Tim Ries – Contemporary Music’s Top Saxophonist – in a Quick-Fire Interview About “The Rolling Stones Project”

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 12 June 2026

Interview date: 07/19/2008

The mastermind behind “The Rolling Stones Project”, saxophonist, keyboardist, composer, in short – an outstanding musician, Tim Ries, rolled into Portorož’s Avditorij last Sunday together with Bernard Fowler, The Rolling Stones’ backing vocalist, Darryl Jones, their bassist, and the other members involved in the project, to play the last of three European shows. In a quick-fire interview the gentlemen let us in on what the project is all about, and Tim proved to be a great conversation partner in those few minutes. There just wasn’t enough time …

RockLine: You’ve been working with The Rolling Stones for years. Where did the idea of playing their songs in a jazz outfit come from?
Darryl Jones: The idea was Tim’s, I just play. He asked me if I’d play a few shows with him and I said yes.
Tim Ries: I always wanted to rearrange popular music, especially stuff from the thirties and forties. It was always about older jazz. When I lived in Detroit I played a lot with musicians like that. Then I went to a show with The Rolling Stones, and after touring with them I decided I could play their music. I started in 1999.

RockLine: How did you decide which The Rolling Stones songs to rearrange?
Darryl Jones: Tim decided everything.

RockLine: Darryl Jones is performing with you today too.
Tim Ries: Bernard is at every one of their shows, which is very commendable. I’m not at all of them. We’ve played in more than fifty different cities with The Rolling Stones. Darryl only plays with us a few times a year. We played together in Chicago, St. Louis and a few other places. When I called him and asked if he’d join us here, he said: “Why not?”

RockLine: Do you think The Rolling Stones and jazz run parallel?
Darryl Jones: Tim did a great job with the arrangements.
Tim Ries: I think they do. Charlie Watts is a big jazz fan, he’s got loads of jazz CDs at home, and Ronnie Wood’s brothers are trumpet players, so that music inspires them a lot.

RockLine: The new record “Stones World: Rolling Stones World Music Project” comes out in September. What can we expect?
Darryl Jones: Really? I didn’t know that.
Tim Ries: Seventy-two different musicians from all over the world play on the record. Bernard sings on five tracks. Charlie, Ronnie and Keith are on it too. Lots of musical styles and nine languages get woven together.

RockLine: How do you pick the musicians you work with?
Tim Ries: I’ve always had a regular crew around me. We wanted to try out different styles, like Spanish flamenco, Portuguese fado, Brazilian forró.

RockLine: How did Ron (Wood, The Rolling Stones, ed.), Keith (Richards, The Rolling Stones, ed.), Mick (Jagger, The Rolling Stones, ed.) and Charlie (Watts, The Rolling Stones, ed.) react to the “project”?
Darryl Jones: They loved it. They even put the songs on the record.
Tim Ries: The reactions were very positive.
Bernard Fowler: They didn’t like Baby soap. (laughs)

RockLine: What are your other projects, and how do they fit in with this one?
Darryl Jones: I run “The Darryl Jones Project” myself, and as soon as the record is out, we’re going on tour.
Tim Ries: I’ve got a lot of projects I’m working on. I think about music at night too, when I can’t sleep. Right now I’m writing music for a Mexican musician, Marco Sirrera. In the future I might do something together with Bernard, which is still a secret for now. Most likely within a year.

RockLine: Thanks for the pleasant chat.
Tim Ries: Thank you!

Interview by Lea Lesar.
Questions by Lea Lesar and Rok Podgrajšek.
Photos: Rok Podgrajšek