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A friend of mine received the following e-mail today (18 May 2004) from Michael Shrieve, a former Santana drummer:

To All Fans of Elvin Jones;

It is confirmed now. Elvin Jones has passed away. I just heard from Keiko Jones that Elvin passed away today, May 18, 2004 shortly before 3:00 EST. I am grateful for this man's contribution to music and how he has enriched my life personally for 30 years. I have had the great fortune spend much time with Elvin the last 2 years working on his memoirs. There are so many wonderful things he has to say, and I look forward to sharing them with all of you. No date has been set yet for the release.

Michael Shrieve

CNN.com had the following obituary:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Elvin Ray Jones, a renowned jazz drummer and member of John Coltrane's quartet who also played alongside Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, died Tuesday. He was 76.

Jones died of heart failure in an Englewood, New Jersey, hospital, said his wife of 38 years, Keiko Jones.


Elvin Jones is shown in an October 26, 1997, file photo while performing at the San Francisco Jazz Festival.

"He's happy. No more suffering," said Keiko Jones. "He's been fighting for so long."

Jones, called by Life magazine "the world's greatest rhythmic drummer," was born in Pontiac, Michigan, one of ten children. He had two musician brothers: Hank, a jazz pianist, and Thad, a trumpet and flugelhorn player.

Jones entered the Detroit jazz scene in the late 1940s after touring as a stagehand with the Army Special Services show Operation Happiness.

After a brief gig at the Detroit club Grand River Street, he went to work at another club, backing up such jazz greats as Parker, Davis and Wardell Grey.

Jones came to New York in 1955 for an unsuccessful audition for the Benny Goodman band but stayed in the city, joining Charlie Mingus' band and making a record called "J is Jazz." In 1960, he became a member of John Coltrane's quartet.

Jones, with his rhythmic, innovative style, became one of jazz's most famous drummers under Coltrane. He can be heard on Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" and "Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard."

After leaving the Coltrane quartet, Jones briefly played with Duke Ellington and formed the Elvin Jones' Jazz Machine. He put out several solo albums and continued to tour, including last month in Oakland, California, Keiko Jones said.

Besides his wife, Jones is survived by a son and a daughter.

Here is a great site with more info on Mr. Jones:

http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Elvin_Jones.html