Mike Jones (75)

Born and raised in Buffalo, NY. Jones attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, and after college he remained in the city, working with such eminent local players as Herb Pomeroy and Gray Sargent. After significant East Coast performances, appearances at the Floating Jazz Festival on the S.S. Norway and the Queen Elizabeth ll, and a series of recordings that established him as a world-class pianist steeped in the pre-bop jazz tradition, Jones relocated to Las Vegas. There he caught the ear of Penn Jillette who, in 2002, brought Jones onboard for the nightly Penn and Teller show at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. His debut album, Oh! Look At Me Now! (1994), went on to become Chiaroscuro Records’ best-selling title by a new artist; the follow-up, Runnin’ Wild, was released in 1996 to rave reviews. Jones has since recorded three more highly successful CDs in the following decade, including the 2005 album recorded at the world-renowned Green Mill in Chicago – a venue with which, since his first appearance there in 2002, the pianist has had a regular trio gig at his disposal. Jones’s impressive technique allows him to carry the show all by himself, and he frequently appears in a solo context. But, as those who have attended the Penn and Teller Show can attest, Jones has also performed with one other instrumentalist for years now. That “other instrumentalist” would be the self-described taller member of the comic duo, Penn Jillette, who plays bass with Jones – or “Jonesy, the Jazz Demon,” as he is fondly known around the show – during the introductory musical segment each evening. In 2013, Jones released Plays Well With Others, his first album on the Capri Records label. He is a Kawai Pianos artist.