Eugenie Jones

On all of her recordings, Jones sings and writes about the myriad inventions and dimensions of love, and other matters of the head and heart. Her clear-as-a-bell diction, ebullient phrasing, and statuesque stage presence did not come from a conservatory, or from an apprenticeship with a big band like many of her predecessors: Her artistry has its roots in her rich family life.

Born and raised in Fairmont, West Virginia, Eugenie Jones grew up with four sisters and three brothers. Her father Eugene was the director of the local Friendship Baptist Church Choir, and her mother was the choir’s lead soprano. She grew up listening to her older siblings’ Motown albums and her parents’ Nancy Wilson and Ray Charles LPs, but in those early years she possessed no latent desire to one day become a singer herself.

Jones earned her MBA, married, and moved to Seattle, raising two sons. Her singing career began later in life after the death of her mother, Tommie, in 2008. Jones was inspired to begin singing as a way to carry on a part of her mother, and that quest led her into the Seattle jazz scene and the pursuit of something she had never before imagined - a singing career.

Her woodshedding with local Seattle bands paid off with the release of her 2013 debut CD, Black Lace Blue Tears. Kirk Silsbee’s 3.5-star review of the CD in Down Beat magazine praised Jones for her “rhythm and swinging” and her “unforced lyricism.” The CD was the first vocal release to ever win the coveted Earshot Jazz NW Recording of the Year award. On the strength of her 2015 follow-up, Come Out Swingin’, Jones ranked in Jazz Week’s top 50, and won the title of NW Vocalist of the Year from Earshot. The CD was lauded in Jazziz magazine for her “smoke-and-satin vocals in settings that float like a butterfly and swing like a night at the Savoy.”

Jones has performed in many venues across the country, including Twins Jazz in Washington, DC, Harlem Late Night Jazz in New York, the Brownstone Jazz in Brooklyn, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the San Jose Jazz Festival, the Portland Jazz Festival, The Jazz @ 701 Center in Columbia, SC, and Northwest venues such as the Seattle Arts Museum, the Royal Room, and the Earshot Jazz Festival.

In addition to being a singer, songwriter, recording, and performing artist, Jones works as a legacy activist actively engaged in keeping the history of African American music alive in her community. She serves as the founding Board President of the Music Discover Center, a nonprofit that provides disadvantaged youth access to music instruction. She is the Executive Producer of the Jackson Street Jazz Walk. This annual block-party community event commemorates Seattle’s historic African American music history and artists who began their careers there, including Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, and Ernestine Anderson. Reflecting a commitment to community service, Jones combines music & legacy events with community service, raising funds for local nonprofits that feed the hungry and serve the needs of local seniors.

With legendary Crusaders drummer Stix Hooper, Jones served as Exec. Co-producer of the Celebrating Ernestine Anderson Tribute Series, an event that honored the life and legacy of Seattle-based, international jazz and blues icon Ernestine Anderson (1928-2016). The series raised funds for one of Ernestine’s favorite children’s charities, the Rotary Boys and Girls Club of Seattle, and presented jazz legacy webinars to students at Anderson’s high school alma mater, Garfield High School.

As her amazing self-made career shows, Jones is a successful artist on many levels. But importantly, she is a successful African American female entrepreneur, navigating the still
male-dominated world of the music industry with equal amounts of nerve and verve. Jones guarantees that she will be a force to be reckoned with for the future shape of jazz to come.

“As a lifelong learner in pursuit of being better today than I was yesterday,” she says, “I will always look to answer that internal question of ‘what’s next.’ Toward that end, I’m looking forward to launching a jazz and personal wellness radio spot on WWFM, establishing my own publishing company, and of course, continuing to create and share stories about life through my music.”