Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era.

Most famously a member of John Coltrane‘s quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as My Favorite Things, A Love Supreme, Ascension and Live at Birdland. After 1966, Jones led his own trio, and later larger groups under the name The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. His brothers Hank and Thad were also celebrated jazz musicians with whom he occasionally recorded. Elvin was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1995. In his The History of Jazz, jazz historian and critic Ted Gioia calls Jones “one of the most influential drummers in the history of jazz.”  He was also ranked at Number 23 on Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Greatest Drummers of All Time”.

Elvin Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, to parents Henry and Olivia Jones, who had moved to Michigan from Vicksburg, Mississippi. His elder brothers were pianist Hank Jones and trumpeter Thad Jones, both highly regarded musicians. By age two he said drums held a special fascination for him. He would watch the circus parades go past his home as a child, and was particularly excited by the marching band drummers.