Jimmy Cobb

Artist Information

Biography

Legendary jazz drummer, Jimmy Cobb, was born in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 1929. A superb, mostly self-taught musician, Jimmy is the elder statesman of all the incredible Miles Davis bands. Jimmy’s inspirational work with Miles, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly and Co. spanned 1957 until 1963, and included the masterpiece "Kind of Blue", the most popular jazz recording in history. He also played on "Sketches of Spain", Someday My Prince will Come", "Live at Carnegie Hall, "Live at the Blackhawk", "Porgy and Bess", and many, many other watershed Miles Davis recordings.

Jimmy did his first recording with Earl Bostic and played extensively with Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderly, before joining Miles in 1957. by 1963 Tony Williams took over the Miles drum chair in 1963 and Jimmy left Miles to continue to work with Miles’ rhythm section, Winton Kelly and Paul Chambers behind Wes Montgomery. In addition to several Winton Kelly Trio Albums, the three did albums with Kenny Burrell, and J.J. Johnson, among others, before disbanding in the late 60’s.

Jimmy then worked with Sarah Vaughn for 9 years. Afterward, Jimmy continued to freelance with several great groups throughout the 70’s 80’s and 90’s including, Sonny Stitt, Nat Adderly, Ricky Ford, Hank Jones, Ron Carter, George Coleman, Fathead Newman, The Great Jazz Trio with Nancy Wilson, Dave Holland, Warren Bernhardt, and many, many others worldwide.

In the early 90’s a Television Special produced by Eleana Tee featured Jimmy playing and hanging with Freddie Hubbard, Gregory Hines, Bill Cosby, Dave Leibman, Pee Wee Ellis, and others. Jimmy has played around the world from Newport to Monte Carlo, from LA to Japan. He has performed for both Presidents Ford, and Carter, the Shah of Iran and many other dignitaries in his storied career, and is quoted extensively in "Kind of Blue", the Documentary of those legendary recording sessions as well as Writing the forward for the Book --Kind of Blue-- the making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece in 2000.

In 2002 Jimmy completed a "Four Generations of Miles" album with guitarist, Mike Stern, Ron Carter (bass), and George Coleman (tenor) for Chesky records. Other releases include his long awaited solo album, "Yesterdays", produced by Eleana Tee for Rteesan Productions. It features Michael Brecker on tenor, Marion Meadows on soprano, Roy Hargrove, trumpet and flugelhorn, Jon Faddis, trumpet, Eric Lewis, electric piano, Peter Bernstein, guitar, and John Weber on bass. This album was done in Jimmy’s two adopted home towns; recorded and shot in New York, and mixed and edited in Woodstock, NY. It includes a wide variety of arrangements ranging from a unique interpretation of Jimi Hendrix "Purple Haze" to ballads "Yesterdays" and blues (All Blues, Faddis, Monk) and standards, "Without a Song" and "Love Walked Right In". This major musical statement will include several music videos and a complete television documentary.

Later, Jimmy’s Albums New York Time, Cobb’s Corner and West of 5th, Produced by Eleana SteinbergTee and David Chesky were released. Jimmy’s Album New York Time played by Jimmy, Christian McBride, bass, Javon Jackson, tenor sax, and Cedar Walton, on piano incorporates songs for all moods. West of 5th features Jimmy, accompanied by Hank Jones on piano and Christian McBride on Bass, in this compilation of songs is a ballad written by Mr. Cobb in tribute to his late younger sister Eleanor. And In 2007 Cobb--s Corner was released, played by Jimmy, Roy Hargrove, Ronnie Mathews, and Peter Washington AKA The Jimmy Cobb Quartet.

In June 2008, Jimmy was the recipient of the Don Redman Heritage award. Just 4 months later, on October 17 2008, Jimmy was one of 6 to be presented with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Masters award.

2009 was a crucial year for Jazz and the music industry as a whole. It was a time to reflect, remember, and celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the best selling Jazz album of all time: “Kind of Blue”. To commemorate the momentous occasion, Jimmy Cobb and his So What Band embarked on the Kind of Blue @ 50 — Jimmy Cobb and the So What Band World Tour.

On December 15 2009, The House of Representatives, honored The 50th Anniversary of ‘‘Kind of Blue’’. Recognizing the unique contribution the album and musicians made to American jazz.
H. Res. 894 http://jimmycobb.net/HRBILL.html

Jimmy remains active, not only in New York City, where he leads Jimmy Cobb's Mob and The Jimmy Cobb’s Reminiscence Band but on the international circuit as well with his Jimmy Cobb “So What” Band Celebrating 50 years of Kind of Blue and the Music of Miles Davis.

TEACHING: Jimmy is constantly being approached to teach what he knows and loves to aspiring jazz musicians all over the world. Jimmy travels every year for the last 9 years to Stanford University to teach Master Classes for the University’s Jazz Workshop. He has taught for Parsons: The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, at the University of Greensboro in North Carolina, for The International Center for the arts at San Francisco State University, for St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia Canada, and at numerous educational institutions throughout the globe.

And as usual with Jimmy Cobb, you won’t believe what’s up next!

Instrumentation

Jimmy Cobb - (drums)
Jeremy Pelt - (Trumpet)
Javon Jackson (Sax) - (Sax)
Vincent Herring - (Alto Sax)
Buster Williams - (Bass)
Larry Willis - (Piano)

Discography

Jimmy Cobb's complete Discography ranges from 1952 to the present and can be found at his website on the Discography page:
http://www.jimmycobb.net/discography.html

Examples:

Jazz In The Key Of Blue CD (2009) With
The Jimmy Cobb Quartet

Roy Hargrove (trumpet & flugelhorn)
Russel Malone (guitar)
John Webber (piano)
Jimmy Cobb (drums)


"NewYorkTime" on Chesky Records (2006) with-
Jimmy Cobb
Christian McBride
Javon Jackson
Cedar Walton

"West of Fifth"on Chesky Records (2006) with
Jimmy Cobb
Hank Jones
Christian McBride

Links

• MySpace
• Twitter
• Facebook

Audio

• Remembering U
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• I'll Still Be in Love
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• Eleanor
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• Pistachio
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• Spotlight
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• Little Girls
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• Composition 101
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• Remembering the Rain
  Listen  
• Real Time
  Listen  
• W.K.
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Spotlight
• Little Girl
• Remembering the Rain

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Interview: Jimmy Cobb (Part 1) [+ Show ]
  

  January 05, 2009 There's a moment on Miles Davis' Stella by Starlight in 1958 that crystallizes d...January 05, 2009
  
  There's a moment on Miles Davis' Stella by Starlight in 1958 that crystallizes drummer Jimmy Cobb's brilliance. It happens in a flash as Davis holds the final note of his trumpet solo and John Coltrane
  comes in on tenor saxophone. Typically, drummers don't get a chance to make that much of a difference
  on jazz recordings, save for keeping time and egging on soloists. But in this case, Jimmy's seamless change from wispy brushes behind Miles to solid wood rim shots to support Coltrane completely
  changes the mood and energy level of the standard. What had been up until that moment a sound
  akin to tiptoeing on hot gravel instantly felt like a breakaway gallop. Once Coltrane wrapped,
  Jimmy once again swapped sticks for brushes behind Bill Evans' solo.
  
  These tasteful shifts perfectly define Jimmy Cobb's combination of sensitivity and power. No matter the recording, Jimmy's drumming always expresses a restrained tension that never fails to move the needle
  on the listener's anxiety level. Jimmy's ability to accompany artists by building a smoldering intensity with brushes and sticks—without stealing their thunder—is one of the many reasons why he has always
  been in demand as a session player with the greatest names in jazz.
  
  In Part 1 of my four-part interview with the legendary drummer and remaining member of the Kind of
  Blue recording session, Jimmy talks about his early years, his personal and professional relationship
  with Dinah Washington, and meeting and playing with Cannonball Adderley:
  
  JazzWax:
  Your first recording was in 1951, on Earl Bostic's Flamingo, a massive hit.
  
  Jimmy Cobb:
  Yeah, it sold a lot of records. A lot of those Earl Bostic [pictured] songs had the same general beat
  because Bostic had a thing he had to do to make money. He was a great saxophone player. He could
  play some notes on the horn that weren’t there. A whole octave above what the instrument was
  supposed to do. When [John] Coltrane came into his band, he learned a lot from Bostic. Like playing
  three notes at once and notes above what the horn could do.
  Bostic could make his alto sound like a tenor.
  
  More...
  
  www.jazzwax.com/2009/01/interview-jimmy.html

• Jimmy Cobb Quartet featuring Kenny Barron [+ Show ]
  

  Drummer Jimmy Cobb played on what some consider to be the definitive jazz recording, Miles Davis’ “...Drummer Jimmy Cobb played on what some consider to be the definitive jazz recording, Miles Davis’
  “Kind of Blue,” spending five years in his band. From Washington D.C., Cobb built his reputation as an accompanist in the 1950’s, working with artists such as Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderly and Earl Bostic, with whom he made his first recordings. Cobb joined Miles in 1957, playing on albums not only with Davis, but with John Coltrane as well
  (including the “Giant Steps” sessions). Subsequently, Jimmy, along with pianist Wynton Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers, left Miles’ band and worked as a trio behind Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell and J.J. Johnson. Cobb then joined Sarah Vaughan, touring with her throughout the 1970’s. Mostly self taught, Cobb is a consummate team player and peerless timekeeper, who is all about the big picture—
  making the music swing.

• JC and Cassandra Wilson Perform at the Kimmel Center 11.1.08 [+ Show ]
  

  Jimmy Cobb and Cassandra Wilson Perform at the Kimmel Center This November Posted: 2008-10-10 K...Jimmy Cobb and Cassandra Wilson Perform at the Kimmel Center This November
  Posted: 2008-10-10
  
  Kind of Blue Turns 50-The Jimmy Cobb Band-Honoring Jimmy Cobb
  Saturday, November 1, 2008
  7:30pm
  Perelman Theater
  Price: $32 and $38
  
  The Kimmel Center’s Jazz Up Close Series during the 2008-09 season celebrates the 50th anniversary
  of Miles Davis’ quintessential jazz album, Kind of Blue, with five concerts paying tribute to the men who made it legendary. The first concert in the series honors drummer Jimmy Cobb, the lone surviving
  member of the historic 1959 session, on Saturday, November 1, 2008 in Perelman Theater. A
  formative figure in the development of jazz, Cobb will be awarded the National Endowments for
  the Arts Jazz Masters Award, the nation’s highest honor in jazz, in 2009.
  
  Cobb has attained international renown as a band leader, an accompanist and a solo artist, and
  in much-heralded collaborations with Wynton Kelly, Wes Montgomery, the Adderley Brothers and
  Sarah Vaughan. His signature rhythmic textures can be heard on hundreds of albums throughout
  the past five decades. The elder statesman of all the Miles Davis bands, Cobb’s inspirational work
  has appeared on such seminal Davis albums as Sketches of Spain, Someday My Prince Will Come,
  Porgy and Bess, among many other landmark recordings. He has performed and recorded
  extensively with luminaries such as Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry,
  Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, Ricky Ford, Hank Jones, George Coleman, Fathead Newman
  and many others.
  
  Cobb’s extensive discography includes the two-disc Miles Davis tribute Miles from India (2008), for
  which he joined with two dozen musicians including fellow Davis alumni Chick Corea, Gary Bartz and
  Ron Carter and a contingent of Indian musicians. The album puts a pan-global spin on such classics
  as “All Blues," “Spanish Key," “So What" and “It s About That Time." In 2007, Cobb released Cobb’s
  Corner with his quartet, which included Roy Hargrove, Ronnie Mathews and Peter Washington; as
  well as a tribute to Kind of Blue, Essence of Green, with Ron di Salvio. Cobb continues to tour with
  his band Cobb’s Mob, with whom he is currently working on a new live album.
  
  This is the first performance in the Jazz Up Close: Kind of Blue Turns 50 series. The next performance
  in the series is the Fred Hersch Trio, Honoring Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly on
  Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 7:30pm.
  
  Jimmy Cobb, drums
  Corcoran Holt, bass
  Javon Jackson, sax
  Russell Malone, guitar
  Eric Reed, piano
  
  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=24137

• "Kind of Blue" at 50: Jimmy Cobb's So What Band with Wallace Roney at Yoshi's in Oakland, 6/10-14 [+ Show ]
  

  Miles Davis Kind of Blue remains the best selling and most influential jazz album of all time. Yoshi...Miles Davis Kind of Blue remains the best selling and most influential jazz album of all time. Yoshi's in Oakland will be celebrating the 50th aniverary of that classic by hosting a stelar group of musicians to explore that music on Wednesday, June 10th through Sunday, June 14th. The "So What Band" features Miles Davis' protégé Wallace Roney on trumpet, Vincent Herring on alto saxophone, Javon Jackson on tenor sax, Larry Willis on piano, Buster Williams on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Jimmy Cobb is the only surviving musician who performed on Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue in 1959.
  
  Known for his work as both an accomplished accompanist and soloist, jazz drummer NEA Jazz Master, Jimmy Cobb was born in Washington, DC, on January 20, 1929. Largely self-taught, Cobb spent his years in DC playing engagements with Charlie Rouse, Frank Wess, and Billie Holiday, among others.
  
  Jimmy CobbCobb left DC in 1950 to join Earl Bostic, with whom he cut his first recordings. Cobb played extensively with Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cannonball Adderley, before joining Miles Davis in 1957. Between 1957 and 1963 Cobb worked with Davis, John Coltrane, and Adderly. He also played on the Miles Davis recordings Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain, Someday My Prince Will Come, Live at Carnegie Hall, Live at the Blackhawk, Porgy and Bess, among others. In 1963, Cobb left the Davis band to continue to work with his rhythm section: Winton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Wes Montgomery. After disbanding the band in the late 1960s, Cobb worked with Sarah Vaughn for nine years and then freelanced for the next 20 years with artists and groups such as Sonny Stitt, Nat Adderly, Ricky Ford, Hank Jones, Ron Carter, George Coleman, David "Fathead" Newman, and The Great Jazz Trio with Nancy Wilson.
  
  Jimmy Cobb continues to play music in New York City, where he lives with his wife and two children. He now leads the Jimmy Cobb "So What" Band, celebrating 50 years of Kind of Blue and the music of Miles Davis, and travels the international circuit as he approaches his 80th birthday. Cobb currently teaches master classes at Stanford University's Jazz Workshop and has taught at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, the University of Greensboro in North Carolina, the International Center for the Arts at San Francisco State University in California, and international educational institutions.
  
  Jazz trumpeter extraordinaire Wallace Roney, who much like his mentor Miles Davis, is a highly skilled, expressive performer and an active force in the evolution of jazz. While being one of the most accomplished and acclaimed trumpeters in jazz today, Roney remains one of today's most misunderstood jazz masters. Roney rose to national prominence in the 1980's as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, earning favorable notice as a young lion with impressive technique in the Clifford Brown-Lee Morgan-Freddie Hubbard tradition. By the middle of the decade Roney was holding down a difficult dual membership with both the Messengers and Tony Williams' Quintet. Soon he began to display a more thoughtful and spacious approach to sound and improvisation -- one that nodded in the direction of Williams' former leader, Miles Davis, who by that time had befriended the young trumpeter, having given him the blue horn that is his trademark.
  Javon Jackson met the legendary Art Blakey one night at Mikell's, a New York City jazz club. After sitting in with the Messengers, Javon's skill on the tenor led to an invitation to join the group. Those years under the tutelage of Blakey involved intensive study of both interplay and improvisation. Performing alongside Terence Blanchard, Kenny Garrett, Wallace Roney and Benny Green, Javon appeared on several recordings with Blakey, including Not Yet (Soul Note), One For All (A&M) and Chippin' In (Timeless). Javon remained with the Messengers for over three years until Blakey's death in 1990. Javon earned his degree from Berklee while continuing to tour with Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones, Charlie Haden and Cedar Walton. Javon spent several years touring with a host of jazz greats, as well as his own groups, concentrating on technique and composition. He earned his master's degree in music and a position as Assistant Professor of Jazz Education at SUNY Purchase College.
  
  Vincent Herring played sax at West Point in the U.S. Military Band. Dubbed a “Young Lion” in the early 80s, he toured with the Lionel Hampton Band before his big break with Nat Adderley's band, displaying a style in the vein of Nat’s brother, Cannonball. Notes International Jazz Productions, “Vincent has developed into a virtuoso with a voice that is uniquely intense and vigorous with the energy and direction.” Regarding his place in the Cannonball chair with the Legacy Band, Jazz Times (November 2002) noted that he has “formidable technique and the appropriately aggressive attitude to put it over. Like Adderley, Herring tells a story when he plays, quotes other songs in his solos…and always plays hip turnarounds at the ends of his phrases.” (For more information on Vincent Herring, see www.vincentherring.com)
  

• Thank God It's Thursday: Miles Davis [+ Show ]
  

  For Kind Of Blue (its Legacy Edition released back in January), Miles Davis and Bill Evans--both fol...For Kind Of Blue (its Legacy Edition released back in January), Miles Davis and Bill Evans--both followers of pianist George Russell's modal brand of jazz--attempted a more inspired approach by loosely charting the songs, then freshly introducing them to the players on the recording dates. The resulting improvisational works are considered the most influential of their era, their assembly the best selling jazz album of all time. Featuring John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley along with bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb, this Legacy Edition includes the original album plus alternate takes (with "So What" in its first official, over-seventeen minute version), studio dialog that gives you a bird's ear view of the sessions' genius, and tracks recorded the previous year that include "Stella By Starlight," "On Green Dolphin Street," and Cole Porter's "Love For Sale."
  
  8READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE-
  www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/emthank-god-its-thursdaye_b_220588.html

• Jazz Fest all-star lineup includes tribute to 'Kind of Blue' [+ Show ]
  

  "In the church of jazz, the album 'Kind of Blue' is one of the holy relics," writes Ashley Kahn in "..."In the church of jazz, the album 'Kind of Blue' is one of the holy relics," writes Ashley Kahn in "Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece" (DaCapo Press, 2000), one of two books written exclusively about the celebrated album.
  
  The magical music was brought to life by an equally magical collection of musicians. Joining Davis and Evans were John Coltrane on tenor sax, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on alto sax, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Pianist Wynton Kelly performed on one tune, the bouncing and bluesy "Freddie Freeloader."
  
  All were greats on their instruments. Cobb is the only survivor from that day. At age 80, he's still a master, performing with a list of greats over the years and leading his own bands. On Saturday at Freihofer's festival, he will re-create "Kind of Blue" with a superior group of some of today's top jazz talents. The group is on a world tour this year to celebrate the anniversary.
  
  www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=813485&category=ARTS

Setlist

Depending on what band Jimmy is currently touring with, sets vary, have originals and covers, and shows can last up to 2 hours(1 hour per set).

Basic Requirements

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