Elvin Jones Quotes

United States, Jazz Musician
September 9, 1927 – May, 18, 2004.

Elvin Ray Jones was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed an interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan. He served in the United States Army from 1946 to 1949 and subsequently played in a Detroit house band led by Billy Mitchell. He moved to New York City in 1955 and worked as a sideman for Charles Mingus, Teddy Charles, Bud Powell and Miles Davis.

That's what the drummer is supposed to do. Keep the time. If you can do something else besides that, fine. But the time is essential and non-negotiable.

Elvin Jones
You should get the feeling you should move. That's what is meant when people say the music moves me.

Elvin Jones
- Music
- Feeling
- Move

Music is a way of life, it's everything. I play drums and that's what I believe I was born to do.

Elvin Jones
- Music
- I Believe
- Drums
If there's any such thing as a perfect man, I think John Coltrane was one. And I think that kind of perfection has to come from a greater force than there is here on earth.

Elvin Jones
- Think
- Force
- Perfection
I feel very, very gratified when people are complimentary to what I have done or appreciated it with sincerity... It makes me feel that maybe I did do something that was proper and that was right.

Elvin Jones
- Feel
- Sincerity
- Proper
To me John Coltrane was like an angel on earth. He struck me that deeply.

Elvin Jones
- Angel
- Struck
The greatest contribution jazz has made in music has been to replace the role of the conductor with a member of the ensemble who, instead of waving his arms to keep time and convey mood, is an active member of the musical statement. That person is the drummer.

Elvin Jones
- Mood
- Role
- Jazz
I can see forms and shapes in my mind when I solo, just as a painter can see forms and shapes when he starts painting. And I can see different colors.

Elvin Jones
- Painter
- Colors
- Shapes

It's the honesty you apply to your playing that makes music enjoyable. The style of the music has little to do with it. It's only honesty makes it beautiful.

Elvin Jones