Sirone Jones

Biography

Norris "Sirone" Jones (September 28, 1940, in Atlanta, Georgia – October 21, 2009, in Berlin) was an American jazz musician, composer, and double bassist.

Sirone began his musical career initially in the field of rhythm and blues, collaborating with artists such as Sam Cooke, Smokey Robinson, and Jerry Butler. In the 1960s, he moved to New York and established himself within the avant-garde and free jazz scene.

Over the course of his career, Sirone performed with—among others—Pharoah Sanders, Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, and Sonny Sharrock. In the early 1970s, together with Leroy Jenkins and Jerome Cooper, he founded the Revolutionary Ensemble, which is regarded as one of the seminal groups of avant-garde jazz of that era.

Later, Sirone collaborated with artists including Billy Bang, John Tchicai, and Guerino Mazzola. From 1989 onward, he lived in Berlin with his wife, the actress Veronika Nowag-Jones.