Eric Jones Trio! Featuring Jackson Evans

Eric Jones was born in Moultrie, Georgia, and began playing piano by ear at the age of five. At 11, he took up the trumpet and later attended Armstrong Atlantic State University, where he studied under Dr. Kevin Hampton and earned a B.A. in Piano. In addition to teaching private lessons and composing, he completed his Master’s in Composition at Georgia Southern University under Dr. Martin Gendelman.

Eric has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Grammy Award-winning bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding, Stewart Copland of the Police, Keith Miller of the Metropolitan Opera, Rachel Waiters of Memphis Opera, and Wyclef Gordon, producer Dave Cobb, Lamont Landers. In 2011, he was commissioned by the Savannah Children’s Choir to compose a piece based on James Weldon Johnson’s Harlem Renaissance poem “The Creation,” which premiered as “Songs of Creation” in the spring of 2012. Eric has underscored 10 episodes for the Award winning CoComelon Story Time. In 2019, Eric released his debut album, “Azubuike,” which translates in Igbo to “the past is our strength,” featuring bassist Marc Chesanow and drummer Robert Saunders. He has been involved with the Savannah Music Festival’s Musical Explorers and the Savannah Jazz Festival, and served as the Interim Music Director of the SMF Jazz Academy during the 2019-20 school year. A member of the Savannah Jazz Orchestra for over five years, he was inducted into the Savannah Jazz Hall of Fame in 2020, joining the ranks of legends like James Moody and Ben Tucker.

Currently, Eric teaches at Savannah State University while actively performing with various ensembles throughout the Southeast. He also works in diverse media, creating music for podcasts and videos. In the spring of 2023, he toured with virtuoso violinist Daniel Hope and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. In 2024, he premiered his commissioned piece “The Seafarer” with the Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra on September21st.