DESCRIPTION:
In this video interview done during the 2014 Jazz Cruise, drummer Willie Jones III talks about his early musical development and education, as well as about his important teachers and mentors. Jones, who grew up in a musical family in Los Angeles, was particularly influenced by Billy Higgins whose World Stage performing arts center became a significant inspiration for the young drummer. Jones also discusses coming to New York City. Jones performed on the cruise with Cedar Walton's group (bassist David Williams and saxophonist Dmitri Baevsky) with Benny Green substituting for Walton on piano.

This interview is part of the In Person series of videos for JazzTimes magazine and was done by Lee Mergner, with video production by Melissa Mergner. For more interviews in this series, go to http://jazztimes.com/sections/inperson/articles.