WILLIE JONES III QUINTET

Jazz drummer Willie Jones III has played, toured, and recorded with Horace Silver, Roy Hargrove, Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, and Herbie Hancock. He played on Arturo Sandoval’s Grammy-winning 1998 album Hot House.

Jones was one of the founding members of the band Black Note in 1990. Members of this ensemble included, at various times, Ark Sano, Eric Reed, Gilbert Castellanos, James Mahone, Kenneth Crouch, Mark Shelby, and Richard E. Grant. They released several albums.

In 1991, Jones began studying at the California Institute of the Arts, where he took drum lessons from Albert “Tootie” Heath. Jones played with Milt Jackson in 1994, and toured with trumpeter Arturo Sandoval from 1994 to 1998.

Jones was based in Los Angeles until he moved to New York in 1997. He played in trumpeter Roy Hargrove’s quintet from 1998 to 2006.

In 2000, Jones founded an independent jazz label, WJ3 Records. He has regularly played with pianist Eric Reed, as the drummer for Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center, and has several CDs released as a leader on his own label, playing hard bop and swing.

Jones has taught at Northwestern University since 2010.

Showtimes: 7:00pm | 9:30pm