Whether through his calypso writing, steelpan styling, social programs or education, Ian Jones has given his soul to the Caribbean community. The accomplished pan player, arranger, composer, and musical director has founded several music programs and organizations throughout the city of Toronto, helping shape the Caribbean music scene.

Born in Trinidad & Tobago, he studied at the Queen’s Royal College (QRC) where he was one of the first panmen to perform at the school. Alongside Ray Holman, David Waddell, Ronald C. Emrit, they joined as the Invaders Steelband in 1961. He would then move to Toronto, Canada in 1965 to continue his education. He completed his degree in Social Service Administration, while continuing to study music. He was mostly self-taught with both the steelpan and piano; he pursued a correspondence course in 1980 with the Berklee School of Music.

Throughout his career, Jones would found and support many music programs and institutions in the city. He was a founder of the Ontario Steelpan Association (OSA) and acted as Programme Director. He was later the music director of Panatics Steelpan, founded by Leornard Noel in 1991. Jones pioneered the steelpan as a for credit course in education, beginning at North York high school. He created instructional videos for similar programs for the Toronto District School Board. In 1997, he was behind creating and implementing the Pan Alive Event (1997) which has since become a major part of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly known as Caribana.

Not only a pannist, Jones has written and arranged music for several artists and theatre productions. His penned calypso’s have even won the Calyspo Monarch of Canada title six times. For his work and expertise, he was featured in the docuseries Heartbeat (2007-2008). The show looked at Canadian-Caribbean musicians, featuring other community members like Bernie Pitters, Jason Wilson, and Drew Gonsalves.

Outside his musical contributions, he was the Director of Covenant House Toronto, where he created several programs to help benefit homeless youth in the city. A patient teacher and leader, Ian Jones continues to inspire and uplift the Caribbean community.

Awards:

• Award of Merit, City of Toronto (1992)
• Raphael Passey Award (1996)
• Canada’s Best Calypso Arranger (1997)
• OCPA Past President Award (2006)
• Caribbean Tribute Award (2009)