Darius Jones
Darius Jones (* Norfolk, USA) is an alto saxophon player, composer and teacher. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. As a composer and musician he works in the fields of electroacoustic, experimental, chamber and jazz music, as well as in modern dance and multimedia contexts. As a critically acclaimed saxophonist and composer, he has a distinctive voice embracing individuality and innovation in the tradition of Black Music.
He wants to convey a welcoming component in his music. He recently offered the audience open rehearsals in the run-up to a concert at the artist-run centre Western Front in Vancouver in order to make the creation process of his music comprehensible.
How can one address what it means to be a musician while simultaneously approaching music as artistic work, he asked himself during the production of his latest album “fLuXkit (i̶t̶s̶ suite but sacred)”, released on Northern Spy and We Jazz Records, which was created after researching about the city of Vancouver, the institution Western Front and the history of Fluxus.
“I think sometimes people have the perception that composition is function-based; that composition itself is not art but merely a functional thing. One of the things I thought about when we were making the animated score was that we should make sure to use the composition that has the most graphics and non-traditional notation because I wanted the person engaging with the work to have an artistic visual experience as well as a listening experience. I feel like Fluxus combined those two experiences, in such an amazing way, so many times.”
The cover was designed by Stan Douglas, who has also repeatedly made music the subject of his videos for decades now.
In October 2023, Jones presented his latest composition “Samesoul Maker” at the Roulette in New York, which follows his 2014 composition “Oversoul Manual” and delves into Jones’ Afrofuturistic Sci-Fi world and its alien birth rituals.
Jones was the winner of the 2019 Downbeat Annual Critics Poll as Rising Star Alto Saxophone and a finalist in the 2022 JJA Jazz Awards as Alto Saxophonist of the Year. In the same year, Jones was artist in residence and curator of the MATA Festival, where he premiered “Coloured School No. 3”.
Darius Jones was an adjunct professor of new music improvisation at the New York University, and taught saxophone and improvisation at the Columbia University in 2017. Jones currently teaches at the College of Performing Arts and Contemporary Music at the New School, New York.
Jones has collaborated with Gerald Cleaver, Oliver Lake, William Parker, Andrew Cyrille, Craig Taborn, Wet Ink Ensemble, Jason Moran, Trevor Dunn, Dave Burrell, Eric Revis, Matthew Shipp, Marshall Allen, Nasheet Waits, Branford Marsalis, Travis Laplante, Fay Victor, Cooper-Moore, Matana Roberts, Kris Davis, Shahzad Ismaily, Nicole Mitchell, Georgia Ann Muldrow, International Contemporary Ensemble and others.
All Appearances of Darius Jones
European premiere
Darius Jones: copmosition
Gelsey Bell: voc, bells
Aviva Jaye: voc, bells
Sunder Ganglani: voc, bells
Paul Pinto: voc, bells
Levy Lorenzo: vibraphone
“I’ll be presenting a composed work, called ”Samesoul Maker“ – a piece for four voices, bells and prepared vibraphone. It’s been performed twice before in New York, but this is the first time I’ve performed a composition of mine in Europe, which is something I’m really excited about. It’s a long form piece and one that utilises my own invented language system for the vocalised text. I have an obsession with ritual, base things and what they mean to a society. The whole point of the piece is that it’s a ritual, essentially a meditation that should take place every day.”
”I don’t want to give away too much at this point, […] but as a composer I try to think about the different ways of meditating, what it is as a process, how ideas move and get channeled. The music has a primal quality as a result, but I’m masking the way things transition in the writing. I will say that everything in this piece is written – no improvisation, it’s all scored.”
”Samesoul Maker“ will be performed twice at Monheim Triennale – as Jones puts it, the plurality providing an opportunity for the performers and audiences alike to find new things in the act of creating and appreciating it. And as all attendees of the Triennale understand, when offered the chance to meditate in a different and better musical universe, you should always take it.
Excerpt from the Monheim Papers 2025, Alex Mayor.
