Wizz Jones

Wizz Jones

Wizz Jones is an English acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter from Thornton Heath, in the United Kingdom. He is associated with contemporary folk, folk and singer-songwriter music, and is known for his links to the British folk revival. He is born Raymond Ronald Jones in 1939 and dies in 2025.

Early career and influences

Jones begins his musical career in Croydon in 1958, leading a country and skiffle group called The Wranglers. He takes up acoustic guitar after hearing Big Bill Broonzy, Rambling Jack Elliott and Muddy Waters at a London club run by Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner. He also learns blues guitar from Long John Baldry and Davy Graham while playing in Soho coffee bars.

Playing, touring and collaborations

He travels widely in Europe as a busking musician, at times with other players including Rod Stewart. After returning to Britain in the early 1960s, he forms a bluegrass duo with banjo player Pete Stanley. Their partnership lasts four years and includes the recording of a single and an album for EMI. Jones later works as a solo performer and collaborates with songwriter Alan Tunbridge and, on occasion, guitarist Peter Berryman.

He also performs with his wife Sandy in Lazy Farmer and continues to appear as a soloist in clubs and at festivals. His son Simeon sometimes joins him on saxophone, harmonica and flute. Jones is often named as an early influence by Eric Clapton, John Renbourn and Ralph McTell, and he is remembered for working with musicians such as John Renbourn and Bert Jansch.

Later recognition and recordings

In the 1970s, Jones has considerable success in Europe and Scandinavia. He later gains renewed attention through his appearance in Acoustic Routes and through reissues of earlier recordings in the 1990s. Further releases appear on the U.S.-based Scenescof label, leading to his first trip to the United States. He later appears in The Ballad of Rambling Jack Elliot and performs in New York with Thurston Moore. A DVD featuring Jones and Simeon in conversation and performance with Martin Carthy appears in 2006.