Masumi Jones

Jazz Drummer

I played with Slim Richey and the Jitterbug Vipers from 2009 until summer 2015, featuring Sarah Sharp. This band won the best jazz band at Austin Chronicle Music Award 2013-14. Actually Slim Richey won the best electric guitarist, Francie Meaux Jeaux won the best bassist, I won the best drummer, and Sarah Sharp got listed in top #6 for CD producing, song writing, female vocal, many more .... We got listed in top 6 for 12 categories!

We toured around Oregon/Seattle, NY, LA, UK, and Music Festival at Albenga Italy. Our latest/last CD 'Phoebe's Dream' had been on over 90 radio stations and we were featured on the NPR show called 'Michael Feinstein's Song Travels' on January 2014, then replayed nationwide in spring 2015, too. Please check out this historical Band in the website for details, press, media articles like Down Beat Magazine, Wall street Journal, NPR show playback, Depressions, Austin Man Magazine..etc. Archive of Slim Richey and the Jitterbug Vipers

Now, after Texas legendary guitarist Slim Richey passed away 5/31/2015, Jitterbug Vipers got reformed. Bassist Francie Meaux Jeaux leads the band, great jazz singer Bree Bruns Romeo joined us. We are still keeping Austin weird and rocking with 1920's viper jazz!!

Our new band website is the Jitterbug Vipers Please come down to our gigs!!

Also I had played with Jeff Lofton, Alex Coke-Rich Harney band, Gaila Kennerly and Slim Richey band, Austin Jazz Band (big band), Austin Jazz Workshop, Corrina Rachel's Dream Land band, R.I.P. Snowball (shoegazer folkbilly rock), Jon Blondell Trio, Hootch Cakes,... and many more... since I moved in Austin TX 2008.

Lately I am playing with piano trio, 'Rich Harney Trio (aka Masumi and the Gentlemen)', 1960's retro lounge/surf/spy band '35mm', 'Sarah Sharp', 'Tapestry Dance Company', for the kids 'Hey Lolly', and a party band 'Tone' beside the Jitterbug Vipers.

I had produced online live jazz concerts 'Lunch with Masumi', almost every Monday at noon since December 2010 till 2014. I am taking a long break from live streaming right now, but I will restart broadcasting live shows again, I promise!

There are over 100 archive videos in my Jazz at Noon --- Lunch With Masumi Ustream site, so you can enjoy them in your extra time!!

My new international band 'G.G' released new album 'Ruby Road' in October 2015, this is a reunited band of 'Groovin' Girls' which was a quite busy band in Boston /NY late 90's when I was studying at Berklee College of music. So actually 'Ruby Road' is our 2nd CD, mastered by great Ted Jensen NY. Please check this band in NEWS and LINK pages, we had a big success 'Ruby Road' release mini Austin tour March 2016, and mini tour with Takana Miyamoto and Kenji Shimada also April and May 2016 in Tokyo area, then finally made our official first Japan Tour April 2017(Girl Talk, Motion Blue Yokohama, and Osaka Garden Palace).

Sarah Sharp just won 'Black Fret' major grant in December 2017, we will market nationwide soon.