SKF NOTE: Around 1982-83 I attended an Elvin Jones drum clinic in NYC. I remember neither the exact location nor the clinic sponsor. (It may have been Elvin’s 1982 Professional Percussion Center clinic.) Former Modern Drummer Features Editor Rick Mattingly was with me. Or maybe I was with Rick.

We were both still working for MD. Attending Elvin’s clinic may have had something to do with Rick’s 1982 MD interview with Elvin.

During the clinic Q&A a boy who, I’m guessing, was around 10-years old, asked Elvin to solve a mystery.

“You’re Elvin Jones. There’s Philly Joe Jones, Papa Joe Jones, Harold Jones…. Are you all related? How many Jones’s are there?”

The clinic audience laughter quieted. Elvin looked directly at the young man. “My father was a wild man,” he answered, causing the audience to again erupt in laughter.