It's tough enough being the new bassist for the World's Greatest Rock'n'Roll Band, replacing Bill Wyman, but don't make it any tougher by calling Darryl Jones a jazz player. Chicago-born Darryl has a jazz-playing father and he's logged major time with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock so no wonder the "jazz" tag has stuck. But Darryl loves to rock, and although he plays on the new Voodoo Lounge album and is touring with the band, he admits he ' s never seen a live Rolling Stones concert.

"There ' s a thousand bass players who can play way faster than me, and who know a lot more tricks than I do," he says. "I deal with the fundamentals, and I play rock-solid bass. That' s what I love to do. I mean, I can dig a solo, if the musical genre is appropriate for it. But that is not my first love. My first love is laying down the bass line, and it's the same thing I did with Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, and the same thing I'm doing here."

Darryl came to the Stones' attention throuh recommendations from his friends, who are members of Keith Richards' X-Pensive Winos solo ?oand. He also met Jagger once before in 1985, when Mick dropped in to the Paris movie set of Bring On The Night, Michael Apted's documentary of Sting and his band. But Darryl still had to prove himself in New York auditions last summer, which he passed handily, and the next test was making bond with Charlie Watts. The bassist and drummer of any band have to work closely together, because the rhythm section is "the engine room" of the band, as Keith Richards calls it. Darryl says he fels he's getting along fine with Charlie, because they both appreciate a good steady beat. His jazz experience didn't hurt either in impressing Watts, but there was another unexpected thing they found in common. "Charlie loves great clothes, and so do I, although it may not always appear that way." Darryl says, looking down at the overalls he'swearing for band rehearsals. Rock, soul, funk, or jazz --Darryl is ready for whatever the Stones want to do.