Jonah Jones and Me... — Vinyl Magic

The conductor’s name was Lockwood Lewis and he always referred to us by our last name. Well, when he got excited he would stammer.... the band tried the song for the third time and this time he caught my hand on the wrong note. He was so excited that when he went to say my last name, he stammered and said, ‘Ja-ja-ja-ja...Jonah, don’t you see that’s the wrong note?’ Well, all the fellows in the band started laughing and called me Jonah ever since!
Jonah Jones

***I Dig Chicks! (1960) signed by Jonah, photo by Lee Friedlander***

You never can say which way things are going in this business. Like myself, I had no idea it was going to happen for me. With bebop on the scene and people turning to rock-and-roll I couldn't have made it no way, wouldn't have bet ten cents on it. But here it come.
Jonah Jones

***Jumpin’ With Jonah (1958) signed by Jonah***

Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1908, Jonah Jones started playing trumpet professionally on riverboats before joining several big bands, including Fletcher Henderson, Stuff Smith, and Benny Carter. Jonah had serious jazz chops as a trumpet player, and like so many, he was devoted to Louis Armstrong. He once said "Louis could do no wrong" and Jonah was nicknamed "King Louis II" in deference to the jazz master.

In 1941, Cab Calloway recruited Jonah to join his orchestra and they recorded "Jonah Joins The Cab" to commemorate the occasion. Jonah's eleven year association with Cab Calloway was marked by a famous spitball incident with Dizzy Gillespie. A spitball was hurled in the direction of the drummer. Dizzy was wrongly accused. a fight escalated between Cab and Diz, a knife was drawn, Cab was cut, and Dizzy was bounced from the Cab Calloway orchestra. Jonah took over the lead trumpet chair, even though he was the (undisclosed) spitball instigator and source of the acrimony.

***At The Embers (1959) signed by Jonah***

When big bands became too expensive and not commercially viable in the early 1950s, Jonah formed his own small group. A short engagement at The Embers in New York City, became a five year contract, and then a decade long association. The Embers' maitre d' did not want to disturb his patrons with a loud, brassy sound, so Jonah was required to play with a mute on his trumpet. Jonah's muted versions of show tunes on his first album Muted Jazz (1956) became unlikely bestsellers., and a subsequent album, Live At The Embers (1958), and Jonah's versions of "On The Street Where You Live" and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" sold over one-million copies. Despite the phenomenal commercial success, some dismissed Jonah's songs as lightweight and, worse, easy listening.

As a marketing ploy, Capitol Records enlisted some very talented photographers to promote Jonah's albums. Joe Cavello, later the photographer on Judy Garland's Judy At Carnegie Hall (1961) and The Beatles' Second Album (1964), took the photo on Swingin' On Broadway (1957). Two swingin' chicks for sure, sashaying in 1950s Times Square. Lee Friedlander (his later work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum Of Modern Art) took the photo on Jumpin' With Jonah (1958) with a jubilant Jonah clapping his hands. I Dig Chicks! (1960) has the best cover. Four lovelies in various poses and reclines suspended in the air in the bucket of an excavator. Yeah Jonah, I dig this album cover! This record won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Jazz which is interesting because it features Jonah's vocals on six of the twelve tracks. Shoskatovich's Symphony No. 5 By The National Symphony Orchestra (1960) won the Grammy for Best Album Cover. Yes, that was a Grammy category in 1960! Apparently, Grammy voting then was as misguided, inconsistent, and controversial as now.

***Swingin’ On Broadway (1957) signed by Jonah***

I met Jonah in 1998 at the Blue Note in New York City. For their club anniversary, the Blue Note would host a slew of artists on Monday (an off night for musicians), and there would be a jam session. I got to the club early but all seats were reserved, so I took a seat at the bar. An older gentlemen was already seated nearby, nursing a drink. I ordered a club soda, my drink of choice. Genial and well dressed, the older gentleman and I struck up a polite conversation. After some innocuous banter, I introduced myself. "Jonah Jones" came the reply with an outstretched hand..

Of course, I had some Jonah Jones albums with me. I had read that he was going to be at the event and he was happy to sign. Jonah wasn't performing, he had retired five or six years earlier, so we hung out at the bar the rest of the night watching Milt Jackson, Jimmy Heath and others perform. It was a fabulous show and we had some great conversations. He told me that he lived nearby and he would love to have me visit him. He wrote out his address and said to come by anytime. Unfortunately, I never did, and he died a year later at 90 years old. I regret not visiting with Jonah Jones, but we had a great time at the Blue Note and he left a wonderful legacy of recordings., and, especially, album covers!