The power of music is felt in everyday life, with a memory of a happy tune or hearing a song lyric that instantly provides a mood boost.
But for jazz legend and Scottsdale Jazz Festival founder Doc Jones, music not only changed his life but also may have saved it.
Hailing proudly from Chicago’s Southside, Jones was one of eight siblings. He was known for his talent for dance and his upbeat personality.
But in 1970, in the wake of civil movements and gang activity, violence crept into his community. Jones’ wife saw it was taking a toll on her husband.
“She noticed my demeanor changed from a happy-go-lucky guy to being prepared to defend myself at any corner,” Jones recalls.
This inspired his wife Shirley to suggest he attend classes at what is now Harold Washington College, where she worked. He didn’t want to but believed in the “happy wife, happy life” philosophy, so he enrolled.
An adviser put Jones in a tap class after discovering his passion for dance. The adviser also put him in a music class.
And at 21, that move changed his life and, as a result, the lives of countless others over the next five decades.
“That was the beginning of something that I didn’t know was in me. It sparked an interest that turned out to be a gift I almost missed,” Jones says. “I got myself a saxophone and the rest is history.”
It also became Arizona history because this ignited a lifelong passionate influence that has instilled the art in generations through Jones’ teaching, advocacy, and contributions to ensure jazz lives and thrives in the desert.
When Jones founded the Scottsdale Jazz Festival, which will take place on April 25-26, 2025 at Scottsdale Civic Center, it was part of his mission to unite the state around the global United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Herbie Hancock International Jazz Day.
His efforts were key in passing Arizona bill HCR2017, which recognized April 30 as International Jazz Day and April as Jazz Appreciation Month. His next goal is the passage of HB2513, which would establish April 30 as International Jazz Day, recognize it as a nonofficial holiday, and celebrate the state’s jazz music and culture.
Jazz also played a part in Jones’ recovery after a tragedy.
The Joneses would have five children. The 1974 birth of their daughter Niambi—which means beautiful melody in Swahili—inspired him to take a second apartment in their building and open a music school there, Niambi School of Arts.
Two years later, Niambi was killed by a drunk driver. Still, Jones found the strength to continue to share music with children, using the model established by the school that honored his daughter.
After Jones and his family moved to Arizona in 1986, he started music schools and nonprofits that provided education to students and equipment and supplies to teachers in a time when public schools’ budgets were getting slashed and arts programs were hit hard.
Jones joined forces with longtime friend Don Fenstermaker, the former CEO of NextStudent—the largest privately held student loan company—to make this happen. Together, they launched Next Student Academy of the Arts, a nonprofit providing low-income Phoenix youths with instruments and music instruction. The program has helped more than 2,000 students.
Fenstermaker, currently the managing partner of Yrefy, a boutique lender specializing in refinancing distressed private student loans, became the title sponsor of the Scottsdale Jazz Festival. They continue to collaborate on various music efforts Jones spearheads.
Jones opened Doc’s Place, a club that ruled the jazz scene before it closed in 2012. He went to New Orleans and started a multimedia company and jazz magazine. Through these channels, he met Herbie Hancock, a meeting that forever changed the Phoenix jazz-scape. This sparked Jones to launch the city’s jazz festival in 2013.
Through the Scottsdale Jazz Festival, Jones continues to elevate jazz and the artists that champion it.
“I enjoy teaching new talent but also giving new talent the opportunity to express themselves on a big stage,” Jones says.
Family continues to be a force that drives Jones. On Dec. 8, Jones and his daughter, acclaimed jazz singer Nayo Jones, will put on the annual Home for the Holidays concert at the ASU Kerr Cultural Center.
And he is grateful for his wife of 55 years, Shirley.
“I’m most thankful for my beautiful wife who has gone through this whole journey with me,” he says.
Jones doesn’t see retiring in the cards, saying, “We're gonna do this for life.
“I do the same work now with the same passion. I’ve enjoyed this ride. Thousands of kids have benefited from my passion for believing that with music in their minds, there’s no time for crime,” Jones says. “I’ve been on this incredible ride for 40 years, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”