Thursday, February 21, 2008

Pere Ubu Guitarist Jim Jones, R.I.P.

A blow to Cleveland music.

Jim Jones, Cleveland music scene stalwart and guitarist (and sometime keyboardist) for legendary art rockers Pere Ubu for some 15 years, died Monday (February 18) at his home after suffering a heart attack, according to Pere Ubu's Ubu Projex website.

Jones joined Pere Ubu in 1987, after serving as a roadie. Due to his declining health, he retired from the live band in August 1995, although he continued to record with Pere Ubu for some time after, playing on 1998's Pennsylvania and 2002's St Arkansas. Jones is particularly noted for his contributions to the more pop-oriented sound Pere Ubu embraced during his tenure with the band.

A life-long musician, Jones also played with Mirrors, the Styrenes, the Electric Eels, Foreign Bodies, Easter Monkeys, and Home & Garden.

According to a report in Cleveland newspaper The Plain Dealer, Jones was 57 at the time of his death.