An adept guitarist with a bent toward contemporary
jazz, Kevin Eubanks is best known for leading the Tonight Show
Band with host Jay Leno. Born in 1957 in Philadelphia, PA, Eubanks
grew up in a musical family along with his older brother, trombonist
Robin, and younger brother, trumpeter Duane -- his uncle is pianist
Ray Bryant. A talented musician by his teens, Eubanks eventually
studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating,
he played with a bevy of name musicians including drummer Roy
Haynes and saxophonist Sam Rivers; he was also a member of Art
Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1980 to 1981.
Eubanks made his solo recording debut with Guitarist on Elektra
in 1982. He then signed with GRP and released seven albums, beginning
with 1984's Sundance and ending with 1989's Promise of Tomorrow.
Moving to Blue Note, Eubanks released several albums including
1992's Turning Point, 1993's Spiritalk, 1994's Spiritalk 2, and
1994's Live at Bradley's. In 1992, Eubanks joined bandleader Branford
Marsalis on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and in 1995, Eubanks
took over the band when Marsalis left.
His friendly chemistry and humorous repartee with Leno quickly
established the guitarist as a household name. While the Tonight
Show band was his focus during this time, Eubanks did release
several albums on his own Insoul label. In 2009, Eubanks moved
with Leno to lead the Primetime Band on NBC's short-lived The
Jay Leno Show. In 2010, Eubanks left The Tonight Show shortly
after Leno returned to host it. That same year, Eubanks delivered
the album Zen Food on Mack Avenue Records.
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