Biography
An excellent hard bop trumpeter, Carmell Jones would probably have been much better-known today if he had not moved to Europe in the mid-’60s at the height of his career. After military service and two years at the University of Kansas, Carmell Jones led a band in Kansas City (1959). The next year, he moved to Los Angeles where he recorded a couple of albums as a leader for Pacific Jazz and made records with Bud Shank, Harold Land, Curtis Amy, and most significantly Gerald Wilson’s Orchestra (1961-1963). Jones toured with Horace Silver for a year (1964-1965), recording the original version of “Song for My Father” with Silver before moving to Berlin. Although quite active in Europe, Carmell Jones was largely forgotten by the time he moved back to Kansas City in 1980; however, a 1982 album for Revelation helped remind a few listeners how good he still was. ~ Scott Yanow