Jackson Free Press

In early December, the local music scene lost beloved blues musician Howard Spencer Jones, a longtime Jackson resident and supporter of all art forms, from theater to sculpture and painting. His many fans knew him as "Dr. Jazz," a rare master who could—and did—play any kind of instrument he got his hands on. He also had an ability to read his audience and know just what to play at any moment, his son, James Spencer Jones, said.

"Jazz improv requires an empathy for other people that's really rare, an ability to be in a room with someone and mirror their feelings in the moment, and my dad could do that," James said. "He could detect where people were at emotionally and make sounds sympathetic to that. He always knew exactly how to play to get a song across to the people."

On Wednesday, Dec. 9, Jones died at St. Dominic Hospital at 79 years old following a brief period of illness. His funeral took place Dec. 11 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral.

Jones was born in Inverness, Miss., and lived in Indianola until his family moved to Jackson when he was 15. He attended Central High School and Millsaps College, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English in 1958. He was a member of the Lion's State Band in high school, then the Millsaps band, the Millsaps Singers and a number of orchestras throughout college. He also studied painting and sculpture under Karl Wolfe during his time at Millsaps and continued to love and create art his whole life.

After graduating, Jones spent four years as a private in the United States Army before returning to Jackson to work with his father selling school buses for Superior Sales Company. On Dec. 31, 1963, he married his first wife, Elizabeth Griffin, and in 1965 adopted his sons James and John Griffin Jones. The couple had a third son, Howard Spencer Jones, Jr., in 1967.

In 1965, Howard and Elizabeth Jones along with three other Jackson couples founded Jackson's New Stage Theatre inside its original location in the remains of a Seventh Day Adventist Church on Gallatin Street. New Stage, which remains one of the most popular theater troupes in Jackson 50 years later, is currently located at 1100 Carlisle St.

"My father really was a pioneer in bringing culture to Jackson at a time when it was widely considered a backwater," John said. "New Stage Theater brought serious theater to Jackson. It brought drama, it brought New York directors, it brought Geraldine Fitzgerald, and all kinds of great things to Jackson. It was a godsend for the city and something that was sorely needed."

Elizabeth died in 1994. In 1997, Jones married Susan Alexander Shands, who encouraged him to take up oil painting in his 70s. Together with his love of sculpture, he filled both his garage and yard with art pieces he made for family and friends.

"Howard believed in Jackson and wanted people to support neighborhood activities and art in downtown," Susan said. "He felt strongly about teaching young musicians to improvise and to play jazz and classical music. Several of his sons and grandsons are pursuing music now, and he was very glad for that. He had a passion for life, music and work that reached a lot of people, and I feel fortunate to have been married to him these past 18 years."

Jones was also a founding member of the New Bourbon Street Jazz Band in Jackson, which played Dixieland jazz for more than 40 years, and he was the original bass player for The Vernon Brothers bluegrass band. He also worked with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and the Youth Symphony Orchestra, as well as another group of his own, simply called Howard Jones Jazz.

"I spent 30 years with Howard in the Howard Jones Jazz group, playing all kinds of New Orleans music and every song in the Great American Songbook," London Branch, one of Jones' bandmates, said. "He was energetic and loved people, and it seemed like he always knew everybody anywhere we played. Some of the most interesting places we played for were churches, especially Episcopal churches, which always wanted lively hymns that Howard was happy to give them. His music was as full of life as he was."

After his first retirement in 2004, Jones bought a sound system and a portable electric piano and taught himself to use both, and at the same time, he taught himself to produce a Louis Armstrong-like tone from deep in his throat. He used his newfound skills to cover many ballads from the 1970s, and in the process, he earned his "Dr. Jazz" moniker. He continued performing with Howard Jones Jazz and pursuing his other musical and artistic endeavors to the very end. His last live show was Dec. 2, a week before his death.