JW-Jones is a red hot young Canadian guitar slinger/singer”, says Grammy-winning producer Tom Hambridge. Canada’s national newspaper, the Globe and Mail, referred to this Maple Blues Award winner as “one of this country’s top blues guitar stars.” Billboard called JW part of “a new wave of young talent moving onto Canada’s blues stage.”
Jones has released seven albums, performed in nineteen countries and four continents, and averages over one hundred shows per year. Canadian-born Hollywood actor Dan Aykroyd, known for his Blues Brothers persona “Elwood Blues,” has called JW’s group an “amazing blues band.”
American magazine Blues Revue stated that “Jones’ style is a fluid amalgam of T-Bone Walker’s big, bright chords, Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson’s slashing leads, and Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown’s jazzy sting.”
JW was born in Ottawa, Ontario and started playing drums at 13, at that time into Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and classic rock. A few years later, after witnessing a B.B. King performance, he fell in love with the blues and decided to take up the guitar. Soon he was absorbing the influences of artists such as Albert King, Freddie King, T-Bone Walker, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Jimmie Vaughan, and later, West Coast guitarists Junior Watson and Little Charlie Baty.
In 1998 he won a “Battle of the Bands” contest, and the following year he won a “Best Guitar Riff-Off” competition and used the studio time prize to record his debut album, Defibrillatin. Jones was the first artist signed to Toronto-based label Northern Blues Music, which released the album in 2000, as well as his next five CDs.
JW’s “epiphany moment” came shortly after signing with Northern Blues: “I was in college for a computer course. The label was flying me across the country to play in showcases, and I had gigs every weekend. My focus was on the music and not school. I remember walking away from the college one day, and just like the movies… I looked back at the school, and said to myself, ‘I am never coming back here.’ It was the best decision I’ve ever made. After that, it was complete concentration on building my career.”
He started by garnering three consecutive Maple Blues Award nominations and being invited to perform onstage with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Little Charlie & the Nightcats, and Junior Watson. Jones’ second release, Bogart’s Bounce, included performances by singer/harp player Kim Wilson and pianist Gene Taylor of The Fabulous Thunderbirds
Kim Wilson produced JW’s next release, My Kind of Evil, which featured well-known Canadian singer/guitarist Colin James as guest.
In 2006, JW released his fourth album, Kissing in 29 Days, including performances by David “Fathead” Newman, Ray Charles’ main saxophone player for 12 years. In a feature article entitled “JW-Jones — A Rising Star Chases the Sound of Thunder(birds),” Blues Revue magazine stated that “JW-Jones is highly regarded in blues circles.” One of the tracks, “Parasomnia,” appeared on a Guitar World featured CD, Guitar Masters Vol. 2, along with B.B. King, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Carlos Santana.
On Jones’ next release, Bluelisted (2008), he got the chance to work with two of his guitar heroes, Little Charlie Baty and Junior Watson, and rhythm section Richard Innes and Larry Taylor. The liner notes were provided by Dan Aykroyd, who wrote “crisp covers and cool originals make this record a yellow dot must-buy”.
For his next project JW headed to Memphis’ famed Sun Studios to record with blues legend Hubert Sumlin, the blues guitarist who worked with Howlin’ Wolf for over 20 years and was named one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. The resulting album, Midnight Memphis Sun, was released in 2010 and also featured guest Charlie Musselwhite, who stated that “JW Jones is one of the best guitar players I’ve heard in a long time. He and his band do great tunes with cool arrangements and I love listening to them. They play with taste and fire at the same time.” Jones’ 2012 release, Seventh Hour was the second release in a row to hit #1 on “B.B. King’s Bluesville” on XM Sirius Satellite radio, and led to the band’s opening for B.B. at the Ottawa Bluesfest, and an endorsement deal with Gibson guitars.
Recently Jones was honoured by the Ottawa Business Journal and Ottawa Chamber of Commerce by being named one of the “Forty Under 40,” (out of 250 nominations), a salute to the region’s talented entrepreneurs who balance business achievement, professional expertise and community involvement.
His first Blind Pig release, Belmont Boulevard, was produced in Nashville by Grammy-winning producer Tom Hambridge, who’s helmed projects for Buddy Guy, George Thorogood, and Susan Tedeschi. JW chose Hambridge to produce because “This CD is all about getting out of my comfort zone musically and lyrically, working with a big producer and creating a high-energy experience that matches our live show, and I knew Tom was the man to make that happen.”
For the songs on the album, Jones decided for the first time to delve deep into his personal life and tell some of his stories that he’d never revealed before. He co-wrote many of the songs with Hambridge, a noted songwriter whose tunes have been recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rascal Flatts, and Delbert McClinton, and featured in movies, commercials, and television. “Digging deep into some very serious personal stories from my past and turning them into songs has been liberating and part of the healing process. I hope these songs resonate with listeners that have been through similar experiences,” said Jones.
The future does indeed look bright for this upcoming star. Known for his high-energy, crowd-pleasing shows, Jones recently opened tours for the late Johnny Winter and one of his strongest influences, Jimmie Vaughan (about whom JW penned a song on the new album). Now, with his latest recording, he’s excited about reaching an even wider audience.
Musicians that tour with Jones (and appear on the new CD); Jamie Holmes (drums) and the heavy grooves of Laura Greenberg (bass) always add a powerful energy to the stage.
Looking forward to his association with Blind Pig as he continues to perfect his craft, Jones said, “Signing with Blind Pig is truly an honour and major milestone in my career. I am ecstatic to be on a label that is a fixture in roots music. I’ve been listening to their records since I was a kid! With Stony Plain and Warner Music handling the Canadian release, this is winning team!”
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