Tad Jones - Rest in Peace

THADDEUS "TAD" BUNOL JONES

Jazz historian Thaddeus "Tad' Bunol Jones, age 54, died at his home on January 1, 2007 of accidental causes. Co-author, with Jonathan Foose and Jason Berry, of UP FROM THE CRADLE OF JAZZ: NEW ORLEANS MUSIC SINCE WORLD WAR II, Jones made international headlines in 1988 when he discovered the baptismal certificate that established Louis Armstrong's true date of birth as August 4, 1901. In a career spanning thirty-five years, he consulted on diverse film, audio and book projects dealing with the musical history of the city and authored several original articles on the subject. His manuscript detailing Armstrong's early years in New Orleans was incomplete at his death. "Tad was the only person - to my knowledge - to spend hundreds of hours perusing tax records, real estate records, police arrest records, etc. to piece together the facts of the first two decades of Louis' (Armstrong)'s life,' said Michael Cogswell, Director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum at Queens College of the City University of New York. "He knew incredible details about Louis's father's job at the turpentine plant and his social activities in New Orleans. Tad's biography of young Louis Armstrong promised to separate fact from legend. What a shame that we will not see his finished product.' In addition to writing, Jones managed music publishing for The Radiators. His legacy includes dozens of recorded oral history interviews with New Orleans musicians including Henry Byrd (Professor Longhair), Earl King and Irma Thomas, many of which are on file with the William Ransom Hogan Jazz Archive of Tulane University, where he was a resident scholar. His live interviews with musicians were a regular feature at the Heritage Stage of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Jones also served on the board of the New Orleans International Jazz Colloquium. For the last five years, he has organized speakers on jazz history for Satchmo Summerfest. His tours of the historic neighborhoods that gave rise to New Orleans music were also a regular feature of the summer festival, and Jones also worked with both the National Park Service and the Preservation Resource Center to preserve the heritage of those neighborhoods by placing historic plaques on the homes and venues where musicians worked and played. A lifelong resident of New Orleans and a graduate of De La Salle High School and Loyola University, Jones was on September 19, 1952. He was the beloved son of Phyllis Bunol Jones and C. Palmer Jones, Sr. and grandson of the late Noel and Alice Bunol and the late Odile and Rudolph O. Jones. He is survived by his brother, Calvin P. Jones, Jr. and his sister, Suzanne Jones Myers; two nephews, Trey Jones and Christian Jones; three nieces, Lauren Tisdale, Alyce Myers and Anne Myers; and a great-nephew. He is also survived by three aunts, Evelyn, Hazel and Helen Jones. Visitation will be Friday, January 5, 2007 at LAKE LAWN METAIRIE FUNERAL HOME, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd., New Orleans, from 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. followed by a 10:00 a.m. Funeral Mass in Chapel. Burial will immediately follow the ceremony. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in his name be made to the William Ransom Hogan Jazz Archive, 6801 Freret St., Room 304, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118. The family encourages musicians who would like to express themselves on their instruments during the procession to the graveside to attend.To sign and view the Family Guestbook, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com.