Jones, who also played alongside Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, died of heart failure in a New Jersey hospital on Tuesday.
Jones, named by Life magazine as “the world's greatest rhythmic drummer", joined band leader Charlie Mingus' ranks in New York in the mid-1950s.
He played on some of Coltrane's famed recordings, including A Love Supreme.
Born in Pontiac, Michigan, one of 10 children, Jones had two musician brothers, Hank, a pianist, and Thad, a trumpet and flugelhorn player.
He entered the Detroit jazz scene in the late 1940s and came to New York in 1955, auditioning unsuccessfully for the Benny Goodman band.
He joined Coltrane's quartet in 1960, playing on records such as Live at the Village Vanguard.
He later formed Elvin Jones' Jazz Machine, put out several solo albums and continued to tour.
Jones leaves his wife of 38 years, Keiko, a son and a daughter.
By The BBC News
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