Drummer Elvin Jones was born on this date in 1927, the younger brother of pianist Hank Jones and trumpeter, composer and band leader Thad Jones. Elvin went on to be one of the most influential drummers in jazz history.

The family was from the Detroit area and young Elvin was fascinated by the drummers he saw in a circus parade and went on to play drums in his high school marching band. After a three-year stint in the U.S. Army, he used the money he received at detachment to buy his first drum set. Returning to his hometown, Jones played gigs with saxophonists Billy Mitchell and Wardell Gray during the early 1950s.

Elvin Jones moved to New York City in 1955 and, after a failed audition with the Benny Goodman Orchestra, was soon playing with Charles Mingus, Bud Powell, Donald Byrd and Miles Davis and later became a member of the Sonny Rollins Trio.

In 1960 Elvin Jones accepted the gig that he is probably best known for - he joined the John Coltrane Quartet. During his five years with Coltrane, Jones was an important member of a group that consistently pushed the boundaries of the music, taking jazz to new places. In 1965 Coltrane hired a second drummer for the band and Jones decided to leave the group soon after that.

After leaving Coltrane’s employ, Jones toured Europe with Duke Ellington and then started his own ensemble that eventually became known as Elvin Jones’ Jazz Machine. Over the years Jones’ group featured such sidemen as Joe Farrell, Pepper Adams, Ravi Coltrane, Abdullah Ibrahim and Nicholas Payton. Jones continued to perform into the early 2000s, even as his health began to fail. Elvin Jones suffered heart failure on May 18, 2004 and passed away. His impact on jazz lives on.

Here is a link to a 1968 performance by Elvin Jones accompanied by Joe Farrell on saxophone and bassist Jimmy Garrison:

"ROTTERDAM"