Photo: Manji75 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · credits
Timeline
20 events▣ Album 13✦ Award 4◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1† Death 1
1930s
1980s
· Debut release
Debut release: Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography472 words · 4 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1378970606
Biography
Oliver Theophilus Jones (September 11, 1934 – July 22, 2026) was a Canadian jazz pianist, organist, composer and arranger.
In 2023, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
Musical career
Oliver Theophilus Jones was born in Little Burgundy, Montreal, Quebec, on September 11, 1934, to Barbadian parents. He began playing piano at the age of five, studying with Mme Bonner in Little Burgundy's Union United Church, made famous by Trevor W. Payne's Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir. He continued to develop his talent through his studies with Oscar Peterson's sister, Daisy Peterson Sweeney, starting at eight years old. In addition to performing at Union United Church when he was a child, he also performed a solo novelty act at the Café St. Michel as well as other clubs and theatres in the Montreal area. "I had a trick piano act, dancing, doing the splits, playing from underneath the piano, or with a sheet over the keys."
Jones started his early touring in Vermont and Quebec with a band called Bandwagon, and in 1953–63 played mainly in the Montreal area, with tours in Quebec.
From 1964 to 1980, Jones was music director for the Jamaican calypso singer Kenny Hamilton, based out of Puerto Rico.
In late 1980, he teamed up with Montreal's Charlie Biddle, working in and around local clubs and hotel lounges in Montreal. Jones was resident pianist at Charlie Biddle's jazz club, "Biddles", from 1981 to 1986. His first album, Live at Biddles recorded in 1983, was the first record on the Justin Time record label.
By the mid-1980s, he was travelling throughout Canada, appearing at festivals, concerts and clubs, either as a solo artist or with a trio: Skip Bey, Bernard Primeau, and Archie Alleyne. His travels also took him to Europe during this period.
His tour of Nigeria was the subject of a 1990 National Film Board of Canada (NFB) documentary, Oliver Jones in Africa. His music also appears in the NFB animated short film Black Soul. In 1998, Jones wrote, arranged and performed the original score to the documentary film Season of Change (Rightime Productions) about Jackie Robinson's season with the Montreal Royals baseball club in 1946. In 2011, he was one of the big names on the lineup of the P.E.I. Jazz and Blues Festival of Charlottetown. Jones was headliner for the Jazz Sudbury Festival 2013, held in September 6–8, 2013.
Educator
Jones taught music at Laurentian University from 1987 to 1995, and at McGill University from 1988 to 1995.
In 2009, Jones mentored jazz artist Dione Taylor through the Governor General's Performing Arts Award (GGPAA) Mentorship Program. The program pairs a mid-career artist with a past GGPAA recipient; the two artists work together to learn and grow from each other's experiences.
Death
Jones died at a hospital in Montreal on July 22, 2026, at the age of 91.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 11 | 61.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 16 | 85.4th |
| Studio albums | 13 | 93.5th |
| Awards recorded | 6 | 97.7th |
| Timeline events | 20 | 93.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 37 | 76.5th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (16 release groups · 13 studio albums)
Albums · 13
Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
1985 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 46:12
1I'll Remember April8:132Polka Dots and Moonbeams7:143They Can't Take That Away From Me7:484Stella by Starlight7:475I Can't Get Started9:106All the Things You Are6:001985 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 1:05:05
1Oleo5:162Dark Eyes6:063Lights Of Burgundy4:544In A Mellow Tone4:045Snuggles3:596Fulford Street Romp4:437Close Your Eyes5:358My One And Only Love4:409Broadway4:0410Here Comes Summer Again4:4111Sweet Lorraine4:2212Come Rain Or Come Shine6:5513In The Middle Of A Kiss5:461987 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 51:13
1Softwinds5:122On The Trail4:273Street Of Dreams5:154Ballad For Claire3:335Hilly4:456I'm An Old Cowhand4:517Up Jumped Spring6:598Soul Eyes4:389The Reverend Mr. Jones4:1010Speak Low7:23Oliver Jones et Charlie Biddle
1988 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 46:23
1I'll Remember April8:142Polka Dots and Moonbeams7:153They Can't Take That Away From Me7:484Stella by Starlight7:485I Can't Get Started9:156All the Things You Are6:031991 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 50:01
1Mark My Time4:212Everybody's Song but My Own6:293Scrambled4:264Very Early5:525Tippin' Home From Sunday School4:396Stan Pat5:257Fresca5:368Peaceful Time6:069Hymn to Freedom7:071993 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:06:26
1It Could Happen to You5:252Willow Weep for Me7:213But Not for Me4:124Blues for Laurentian "U"4:035My Old Flame6:216Dizzy Nest4:237How Insensitive4:508After All These Years6:309You Stepped Out of a Dream4:3610I'm Getting Sentimental Over You5:3711Passing Thoughts7:5612How High the Moon5:121995 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 59:44
1The Way You Look Tonight5:342Why Think About Tomorrow?5:413Len's Den4:314We Will Love Again4:455Swinging on a Star5:556Jazz Gavotte5:267The Very Thought of You5:328Tetra Tetra5:599Our Love Is Here to Stay4:4210Should I Love Again4:4311Blues for Helene6:561997 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:08:26
1D.B.G. Blues4:412Yvonne5:423Street Of Dreams7:214If I Were A Bell8:085I'm Thru With Love6:276Late Afternoon Blues8:477Without A Song5:468Charlie B.5:039Snowy Peaks4:0010Beautiful Jayde5:5611My Romance6:352002 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:00:38
1Girl Talk6:272Perdido5:273I Remember Clifford6:484Lullaby of Birdland5:245Somewhere Over The Rainbow7:056Too Close For Comfort4:427Old Folks5:538Tender Touch6:149I'll Remember April6:3310Bogey Blues6:052005 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 1:05:34
1Just You, Just Me4:172Traveling Man5:113Stardust6:034Sister Sadie3:595There’s Nothing Left4:196This Is It4:347Images5:008Sad Young Men6:229Until I Was Loved4:1710Guess Who?6:3511Going Home5:4212Autumn Leaves5:3413Just You, Just Me (duo version)3:412006 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 56:16
1One More Time5:582Dance Again Diana5:543Good Day Miss Lee7:074Ballad For A Lonely Man5:095Snowy Bossa4:356Waltz For Debbie7:567Days Of Wine And Roses6:478Body And Soul4:539Something For Chuck7:572008 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 58:44
1Broadway4:352When I Fall In Love6:053Simple Blues8:014Museric Waltz4:345D for Doxas4:316Misty7:137Surrey With A Fringe On Top4:178Precious Lord4:539Dizzy-Nest4:2610Angel and Mrs. Jones7:1611Remembering Chris2:53The Best of Oliver Jones, Vol. 1
2022 · studio album
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Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:38:27
1Sophie5:362Lovely Lauren4:583Very Early5:524We Will Love Again4:485Late Afternoon Blues8:526My Funny Valentine7:307Soul Eyes4:408Misty7:139Someone to Watch Over Me4:1010Here Comes Summer Again5:1711Lover Man6:4812Dance Again Diana5:5413He Was Beautiful5:5914Passing Thoughts7:5615When Summer Comes5:4916Somewhere Over the Rainbow7:05
Album · 3
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Requestfully YoursSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 8 tracksA1All the Things You Are A2On Green Dolphin Street A3Gershwin Medley B1Teach Me Tonight B2He Was Beautiful B3Dumpcake Blues B4Cheek to Cheek B5'Round Midnight | Live | 1986 | |
| 1998 | Just in TimeSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 19 tracks · 2:14:34Disc 1 1Falling in Love With Love11:31 2Lover Man6:48 3Just in Time6:11 4Up Jumped Spring8:46 5Little Girl Blue6:09 6Well You Needn’t7:20 7Something for Chuck10:17 8Someone to Watch Over Me5:07 9Place St. Henri8:11 Disc 21I Love You6:32 2Odalisque5:53 3Green Dolphin Street9:04 4Willow Weep for Me5:23 5Waltzing Matilda4:48 6La Quigea6:05 7Mean to Me6:08 8Oleo6:10 9The Things We Did Last Summer5:01 10Gershwin Medley9:10 | Live | 2 October 1998 | |
| 2011 | Live in Baden SwitzerlandSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 10 tracks · 58:281Falling in Love With Love7:37 2Emily5:39 3Blues for Helen5:58 4Up Jumped Spring6:27 5Just a Closer Walk With Thee8:01 6George Gershwin Medley7:19 7Something for Chuck4:39 8Around Midnight3:05 9Snuggles3:06 10Hymn to Freedom6:37 | Live | 8 November 2011 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Oliver Jones head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 11 | 61.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 16 | 85.4th |
| Studio albums | 13 | 93.5th |
| Awards recorded | 6 | 97.7th |
| Timeline events | 20 | 93.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 37 | 76.5th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Juno Award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year | won | |
| 2005 | Governor General's Performing Arts Award | won | |
| 2009 | Juno Award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year | won | |
| 2015 | Companion of the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec | won | |
| — | Knight of the National Order of Quebec | won | |
| — | Officer of the Order of Canada | won |
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Canadian All Stars(band) | — | present |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oliver_Jones_%28cropped%29.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ef16f964-05a2-404e-ac80-3919c6724ac1discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ef16f964-05a2-404e-ac80-3919c6724ac1core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1116211genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1116211seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Jones_%28pianist%29biography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Jones_%28pianist%29
Why this artist is in the database
- List of Canadian musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Manji75 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q1116211 · MusicBrainz: ef16f964-05a2-404e-ac80-3919c6724ac1
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