Carmell Jones

Considered one of the finest hard bop trumpeters, Carmell Jones might enjoy greater recognition nowadays had he not relocated to Europe during the mid-1960s while at the peak of his professional journey. Following his time in the military and a two-year stint at the University of Kansas, he took charge of a group in Kansas City in 1959. Moving to Los Angeles the subsequent year, Jones cut several leader sessions for Pacific Jazz and collaborated on recordings alongside Bud Shank, Harold Land, Curtis Amy, and, most notably, Gerald Wilson's Orchestra between 1961 and 1963. For twelve months spanning 1964 and 1965, he joined Horace Silver on tour, capturing the initial rendition of "Song for My Father" prior to his relocation to Berlin. Despite maintaining a busy schedule across Europe, Carmell Jones had slipped from public memory upon his return to Kansas City in 1980, though a Revelation release from 1982 served to rekindle appreciation among some for his enduring talent.