{"id":821518,"date":"2026-07-23T20:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/821518\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T20:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:08:15","slug":"brownstein-oliver-jones-jazz-pianist-nonpareil-was-truly-one-of-a-kind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/821518\/","title":{"rendered":"Brownstein: Oliver Jones, jazz pianist nonpareil, was truly one of a kind"},"content":{"rendered":"

Montreal \u2014 make that the world \u2014 has lost a jazz giant. A gentle jazz giant at that.<\/p>\n

Oliver Jones died Wednesday night at 91 after a lengthy illness. There were few more gifted and there were few more humble than Jones. He made magic on the piano with such ease and alacrity, and yet he would forever protest he was not in the same keyboard orbit as his mentor, fellow Little Burgundy native and buddy Oscar Peterson.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s just say they were both among the grandest masters of their craft.<\/p>\n

But there was something else with Jones: He was always there, be it to offer his mentoring services to up-and-coming musicians or to tickle the ivories for countless charitable causes, or to spearhead his own fundraisers for youth groups through his annual golf tournament. Indeed, if Jones had any regrets at all, it wasn\u2019t about losing his touch on the keyboards \u2014 which he never really did, even into his 90th\u00a0year. No, it was that he felt he had lost his touch on the golf course and wasn\u2019t able to replicate his early feats \u2014 like when he was able to nearly score his age in his 80s.<\/p>\n

But put him near a piano, and he just couldn\u2019t resist. In a 2022 interview at Christ Church Cathedral<\/a>, where Jones was conscripted to talk about the Montreal jazz fest, he told me \u2014 as he often did when we talked \u2014 his playing days were well behind him: \u201cI\u2019m about to turn 88. Tough to play \u2018the 88\u2032 at 88.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evidently not. What was supposed to be a simple photo op at the piano turned into a brief but mesmerizing concert. Jones was transfixed, returning to his form of yesteryear. It was no accident the tune he so deftly performed was Peterson\u2019s Hymn to Freedom.<\/p>\n

\"OliverJazz pianist Oliver Jones sits at a grand piano in his home in C\u00f4te-St-Luc on Oct. 4, 2016. With more than two dozen albums to his credit and two massive murals of his likeness overlooking his Montreal roots, Jones took home numerous Juno and F\u00e9lix awards. Phil Carpenter<\/p>\n

Jones recalled then, as he had done before, the most memorable evening of his life took place at the 2004 jazz fest, when he hooked up with his hero to play the same tune in one of the then-ailing Peterson\u2019s final performances.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like a dream come true,\u201d recalled Jones, flashing his trademark sheepish grin. \u201cI\u2019ll never forget that night. Without Oscar and his sister, my teacher Daisy (Peterson Sweeney), I would never have achieved whatever success I\u2019ve had. They believed in me and pushed me to places I never imagined I would ever get to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones was all of five years old when he started playing piano. \u201cThe Peterson family had such a great influence on me,\u201d he said in that 2022 interview. \u201cDaisy brought me the world with all the classical studies that I did with her. And among my earliest memories was listening to Oscar \u2014 who only lived 12 doors from me \u2014 in the back row at the Union United Church. The power and the size of his hands were something. And I just fell in love with jazz.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome say they can hear a bit of Oscar come out in me, and I\u2019m so thankful for that. People might think I don\u2019t want to be considered playing like Oscar, but I say I\u2019m thrilled. He was the greatest pianist in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RaneeOliver Jones and Ranee Lee perform at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2005. MON<\/p>\n

Regardless, even in alleged retirement, Jones was viewed by many as Canada\u2019s premier jazz pianist. With more than two dozen albums to his credit and two massive murals of his likeness overlooking his city roots, Jones took home numerous Juno and F\u00e9lix awards. He was an officer of the Order of Canada, a chevalier in the Ordre national du Qu\u00e9bec, and a recipient of a Governor General\u2019s Performing Arts Award and the Oscar Peterson Award, the latter given by the jazz fest to recognize exceptional contributions to this country\u2019s jazz scene.<\/p>\n

But also credit Justin Time Records founder Jim West\u00a0for spotting the mega-talent that was Jones and helping to make the world aware of him. Jones cut 26 discs with Justin Time over the decades. West was 28 and Jones 49 when they first met. They were almost inseparable ever since, be it in a recording studio or simply hanging out together at concerts or dinners.<\/p>\n

West was much aware of the health struggles Jones was enduring over the last few months, but he was nonetheless devastated upon learning of the pianist\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had been in and out of hospital in the last few months, but he never complained,\u201d West said Thursday morning. \u201cBut then again, he rarely complained about anything. He was almost 92 \u2014 that\u2019s a good life. A great life in his case.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had so many terrific memories together. Where to begin? We were friends for nearly 45 years. We travelled the world together. He was such a gem. I got spoiled with that guy. He was our first artist signing, and I thought everyone was like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot quite, no,\u201d West chuckles. \u201cHe was so special \u2026 never thought about himself. He always thought about the younger generation. That was so key to him, that artists would come out in the future. He wanted to help them get a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JDMOliver Jones performs at Place des Arts on July 10, 2004. John Morstad \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

West also credits Jones for helping him build his label.\u00a0Justin Time Records began innocently enough, with former Mahogany Rush roadie West deciding to record Jones live at the downtown jazz club Biddles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI owe so much to Oliver. He really helped get the label going by talking me up to his friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those friends included the likes of Peterson, Diana Krall, Ranee Lee, Susie Arioli, David Clayton-Thomas, the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir, Matt Herskowitz and Paul Bley. Those musicians \u2014 along with guitar virtuoso Frank Marino\u2019s Mahogany Rush, among other notables \u2014 are featured on the album 40 Years of Justin Time Records, released three years ago.<\/p>\n

\"M~An undated publicity photo of Montreal jazz pianist Oliver Jones. Handout \/ Gazette file photo<\/p>\n

It should be noted Jones, as well as West, had ample opportunity to move to potentially greener musical pastures, but always chose to remain in his hometown.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the pride we have in Montreal and the many artists for whom this is home that keep us here,\u201d Jones said in a 2023 interview<\/a> at the Upstairs Jazz Bar to mark the 40th\u00a0anniversary of Justin Time with West. \u201cMy music is born from Montreal, as was that of my neighbour Oscar Peterson and his sister and my teacher, Daisy Peterson Sweeney. Montreal will always be home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones happened to be seated in front of a piano on the Upstairs mini-stage that day. And although he insisted he hadn\u2019t played the piano in months, much like he had asserted at Christ Church Cathedral a year earlier, Jones broke out into an absolutely inspired rendering of \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 Peterson\u2019s Hymn to Freedom.<\/p>\n

Once again, he blew away everyone in the room.<\/p>\n

After which the beaming Jones chirped: \u201cI\u2019m still retired.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right.<\/p>\n

\u201cTruth is, he never really lost his touch,\u201d West says now. \u201cBut apart from his musical talent, he was just a huge, wonderful human being. And that doesn\u2019t come in that package very often.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oliver Jones was truly one of a kind.<\/p>\n

He is survived by his longtime partner, Monique Leclerc, and his son, Richard Jones. Funeral arrangements have yet to be made.<\/p>\n

bbrownstein@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Montreal \u2014 make that the world \u2014 has lost a jazz giant. A gentle jazz giant at that.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338,11487],"class_list":["post-821518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal","tag-obituaries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}