSabir Mateen The Sabir Mateen Jubilee Ensemble Not Two
2013 Parker, WilliamWilliam Parker Essence of Ellington Centering
2010 Pride, MikeMike Pride Betweenwhile AUM Fidelity
2014 Revis, EricEric Revis In Memory of Things Yet Seen Clean Feed
2013 Rosenbloom, MaraMara Rosenbloom Songs from the Ground Fresh Sound New Talent
2012 Ughi, FedericoFederico Ughi Songs for Four Cities Skycap

References

  1. ↑ New Hymns for the Saxophone Church at The Wall Street Journal
  2. ↑ Darius Jones: The Master of the Musical Allegory at JazzTimes
  3. ↑ An Epic Continues: Darius Jones at Jazz Speaks
  4. ↑ Darius Jones - For the Love of the Craf at RVA News
  5. ↑ Darius Jones on the Man'ish Boy Epic, Being Called "Punk-Jazz," and AUM Fidelity's 15TH Anniversary at The Village Voice
  6. ↑ Saxophonist Darius Jones explains why jazz is far from dead at rollingout
  7. ↑ Darius Jones at All About Jazz

External links

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