Organization: MUSIC DEPARTMENT

Join us for a guest artist concert by percussionist Kevin Jones, supported by UCM Percussion Students. This event is supported by the African Performing Arts Fund. 

Kevin Jones is a percussionist, band leader, producer, educator. A native of Englewood, New Jersey, Kevin grew up in a household immersed in jazz, soul, gospel and blues, from Charlie Parker and Lou Rawls to Nat King Cole and Mahalia Jackson, along with the pop and R&B legends of the times. Reportedly, Kevin’s grandmother, Maggie Walker Jones, once played with (and maybe even recorded with) Bessie Smith. The arts of all types were nurtured in the Jones household and piano lessons were a requirement, not an elective.

Jones traces his percussion expertise to the age-old ‘academy of the streets.’ Over the years Kevin has evolved an increasingly comprehensive approach to percussion, commanding respect from artists such as the Isley Brothers, Whitney Houston, Winard Harper, and Reggie Workman.