Since the bluesman came forward with the diagnosis, fans and friends have come together to contribute to his cause, to celebrate his enduring impact on Phoenix music and to simply do what the blues does better than any other American art: look pain straight in the eye, and sing.
Some 300 people gathered at the skeleton-themed Bone Haus Brewing, which has an outdoor patio that overlooks the city. Most ponied up $20, and many bought merch. Jones himself didn’t make it to the event, but his face was everywhere — at least two dozen people wore black Carvin Jones T-shirts.
“He means a lot to the city of Phoenix. He's just a staple of this city," said Levi Velasquez, the primary organizer of the benefit, a drummer for headliner The Black Hole and Jones' regular drummer for much of the past 13 years. "He's been around for many years and a lot of people have grown up with Carvin.
“He's a tremendous musician," Velasquez continued. “But the reason everybody is here today is because of his heart."
Jones, who has made an undeniable impact both musically and personally, moved from Texas to Phoenix in 1989 and has been playing shows ever since. He’s shared a stage and toured with the likes of B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Santana and Buddy Miles, building a following locally and beyond. He has toured all over the world and earned fans from various countries.
Lisa Steen, Jones’ tour manager and a co-organizer of the event, said that even fans in Europe and Canada pitched in by buying tickets.
“It just means a lot to see how loved he is all over the world," she said, barely containing tears as she spoke. "He deserves this. He just means the world to me — to a lot of us. He's a staple in all of our lives and, you know, I can't imagine a world without him.”
Jones may have been around the world, but the man devotes himself to Phoenix. He visits people in hospice care. He coaches kids' basketball. During the pandemic, he delivered groceries to the elderly — and continues to do so, Steen said. “His grandmother raised him," she said. "He has a big servant's heart."
Jones also mentors aspiring blues musicians. Armando Serna, a young musician who opened the night playing guitar for a 20-minute set, shared this recollection: “I stayed up late when I wasn't supposed to, and I was flipping through channels, and I came across this guitar-playing guy that had two guitars, playing them at the same time. I was amazed. He looked like Jimi Hendrix, sounded like Stevie Ray Vaughan, and he was playing some Carlos Santana song. I was like, 'This guy's like all three of my heroes rolled into one!'"
Serna and Jones struck up a friendship, and Jones brought his young protege into the spotlight.
“He let me play his guitar on the Celebrity Theatre stage — just gave me that opportunity to shine," Serna said. “My heart is really broken when we found out about his cancer.”
A mentor to Phoenix blues musicians
Velasquez says Jones taught him and other musicians on the scene how to play the blues. They have since gone on to tour widely and to play with Jones — including at his most recent gig: March 30 at the Celebrity Theatre, just before Jones publicly disclosed his diagnosis.“Tonight, we decided to turn one of our gigs into a big benefit, invited a lot of blues musicians from around the Valley that were impacted by him," Velasquez said. "Just trying to do for Carvin what he's done for all of us and what he's done for the community. I just saw him carry so many people on his back for so many years. He's never needed anything from anyone, and so to be able to just do that for him, it feels really good."
The Black Hole, a tight trio that plays a heavy style of blues-rock, was a musical highlight of the evening. Another of Jones’ disciples, Connor Kelly, who sings and plays guitar in the band, displayed his chops with several searing guitar solos during their set. Kelly counts Jones as an inspiration and blues mentor. “He's a great showman, you know?" Kelly said. Seeing Jones perform, he added, "was the first time I ever realized that the blues could have fire behind it.”
Eric Ramsey, a member of the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame, turned in a stellar solo performance singing and playing acoustic slide guitar. He makes a point to show up for benefit shows like the one at Bone Haus. “It's a community, and it only stays a community if people are still engaged in it," he said. "Usually, it's for an unfortunate reason that we have benefits. In any way I can really support that and help raise money for whoever. I feel like it's part of my job as a human and a musician.”
Lisa Oshop, a fan and friend of Jones’, reflected on the personal side of his performances. “He remembers everybody that he talks to or comes in contact with," she said. "He goes to the bar and sees them. He remembers everything, like, it's amazing how he remembers — just being able to say, 'Hey, Tonya, how are you doing? Hey, Colleen, how you doing?'"
The outpouring of warmth and financial support — for a musician who, like so many in the game, doesn't have health insurance — was the second big push to help cover Jones' bills. A GoFundMe fundraiser that launched on April 7 has so far raised more than $37,000 for the cause.
“He would help anybody with anything that anybody needed," Oshop's friend Tonya Hughes said of Jones. "He's just not a performer. That's the least of his things. The performer is just him. That's who he is."
