Mingo Jones

Mingo Julian Jones

(December 16, 1928 – April 3, 2017)

Born and raised in Missouri, Mingo Jones’ early years were under the tutelage of his father and uncle. “My first instrument was trumpet and my dad was a trumpet player.  And my uncle Harry was a great musician … he went to school with [noted tenor saxophonist] Coleman Hawkins and everybody would say that Uncle Harry would wear Coleman Hawkins out cause Harry could play bass, tenor and alto … all the saxes.”  Mingo’s father and Uncle taught him his first instruments: drums and trumpet. He later switched to bass, becoming an in-demand bass player in Indianapolis since the early 1950s.

Mingo came to Indiana seeking summer employment while living with another Uncle and in 1947 enrolled in the Pearson Music School with the intention of attending Butler’s Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music. However, in 1948 he joined the US Army where he played for the 173rd Army Band and General Douglas McArthur’s 8th Army Brigade Band.

In 1952, Jones and some friends, back from the Korean War and stationed at Fort Benjamin Harrison, stopped in at Henri's on Indiana Avenue to see guitarist Wes Montgomery.  Word spread of Mingo’s return. His first gig on Indiana Avenue was playing bass with guitarist Wes Montgomery, pianist Erroll Grandy, tenor saxophonist “Pookie” Johnson and drummer Sonny Johnson with bandleader Dudley Storms. His first big touring date was with Jimmy Coe’s Orchestra playing around Philadelphia and New York from 1953-1957.  Having spent most of this life in Indianapolis, Mingo continued to play bass with many noted musicians in clubs up and down the Avenue. Mingo Jones was inducted into the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation’s Hall of Fame in 2001, received the Ralph Adams Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 and the Juneteenth Jazz Legacy Award in 2011.