Born in Bowling Green, Jeff was always around music because their mother taught piano. Jeff’s mom wanted him to play trumpet, but he picked drums. His favorite early drummers were Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell, and local drummer Sam Foster. Jeff eventually formed a band with friends in his basement and played in garages. One of the first bands he played in was called Bittersweet, with Sam Bush.
While attending WKU, Jeff played in the WKU Marching Band. Many assumed he was a Music major, but he actually majored in History. Jeff developed a close relationship with the Music Department and played in Dr. Livingston’s Jazz ensemble and Gemini band, which toured all over the world. He has also played with many other Bowling Green music legends, like Jonell Mosser, Ken Smith, and Byron House. At one point, he was playing Picasso’s six nights a week: “Picasso’s was the happening place in Bowling Green, it had crowds every night.”
In his twenties, Jeff was playing close to 12 hours a day: 4 hours of practice and 8 hours in the evening at two or three different clubs. He toured for a short time, but preferred staying in one place, stating, “I wanted to have a normal life too.” He played in house bands while working at WKU, where he was an instructor for 36 years. His son, Joseph Jones, is also a drummer and takes a lot of inspiration from his dad.
“I’ve been invited to more weddings and parties and made money being there than I could have done otherwise and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”