For the ever-ebullient Elvin Jones, the walk from the dressing room to the stage is often a long one: so many hands to shake, so many friends to greet! As a tuxedoed Jazz Machine-saxophonists Pat LaBarbera and Mark Shim, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, pianist Anthony Wonsey and bassist Gerald Cannon–plus special guest Wynton Marsalis calmly waited the trek was longer than usual on September 9 at New York’s cramped, crowded and sold out Blue Note. It was Jones’ 75th birthday.
Decked out in a formal white kimono, Jones smiled and worked through a gauntlet of longtime fans and fellow drummers like Lenny White, Jack DeJohnette, Charli Persip, Jimmy Cobb, Adam Nussbaum, Jeff Watts, Dennis Chambers, Michael Shrieve–even erstwhile stickman Bill Cosby.
