Jones was born in Tamworth, Lennox and Addington County, Ontario, Canada.
He moved to Toronto at the age of ten, eventually traveling to New York City in 1928.
By 1937 Jones had composed a number of classical works; that year a concert by Francis James and his string quartet, consisting entirely of Jones' compositions, was held in Toronto at the Eaton Auditorium.
[1] Jones began teaching at Mills College in California from 1939 to 1944,[2] and at the Music Academy of the West in 1949 and 1950.
The music critic Tim Page and composer Walter Buczynski were among Jones's notable students.