Willie Jones III (born June 8, 1968 in Los Angeles, California) is a jazz drummer. He has played, toured, and recorded with Horace Silver, Roy Hargrove, Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, and Herbie Hancock. He played on Arturo Sandoval‘s Grammy-winning album Hot House (1998). Jones’ father, also named Willie Jones, was a pianist, composer and arranger, who moved to Los Angeles from Jacksonville in 1961. By the time Jones was born, his father “was gigging locally and working as a vocal coach for entertainers, including Ann-Margret.”

In 1991, Jones began studying at the California Institute of the Arts, where he took drum lessons from Albert “Tootie” Heath. Jones played with Milt Jackson in 1994, and toured with trumpeter Arturo Sandoval from 1994 to 1998.

Jones was based in Los Angeles until he moved to New York in 1997. He played in trumpeter Roy Hargrove‘s quintet from 1998 to 2006. In 2000, Jones founded an independent jazz label, WJ3 Records. He said in 2017 that “It’s a self-investment, […] I’m not making a profit, but I’m not losing any money. I’ve become more proficient at putting out each project.” He has regularly played with pianist Eric Reed, as the drummer for Wynton Marsalis‘ Jazz at Lincoln Center, and has several CDs released as a leader on his own label, playing hard bop and swing.