BORN IN: Tuscaloosa, AL

LIVES IN: Conroe, TX

PLAYING SINCE: 2011

BIGGEST INFLUENCES: Jason Baker, Ed Saindon, Jo Jones, Frederick Fennell, Keiko Abe

MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE YOU PLAYED IN: Timpanist for MSU Choir Suffrage Cantata Performance

MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE YOU DIDN’T PLAY IN: Tuscaloosa Symphony performing Symphonie Fantastique 2023.

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Joining Willis High School Band and Guard staff as a first-year teacher.

FAVOURITE SABIAN CYMBAL: 19” ARTISAN Traditional Symphonic Medium Heavy

James Jarrett Jones currently serves as an Assistant Band Director and the Director of Percussion at Willis High School since 2023. Jarrett oversees the percussion program, conducts the Concert Band, and assists with the other concert ensembles and the marching band. Before coming to Willis High School, he received his Bachelor of Music Education (BME) from Mississippi State University where he studied under Dr. Jason Baker. Jarrett has premiered several pieces for solo and ensemble percussion and enjoys performing and programming new music.

In Starkville, Jarrett performed with the Starkville Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with a range of other performing ensembles, accompanying the university’s choirs, and several different chamber groups. Jarrett has a successful teaching record with students in many age groups, leading percussion ensembles and chamber groups, as well as coaching high-achieving drumlines, including his time as Captain of the Mississippi State University Drumline.

Jarrett is incredibly proud to endorse both Sabian Cymbals and Salyers Percussion. He is also a member of the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME), Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Percussive Arts Society (PAS), and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America.