A true American original and jazz luminary, Papa Jo Jones bedazzled and intrigued many with his outrageous, volatile personality and his innovative drumming-and nowhere does his fierce intellect and humor shine moremarvelously than in his life's telling. With a fascinating introduction and annotations by Paul Devlin and an afterword by Phil Schaap, jazz historian and longtime friend of Jones, Rifftide reveals a man at the forefront of both awhole new form of music and a country in the midst of incredible turmoil and opportunity.