Bassist Darryl Jones has the kind of powerhouse resumé that suggests he wouldn’t need the challenge of standing on a small club stage to play his own songs. Growing up in Chatham, Jones studied music at Chicago Vocational High School, where he learned everything from Rimsky-Korsakov to Michael Jackson. At age 21, he won an audition with Miles Davis and landed a gig touring with the jazz great throughout the mid-1980s. That experience led to numerous opportunities to tour and record with British rock royalty: Jones played with Sting on the pop star’s acclaimed “Bring on the Night” world tour, and has performed alongside Eric Clapton and Peter Gabriel. In the 90s, he joined forces with the Rolling Stones as the replacement for founding member Bill Wyman, who retired in 1993. Before the Stones head out on another European tour this summer, Jones will make a special hometown appearance to preview original songs he’s been working on for years. “I’m just excited to be exploring this other side of myself,” he said when I spoke to him in February. He describes the initial process of writing as “catharsis”: “Once I put down what I felt, I noticed I felt a bit better. I’m definitely writing about the world we’re living in.” This set will feature an all-Chicago band of eight musicians, all veterans who’ve played with Chicago luminaries like Curtis Mayfield, Ramsay Lewis, and Albert Collins; Chicago soul bandleader Nicholas Tremulis is musical director. Besides his bass duties, Jones will also handle vocals, which is also something new. Jones doesn’t have any specific plans for these songs, though he says he may try out the songs in Los Angeles, his current home, this fall when the Stones are off the road. Until then, this is the only chance to see Jones on his own clock. “Chicago is home, so it’s a great place for me to workshop my ideas,” he said. v
Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones returns home to go solo
