He had received his first guitar barely two years earlier and the experience at the Royal Albert Hall that night "changed my life", he said.
"This is what I wanted to do with my life and thanks to Bob Dylan I then pursued the rigorous road of music."
He was years afterward supremely fortunate, he said, to share the stage with Dylan here in New Zealand and later in Vietnam.
Ubana Plays Dylan is a show that focuses on Dylan's first five albums, Ubana Jones said. While he stays true to the lyrics, Ubana Jones said he has taken Dylan's songs "into a new and more intimate and harmonic landscape".
His tribute repertoire will include classics such as My Back Pages, Chimes of Freedom, and The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - songs that highlight Dylan's masterful way with words and "his musical poetry".
Ubana Jones played the tribute show to appreciative audiences in Nelson in a special New Year's Eve and is touring the performance at centres throughout the North and South islands over coming weeks.
Born in London to a Yorkshire mother and a Nigerian father, Ubana Jones was playing guitar by the age of 11 before studying guitar and cello at a London music college.
In 1987 Ubana Jones and his family shifted to New Zealand, from where he has since toured nationally and internationally, playing concert performances that include opening for the likes of Dylan, Patti Smith and touring with Taj Mahal, Norah Jones and Crowded House. He also opened for BB King at the Pistoia Blues Festival in Italy.
Ubana Jones has completed a formidable list of festival appearances as well that includes WOMADelaide, the Dublin Blues Festival, Vancouver Folk Festival, Comox Festival, Calgary Festival, Edmonton Festival, Winnipeg and Blues at Bridgetown
The 62-year-old singer/guitarist boasts a career that spans 40 years and seven albums of mostly original songs.
The tribute show runs from 7pm on January 11. Door sales available.
