Ralph M. Jones

Ralph M. Jones was born, raised, and mentored in Detroit. He has been active as a performance artist in the African-American Instantaneous Compositional Tradition for over 40 years. As an internationally recognized artist, he toured, performed, and recorded with Dr. Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Sanders, Wadada Leo Smith, Issa Abramaleem, Norman Connors, Kenn Cox, The MC5, Wayne Kramer, Adam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures and Go Organic Orchestra, and his ensemble, Seekers of Truth Revolutionary Ensemble (SOTRE), among many other stellar artists.

Jones earned his master’s degree in African-American Studies and his B.A. in Ethnomusicology, both from U.C.L.A. He has taught for 19 years in the CSSSA summer program at Cal-Arts, 5 Years at Oberlin College and four years at Spelman College. Ralph has also taught numerous master classes in musical concepts and performance in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, among other schools throughout the world.