Darryl Jones Born December 11, 1961

Biography

Stepping into the gap left by The Rolling Stones’ founding, and to that point only bass player, after he’d spent 30 years in sole charge of the bass station, was probably a hard act to follow. Darryl Jones hasn’t struggled with it at all though, as far as the rest of the world can tell.

Neither have the band. While Darryl was never going to become too intimate with a group of men who played their first public gig together when he was only six months old, in musical terms he has demonstrated that he can play the part of a Rolling Stone to their complete satisfaction.

That’s not surprising, given his pedigree and history prior to taking over from Bill Wyman. He was spotted as a uniquely talented musician by jazz legend Miles Davis, with whom he played on several albums in the mid-eighties while still in his early 20’s.

It was this powerful connection with the roots of black American music that helped make The Stones – more specifically original jazz drummer Charlie Watts - make the decision to select Darryl Jones.

Charlie’s ability to swing the beat is based in his early love and mastery of the jazz idiom, and the idea of recruiting a young man who’d put the polish on his prodigious natural abilities by ‘studying’ with probably the greatest name in jazz was a powerful one.

Unburdened by the lurid history and image that will forever form part of public expectations of The Rolling Stones, Darryl Jones is able to concentrate and participate on stage and on record in a way that delivers the genuine Stones experience without the hoo-hah, through the skill with which he plays - the only way, that really matters ultimately.

Being a ‘part-time’ band member, on the payroll as a hired hand rather than a full partner, has also allowed Darryl to keep growing outside The Rolling Stones, where his skills are constantly in high demand from musicians as diverse as Herbie Hancock, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Madonna and Eric Clapton.