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{{short description|American cornetist, guitarist, and singer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Olu Dara
| background        = solo_singer
| birth_name        = Charles Jones III
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1941|1|12}}
| birth_place       = [[Louisville, Mississippi]], U.S.
| origin            = [[Natchez, Mississippi]], U.S.
| genre             = [[Jazz]]
| occupation        = {{flatlist| *Musician
*songwriter}}
| instrument        = Vocals, guitar, [[cornet]], [[trumpet]], [[harmonica]], drums, percussion
| years_active      = 1964–present
| label             = [[Atlantic Records]]
| associated_acts   = [[Nas]], [[Bravehearts]], [[AZ (rapper)|AZ]]
}}
'''Olu Dara Jones''' (born '''Charles Jones III'''; January 12, 1941) is an American [[cornetist]], guitarist, and singer. He is the father of rapper [[Nas]].
==Early life==
Olu Dara was born Charles Jones III on January 12, 1941, in [[Natchez, Mississippi|Natchez]], Mississippi.<ref name="TM Bomb">{{cite interview| interviewer= Tracie Morris| url= http://bombsite.com/issues/62/articles/2125 |title= Olu Dara|  first= Olu |last= Dara| work= Bomb| via= bombsite.com| number= 62| date= Winter 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091208132807/http://bombsite.com/issues/62/articles/2125|archive-date=8 Dec 2009}}</ref><ref name=Gates>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/blog/nas-interactive-family-tree/ |title=Nas' Interactive Family Tree | work= Finding Your Roots |publisher=PBS |date=29 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210091907/https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/blog/nas-interactive-family-tree/|archive-date=10 December 2015|last=Gates|first=Henry Louis Jr.|author-link=Henry Louis Gates Jr.}}</ref> His mother, Ella Mae Jones, was born in [[Canton, Mississippi|Canton]], Mississippi. His father, Charlie R Jones, born in Natchez,<ref name="Gates" /> was a traveling musician, and sang with The Melodiers, a vocal quartet with a guitarist.<ref name="Skelly">{{cite news |last1=Skelly |first1=Richard J. |title=Olu Dara's Trip: From Natchez to New York |url=https://princetoninfo.com/olu-daras-trip-from-natchez-to-new-york/ |access-date=December 4, 2020 |work=[[U.S. 1 (newspaper)|U.S. 1]] |date=January 30, 2002}}</ref>
As a child, Dara took piano and clarinet lessons. He studied at [[Tennessee State University]], initially a pre-med major, switching to [[music theory]] and [[Musical composition|composition]].<ref name="Skelly" />
==Career==
From 1959 to 1964 he was a musician in the Navy, which he described as a priceless educational experience.<ref name="Skelly" />
In 1964, he moved to New York City and changed his name to Olu Dara,<ref name="Kelsey">{{cite web|last1=Kelsey|first1=Chris|title=Olu Dara|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/olu-dara-mn0000890197/biography|website=AllMusic|access-date=31 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="Dreisinger">{{cite web|last1=Dreisinger|first1=Baz|title=Nas and His Dad's Jazz|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-dec-05-ca-nas5-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=31 October 2017|date=5 December 2004}}</ref> which means "The Lord is good" in the [[Yoruba language]].<ref name="Dreisinger" /> In the 1970s and '80s he played alongside [[David Murray (saxophonist)|David Murray]], [[Henry Threadgill]], [[Hamiet Bluiett]], [[Don Pullen]], [[Charles Brackeen]], [[James Blood Ulmer]], and [[Cassandra Wilson]]. He formed two bands, the Okra Orchestra and the Natchezsippi Dance Band.<ref name="TM Bomb" /><ref name="Kelsey" />
His first album, ''[[In the World: From Natchez to New York]]'' (1998), revealed another aspect of his musical personality: the leader and singer of a band immersed in African-American tradition, playing an eclectic mix of [[blues]], jazz, and [[folk music|storytelling]], with tinges of [[funk]], African popular music, and [[reggae]]. His second album ''[[Neighborhoods (Olu Dara album)|Neighborhoods]]'', with guest appearances by [[Dr John|Dr. John]] and [[Cassandra Wilson]], followed in a similar vein.
Dara played on the album ''[[Illmatic]]'' (1994) by his son, rapper [[Nas]], and on the song "Dance" (2002), also by Nas, and he sang on Nas's song "[[Bridging the Gap (song)|Bridging the Gap]]" (2004).<ref name="Dreisinger" />
==Discography==
===As leader===
* ''[[In the World: From Natchez to New York]]'' ([[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]], 1998)
* ''[[Neighborhoods (Olu Dara album)|Neighborhoods]]'' (Atlantic, 2001)
'''With [[Material (band)|Material]]'''
* ''[[Memory Serves]]'' (1981)
* ''[[The Third Power]]'' (1991)
===As sideman===
'''With [[Charles Brackeen]]'''
* 1987 ''[[Attainment (album)|Attainment]]'' (Silkheart)
* 1987 ''[[Worshippers Come Nigh]]'' (Silkheart)
'''With [[Rhys Chatham]]'''
* 1984 ''Factor X''
* 1987 ''Die Donnergötter (The Thundergods)''
'''With [[Carlos Garnett]]'''
* 1975 ''[[Let This Melody Ring On]]'' (Muse)
* 1977 ''Fire''
'''With [[Corey Harris]]'''
* 2002 ''[[Downhome Sophisticate]]''
* 2005 ''[[Daily Bread (Corey Harris album)|Daily Bread]]''
'''With [[Craig Harris]]'''
* 1985 ''[[Tributes]]'' (OTC)
* 1999 ''[[Cold Sweat Plays J. B.]]'' (JMT)
'''With [[David Murray (saxophonist)|David Murray]]'''
* ''[[Flowers for Albert: The Complete Concert]]'' (India Navigation, 1976)
* ''[[Ming (album)|Ming]]'' (Black Saint, 1980)
* ''[[Home (David Murray album)|Home]]'' (Black Saint, 1981)
* ''[[Live at Sweet Basil Volume 1]]'' (Black Saint, 1984)
* ''[[Live at Sweet Basil Volume 2]]'' (Black Saint, 1984)
* ''[[The Tip (album)|The Tip]]'' (DIW, 1995)
* ''[[Jug-A-Lug]]'' (DIW, 1995)
'''With [[Nas]]'''
* 1994 ''[[Illmatic]]''
* 2002 ''[[God's Son (Nas album)|God's Son]]''
* 2004 ''[[Bridging the Gap (Nas single)|Bridging the Gap]]''
* 2004 ''[[Street's Disciple]]''
'''With [[Jamaaladeen Tacuma]]'''
* 1983 ''Show Stopper''
* 1984 ''Renaissance Man''
'''With [[Henry Threadgill]]'''
* 1982 ''[[When Was That?]]''
* 1983 ''[[Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket]]''
'''With [[James Blood Ulmer]]'''
* ''[[Are You Glad to Be in America?]]'' (1980)
* ''[[Free Lancing]]'' (1981)
* ''[[No Escape from the Blues: The Electric Lady Sessions]]'' (2003)
'''With [[Cassandra Wilson]]'''
* 1987 ''[[Days Aweigh]]'' (JMT)
* 1993 ''[[Blue Light 'Til Dawn]]''
* 1999 ''[[Traveling Miles]]''
* 2002 ''[[Belly of the Sun]]''
'''With others'''
* 1970 ''Journey to Air'', [[Terumasa Hino]]
* 1970 ''[[Who Knows What Tomorrow's Gonna Bring?]]'', [[Jack McDuff]]
* 1973 ''Ethnic Expressions'', [[Roy Brooks]]
* 1973 ''Revelation'', [[Doug Carn]]
* 1975 ''[[Heavy Spirits]]'', [[Oliver Lake]]
* 1977 ''Endangered Species'', [[Hamiet Bluiett]]
* 1978 ''Live at Moers Festival'', [[Phillip Wilson]]
* 1980 ''[[Flat-Out Jump Suite]]'', [[Julius Hemphill]]
* 1982 ''[[Flying Out]]'', [[Cecil McBee]]
* 1982 ''Nots'', [[Elliott Sharp]]
* 1983 ''Nona'', [[Nona Hendryx]]
* 1984 "Conjure - Music For The Texts Of Ishmael Reed", Conjure
* 1985 ''The African Flower'', [[James Newton]]
* 1985 ''[[The Sixth Sense (Don Pullen album)|The Sixth Sense]]'', [[Don Pullen]]
* 1993 ''[[Deconstruction: The Celluloid Recordings]]'', [[Bill Laswell]]
* 1997 ''KC After Dark'', Kansas City Band
* 1998 ''Empire Box'', [[Tim Berne]]
* 1998 ''You Don't Know My Mind'', [[Guy Davis (musician)|Guy Davis]]
* 2002 ''Medicated Magic'', [[Dirty Dozen Brass Band]]
* 2002 ''Trance Atlantic (Boom Bop II)'', [[Jean-Paul Bourelly]]
* 2003 ''[[Chinatown (The Be Good Tanyas album)|Chinatown]]'', [[The Be Good Tanyas]]
* 2007 ''The Harlem Experiment'', The Harlem Experiment
* 2007 ''This Is Where You Wanna Be'', The Brawner Brothers<ref name="AM credits">{{cite web|title=Olu Dara {{!}} Credits {{!}} AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/olu-dara-mn0000890197/credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=31 October 2017}}</ref>
* 2021 ''[[The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony]]'', Julius Hemphill
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0200893}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dara, Olu}}
[[Category:American jazz cornetists]]
[[Category:American jazz singers]]
[[Category:American jazz trumpeters]]
[[Category:American male trumpeters]]
[[Category:African-American guitarists]]
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians from Natchez, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records artists]]
[[Category:Nas]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Mississippi]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from Mississippi]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:American male jazz musicians]]