One of the overlooked piano accompanists has to be James Henry, who teamed with Sarah Vaughan for a number of years , as well as with Ella Fitzgerald. He had a classy style, well grounded in stride,akin to a mix like Ellington, or a more fluid Errol Garner. This disc shows him in a rich solo setting back in 1947, and there’s even a dash of Tatum baroque-ness on pieces like “ What’s New?” and “Claire de Lune”, with some rich blues on “ Lover Man” and an exotic read of Ellington’s “Bakiff”.
His trio work from the same year has him with Al Hall/b, Denzil Best-Bill Clark/dr and guests Al Casey/g or L ynn Warren/voc for a fun “ Lazy River” and sophisticated “Zigeuner”. Up to 1952, he’ swith JC Heard/dr and Billy Hadnott/b for a cool “Moonlight In July” and warm “Cool In Cuba”. A ’54 trio with Roy Haynes/dr and J oe Benjamin/b continues his Ellington influence with “Just Squeeze Me” and an excellent “Lush Life”, with warm expressiveness on “Easy To Love”. Not flashy or show-offy, Jones is subtle in his swing and style. Makes me want to dig into his backup work with the ladies and see what I was missing!
https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/jimmy-jones-albums/56629-the-splendid-mr-jones-trio-solo.html