It had snap, crackle, and pop without abandoning the sense of groove Eubanks was always good at. The Messenger from 2012 featured Bill Pierce on tenor, Smitty Smith, and the leader’s two brothers playing brass. In recent years, Eubanks has made good on a promise to refocus on music. But there were also strong outings for Blue Note ( Turning Point from 1992 and Spirit Talk from 1993) just before Hollywood called. As a leader, he made some soft-around-the-middle pop jazz for the GRP label after a debut that promised more.
He would soon record as a sideman with giants like Oliver Lake, Billy Hart, and Dave Holland - and he would join forces with contemporaries such as Greg Osby, Gary Thomas, and Steve Coleman. He was one of the “Young Lions” who played with Wynton Marsalis, Chico Freeman, Bobby McFerrin, and many others at the acclaimed 1982 concert at the Kool Jazz Festival in New York, and one of his tunes was featured on the Elektra-Musician recording that hit in 1983. The guitarists’s recorded career has had ups and downs. At a minimum, Eubanks had earned respect. He was one of the few guitarists in the world who could boast that played with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
He headed to Los Angeles and TV semi-stardom in 1992 to play with Branford Marsalis (the original leader), Marvin “Smitty” Smith, and other friends, and he had already recorded a batch of albums. Who can begrudge a jazz musician a payday?Įubanks is from a hugely musical family out of Philadelphia - his two brothers are the galactically brilliant trombonist Robin and the crackling trumpeter Duane, and pianist Ray Bryant was his uncle. Sure, that band wasn’t really playing jazz, but neither is Jonathan Batiste on Colbert’s new show. Some jazz aficionados might have reservations about Kevin Eubanks because of his time spent leading the Tonight Show band for Jay Leno, a 15-year stint that ended in 2010.