He has played, toured, and recorded with Horace Silver, Roy Hargrove, Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, and Herbie Hancock.

[2] By the time Jones was born, his father "was gigging locally and working as a vocal coach for entertainers, including Ann-Margret.

[3] Members of this ensemble included, at various times, Ark Sano, Eric Reed, Gilbert Castellanos, James Mahone, Kenneth Crouch, Mark Shelby, and Richard E.

[4] In 1991, Jones began studying at the California Institute of the Arts, where he took drum lessons from Albert "Tootie" Heath.

[5] Guitarist Russell Malone commented in 2017 that, "Some drummers can't get through two bars of music without trying to do something cute and slick, but with Willie, the time and the groove is not an afterthought.