KEVIN EUBANKS

Kevin Tyrone Eubanks (born November 15, 1957 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), is a jazz guitarist who has been the leader of the Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno since 1995. He composed the Tonight Show's closing theme music, "Kevin's Country," in 1992.

Background

Eubanks was born into a musical family. His mother, Vera Eubanks, is a gospel and classical pianist and organist. His uncle, Ray Bryant, is a jazz pianist. His older brother, Robin Eubanks, is a trombonist. Two cousins are also musicians, the late bassist David Eubanks and the pianist Charles Eubanks. Kevin studied violin and trumpet before settling on the guitar.

The young musician attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston and then moved to New York to begin his professional career. There he played with noted jazzmen such as Art Blakey (1980-81), Roy Haynes, Slide Hampton and Sam Rivers. Like his brother Robin, he has played on record with world renowned double bassist Dave Holland. While continuing to play with others, in 1983 he formed his own quartet playing gigs in Jordan, Pakistan and India on a tour sponsored by the United States State Department.

His first recording as a leader, Guitarist, was released on the Elektra label when Eubanks was 25 years old. It led to a seven-album contract with the GRP label and four albums for Blue Note. In total, Eubanks has appeared on over 100 albums. In 2001, he founded the label Insoul Music on which he has released six albums.

Eubanks has taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Canada, at Rutgers University, and at the Charlie Parker School in Perugia, Italy. In 2005, Eubanks received an honorary doctorate degree from the Berklee, of which he is an alumnus, but not a graduate. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and has served as an active member of the Artistic Advisory Panel of the BMI Foundation since 1999.

Influences

Kevin's guitar style owes much to early influences including Wes Montgomery, Jimi Hendrix, Pat Martino and John McLaughlin, a combination of sophisticated harmonic vocabulary and explosive fingerstyle technique. Eubanks' discography includes a wide spectrum of styles from GRP styled smooth jazz to avant garde acoustic to straight ahead trio to newer electric fusion.

Current

In 1992 Eubanks moved to the West Coast to assume the guitar spot in Tonight Show Band. In 1995 he became the band's leader. Aside from his music, he is known for his lingering, amused laughter following many of Leno's sharper jokes, and for Leno routinely implying marijuana, pornography and masturbation addictions. He is also known for being a passionate Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia 76ers fan, which is often seen when he wears hats with their logos, and on occasion Philadelphia Flyers' and Philadelphia Phillies logos, during shows. Following the Eagles's Super Bowl loss to the Patriots, he memorably stuck his entire body into a giant tub of chunky New England clam chowder soup.

Eubanks has appeared on various TV shows such as Hollywood Squares, V.I.P., Girlfriends, Longshot and Days of Our Lives. He has written four feature film scores.

His touring band currently features Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums and Bill Pierce on sax.

Health and Nutrition

Eubanks is a vegetarian. Kevin joked on December 15, 2006 to Tobey Maguire and Leno that he's "practicing" vegetarianism (because he was still eating fish during those times) and promotes the vegetarian diet as being healthy. Leno commonly mentions this on the show when jokes involve vegetables (such as in typos on supermarket flyers during the "Headlines" segment). On the April 21st, 2008, episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Eubanks said that he has given up eating seafood. On June 26, 2007, PETA selected Eubanks as the sexiest vegetarian alive. Carrie Underwood was the female counterpart.

Eubanks described his start with vegetarianism this way: "I've been a vegi for about 25 years. I stopped eating meat 'cause my dad did and it was cheaper to eat fruit and veggies at college 'cause I was so broke and the food at school was like eating garbage."

Fans

Kevin Eubanks has a close relationship with fans especially through his self-run web page. He offers a section where you can e-mail him questions and he tries to answer most of them through the web page's section entitled "Personals."

Discography

Art Blakey and the Jazzmessengers Big Band - Live at Montreux and Northsea (1980)
Guitarist (1982, Wounded Bird Records)
Sundance (1984, GRP Records)
Oliver Lake Quintet - Expandable Language (1985)
Opening Night (1985, GRP)
Face to Face (1986, GRP)
Heat of Heat (1987, GRP)
Shadow Prophets (1988, GRP)
Dave Holland Quartet - Extensions (1989, ECM Records)
Promise of Tomorrow (1990, GRP)
Kirk Lightsey Trio - From Kirk to Nat (1991)
The Searcher (1992, GRP)
The Best of Kevin Eubanks (1996, GRP)
Turning Point (1992, Blue Note Records)
Spirit Talk (1993, Blue Note)
Spirit Talk 2 (1994, Blue Note)
Mino Cinelu, Kevin Eubanks, Dave Holland - World Trio (1995, Intuition Records)
Live at Bradley’s (1996, Blue Note)
Live (2001, Insoul Music)
Shrine (2002, Insoul Music)
Angel (2003, Insoul Music)
Slow Freight (2003, Insoul Music)
Genesis (2003, Insoul Music)
Soweto Sun (2006, Insoul Music)

References

"LIGHTS, CAMERA, REACTION! KEVIN EUBANKS", International Musician, July 2007
"Kevin Eubanks"". MySpace. 23 January 2009. Retrieved on 27 January 2009.
Scott Yanow. "Kevin Eubanks". AllMusic. Retrieved on 27 January 2009.
"Kevin Eubanks". Internet Movie DataBase. Retrieved on 27 January 2009.
USATODAY.com - Kevin Eubanks beefs up without meat
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070626/ap_on_en_ot/people_sexiest_vegetarians;_ylt=Amf54_SauFKZd_HngJcWEmXMWM0F
Kevin Eubanks. ""Personals"". Insoul Music LLC. Retrieved on 27 January 2009.

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Kevin Eubanks, currently the Music Director of The Tonight Show Band, is a gifted musician and prolific composer whose own band, the Kevin Eubanks Quartet, has been evolving for close to twenty years. In both situations, Kevin has won over audiences with a laid back style and an affability that seems to belie the concentration and focus that have made him both a household word for TV viewers and a consummate guitarist. Kevin was born into a musical household in Philadelphia, PA. His mother, Vera Eubanks, is a gospel and classical pianist and organist with a Masters Degree in music education. She has taught both privately and in the public school system, until her recent retirement. Vera's brother, Ray Bryant, is a journeyman jazz pianist who has recorded and toured with jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and Sarah Vaughn not to mention a few hit records of his own. Kevin was thus exposed to world-class music in his formative years. Along with his older brother Robin, an accomplished trombonist and educator, who has tenure at Oberlin College, Kevin played in small groups around the hometown and spent countless hours practicing at home. Kevin studied violin and trumpet before making his commitment to the guitar, which was solidified with his entrance to the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. There he met many of the finest jazz musicians of his generation and inspiring teachers as well. When Kevin moved to New York after attending Berklee College of Music, his career kicked off in earnest. He played with some of the stalwarts of jazz, like, Slide Hampton, Art Blakey, McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter, Sam Rivers, and Roy Haynes. In addition to working in other bands, Kevin became the leader of his own quartet and traveled to Jordan, Pakistan, and India on a tour sponsored by the US State Department not to mention the European/ Japanese jazz circuit which so many jazz artists frequent. Kevin taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Canada, at Rutgers University, and at the Charlie Parker School in Perugia, Italy. His first recording as a leader, Guitarist, was released on the Elektra label when Kevin was 25. It documented a sophisticated, nuanced voice on the instrument, and was graced by the presence of some peers who still work with him today: tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore, a member of The Tonight Show Band, and Robin. Kevin's cousins, the late bassist David Eubanks and the pianist Charles, also appeared on the album, which was so well received that it led to a seven album contract with the GRP label. Those albums, based largely upon Kevin's compositions, gained him a wide audience through extensive radio airplay and showed the range of his skill on both acoustic and electric guitar. Kevin became a full-time bandleader, and traveled the world with his group. In 1992 Kevin moved to the West Coast to assume the guitar spot in The Tonight Show Band. In 1995 the leader's torch was passed to Eubanks, whose versatility enables him to write and choose music that satisfies the huge and varied audience for the show. He has also assumed the role as Leno's sidekick, sometimes participating in skits, and his engaging personality as well as his musicianship has drawn lots of positive attention. The position has afforded Kevin the opportunity to work with wonderful musicians from all genres. As a result of living close to LA, Kevin has become involved in writing scores for both TV movies and full-length independent feature films. He loves to do volunteer work for charities and maintains an active relationship with the organization dearest to his heart, The Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. He has appeared on various TV shows from Hollywood Squares to VIP to Girlfriends, Days of Our Lives to name a few. But his passion is clearly seen when he is on stage performing. Kevin and his touring band, which features Marvin "Smitty" Smith and Bill Pierce, who holds the Woodwind chair at Berklee College of Music, travel across the country on a very limited schedule. "It's wonderful to communicate through music. It's been my life's dream as far back as I can remember. It's such an honor to be invited to so many countries and so many people lives, if only for a few moments of a melody. One of the deepest joys of my life." Kevin has recorded many CD's that feature various distinguished artists, and plans to release them on a new label called "INSOUL MUSIC." He has recently been awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Berklee College of Music. As one of the most accomplished guitarists of his or any generation, Eubanks has deservedly become known to millions through music, TV, and what so many artists know so well, "lots of hard work."

Source: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=254210358

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During the past couple of years, Kevin Eubanks has been seen by millions of viewers nightly as the leader of Jay Leno's Tonight Show Band, where his main purpose is to assist the comedian/host rather than play creative jazz. Eubanks comes from a musical family that included Ray and Tommy Bryant as uncles and older brother/trombonist Robin Eubanks. After studying at Berklee, he was with Art Blakey's big band (1980-1981); had stints with Roy Haynes, Slide Hampton, and Sam Rivers; and then in 1983 started leading his own groups. After debuting on Elektra, starting in 1985 Eubanks began recording regularly for GRP. Some of the sets were a bit commercial while others were fairly explorative. Switching to Blue Note in the 1990s, Eubanks has been emphasizing acoustic guitar in more recent years.

Source: Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

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Biography 

Born: November 15, 1957 

Kevin Tyrone Eubanks (born November 15, 1957 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), is an American jazz guitarist who has been the leader of the Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno since 1995.

He played with Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Slide Hampton, and Sam Rivers before starting to lead his own groups in 1983. Like his brother Robin Eubanks, a jazz trombonist, he has played on record with Dave Holland.

In 2005, Eubanks received an honorary doctorate degree from the Berklee College of Music, of which he is an alumnus. He is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.

He is known for his lingering, amused laughter following many of Leno's sharper jokes, and for Leno routinely poking fun at his alleged marijuana, pornography and masturbation addictions. He is also known for being a huge Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia 76ers fan, which is often seen when he wears hats with their logos, and on occasion Philadelphia Flyers' and Philadelphia Phillies logos, during shows. Following the Eagles' Super Bowl loss to the Patriots, he memorably stuck his entire body into a giant tub of chunky New England clam chowder soup.

Eubanks claims to be vegetarian but in actuality is a pescetarian. Kevin joked on 12/15/06 to Tobey Maguire and Leno that he's “practicing” vegetarianism (because he eats fish). He does promote the vegetarian diet as healthy. Leno commonly mentions this on the show when jokes involve vegetables (such as in typos on supermarket flyers during the “Headlines” segment). On 26 June 2007, PETA selected Eubanks as the sexiest vegetarian alive. Carrie Underwood was the female counterpart.

Source: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=6586