Lifelong Lessons

“When I was quite young he taught us all to read music and play an instrument, and I went a bit further,” the 60-year-old recalls. “I practised singing and I studied. I still study to this day. I’m always developing, and I’m trying to develop – it never stops.”

It wasn’t until the late ‘70s, however, that Jones realised jazz was going to be a lifelong muse. In 1977 he found himself playing standards on a communist Chinese cruise ship. “I had a political advisor following me around with a little Mao book saying, ‘Don’t talk to them,’” he recalls with a laugh. He put a combo together on board, rehearsed it up, and when back on dry land he secured a two-night weekly residency at Fitzroy’s Tankerville Arms.

This became Jones’ permanent fixture for the next ten years, providing him with a steady income while he went about releasing a string of albums. With a formidable back catalogue he’s now recognised as the benchmark for jazz in this country.

“I want to be a singer that sings like a trumpet – like a jazz trumpeter”

Such a title hasn’t brought on complacency though. Jones works on his vocals every day, practicing his delivery and trying to extend his range. “I want to be a singer that sings like a trumpet – like a jazz trumpeter,” he says, referencing his other main musical talent. “I practice jazz patterns that a horn player would practice, so I’m constantly developing my ideas and improvisation [skills].”

Having just retired from teaching students at Canberra’s Australian National University, Jones is now concentrating on getting new music together for his next album. He estimates that he’s played roughly 5000 gigs throughout his career and spent about nine years in hotel rooms; numbers that look set to grow with a little more spare time on his hands.

“It’s too easy to get lazy, and you have to fight the laziness,” he stresses. “To make art is a very difficult thing to do – an artist can spend a whole life [creating] and never make any art. It’s an attitude that makes you better and makes your music more interesting as you get older.

“You can’t let it be autopilot, you’ve got to still find passion and still find new things in each one of the songs. If it becomes autopilot then you’ve got to reassess your motives to play. It’s never been about me, it’s been about the music and my involvement in the music; I’m trying to constantly be a better musician. It was never about being a star to me, it was always about being an accomplished musician and improving my craft. It’s a birth-to-death pursuit playing jazz, you’ll never ever stop learning.”