Zakk Jones, who graduated in 2015, has had a busy couple of months touring all over the country and recording music.

Jones came to Capital from Portland, Oregon and found his niche majoring in jazz studies. While he has always loved music, jazz was not his first choice. He learned how to play the piano at 6, and at age 11 he began playing the guitar, but started out with metal music. As he got older, he learned jazz and as soon as he got to school, he knew that this was what he wanted to do as a profession.

Before his success, Jones was extremely involved on campus, and he joined many different ensembles and learned different styles of music. Jones said that learning these different styles prepared him for many situations throughout his career.

“I learned how to take situations and be able to handle it well instead of being overwhelmed by something I’ve never done before,” Jones said.

He also contributes a lot of his success to the mentors he had while at Capital because they offered him opportunities in the local music scene.

After graduating in the spring, Jones went on to become a full-time musician and private teacher in the Bexley area. During the summer, Jones played at local festivals, such as ComFest and the Jazz and Rib Festival, with his original band, Screaming Owl. He played a couple of gigs with Tony Monaco, a world-renowned organist. He also toured with Safety Squad, a band made up of all Capital students. The tour consisted of eight gigs in nine days that Jones put together himself.

For Jones, the best part of touring was the final product.

“I booked all the gigs and the musicians, [so] seeing it all coming together and making it all work was crazy!”

Most recently, Jones played High Ball Festival with The Floorwalkers.

“It was really awesome. It was one of the biggest gigs I’ve ever played … we had suits on and our faces painted … [and] to be able to play rock in front of thousands of people was a lot of fun!”

For Jones, being a professional musician is something he has known he wanted to do for a long time. He enjoyed that he had the opportunity to do a little bit of everything.

“Columbus is a really great city for music and I think the best thing for anyone who is trying to be a full-time musician is to practice as much as you can … [and] talking to older musicians and being proactive and having fun. You can’t wait for anyone, you have to make things happen for yourself.”

Currently, Jones is taking a break from the music scene to visit family, but will be back at it again starting in December. He will be playing December 9 at The Brothers Drake, December 19 at Dick’s Den, and on New Years Eve he will be playing with Tony Monaco at the Trout Club in Newark. He will also be playing with a trio at 6-8:30 p.m. Monday nights at Giuseppe’s on Main Street beginning in January.