Oliver Jones’ six-decade musical career has been rich and varied. His classical music education was followed by stints at Montréal’s Café St-Michel, enthralling patrons with his acrobatic piano stunts. From his teens to his early twenties, Jones could play anything from swing to rockn-roll; in those days playing jazz was not considered a viable career.

A regular performer at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Oliver hasfrequently been asked to officially open the festival and has on more than one occasion been part of the closing gala. “I think the exposure I had at the Montréal Jazz Festival was really the key to the world hearing Oliver Jones,” said Oliver after an appearance at the Festival together with Oscar Peterson, the two duetting publicly for the first time, in front of a sold-out audience at Montréal’s Place des Arts.

In 2005 Oliver has been honoured in Ottawa by Canada’sformer Governor General Michaëlle Jean, as a recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards for lifetime artistic achievement.