Trumpeter, Warren B. ‘Porgy’ Jones dies at age 74

2nd September 2014   ·   0 Comments

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

From the time he was a youngster growing up in the French Quarter, Porgy Jones was involved in New Orleans music and culture. “Music was all around – everybody played something,” he once exclaimed. During his diverse, almost 60-year musical career, the trumpeter led his own groups, played with the cream of this city’s jazz musicians such as drummer Smokey Johnson and saxophonist Alvin “Red” Tyler and blew in bands with soulman Jerry Butler and jazz guitarist George Benson. Warren B. “Porgy” Jones died on August 21, 2014 at the age of 74.

“He would always say that he didn’t choose music, the music chose him,” said his wife, Floragene Mays Jones. “He really loved music and set high standards and expectations for himself and others.”

Jones acquired his nickname Porgy, according to Floragene, because as a baby he was quite chubby so he was affectionately called Porky. Though the moniker evolved to Porgy, it stuck with him throughout his life.

At age seven, Jones already had begun taking music lesson from the highly-respected Yvonne Busch with whom he would study when he attended Joseph S. Clark High School where he participated in the school bands. Once, during an interview, the trumpeter recalled his first, quite lucrative gig with drummer Smokey Johnson playing on the back of a truck for a Mardi Gras parade followed by a performance at the ball. “I made so much money, I wanted to do that the rest of my life,” he said.

Jones headed to Southern University to study with another giant in education, Alvin Batiste before hitting the road north with Jerry “the Iceman” Butler. While in New York, he had the opportunity to perform with many greats such as modern jazz drummer Art Blakey and pianist/vocalist Ray Charles as well as being befriended by fellow trumpeter, the legendary Freddie Hubbard.

“He (Hubbard) would give him horns and then Porgy would pass them on to me,” says Jones’ nephew , New Orleans trumpeter Richwell Ison. He and Jones were close in age – almost growing up together – but Ison says he always considered him to be his teacher. “He was always there to help me any way he could musically. He didn’t clown around, he’d say to me, ‘If you do something, do it right.’ He was serious about music – he had a serious love for the horn and the music.

Following his stay in New York, the trumpeter returned to New Orleans and formed his own jazz band. A rotation of members included such stalwarts of this city’s jazz scene as saxophonist James Rivers, pianists Roger Dickerson and Ed Frank, vocalist Germaine Bazzle and drummers Herb Taylor and Smokey Johnson. The group’s main gig was a four-year stint at a club called Sylvia’s that Jones once compared to the famous Dew Drop Inn. Another spot to find the trumpeter was North Rampart Street’s jazz mecca, Lu & Charlie’s.

“Those were the names if you wanted to hear great jazz,” Ison explains.

Jones, who was known as a sharp dresser, recorded under his own name and early on, in 1974, released a too little known, funky, double sided, single 45 rpm “Dap I” and “Dap II.” He also recorded with bandleader Wardell Quezergue, pianist Allen Toussaint, Johnson, Tyler, Butler and Benson.

Besides working as a professional musician, Jones also formed Safari Productions that primarily booked entertainment for corporate events. He was also often hired to act in commercials. In 2004, Jones was honored by New Orleans Magazine as a New Orleans Jazz All-Star and in 2004 then Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu formally named him an Ambassador for Louisiana Culture and Tourism.

Jones revealed his sincere commitment to his craft when he said, “I feel musicians should be true to the music and true to thyself. Respect the music and be prepared to play.”

A dedicated musician, Jones lived up to that commitment and his own high expectations. Jones, his music and easy smile will be missed.

Funeral services were held for Porgy Jones at Charbonnet-Labat Funeral Home on Saturday, August 30, 2014.

This article originally published in the September 1, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.