Kevin Eubanks

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.

Jean-Luc Ponty: No Absolute Time

by Peter Rubie
April 23, 2023

When we talk about world music, we often use the phrase in quiet desperation to describe music that defies familiarity and our expectations but still appeals to us. Its very newness is often both slightly disturbing and refreshing at the same time. Two years before No Absolute Time was released in 1993, Jean-Luc Ponty (JLP) produced one called Tchokola. In an interview for this re-release, JLP said, “Tchokola was a very special project for me. I recorded it ...

Six Picks

April 2022

by Pat Youngspiel
April 13, 2022

Remboato Remboato Nagalu 2022 After pianist Koichi Sato's Embryo—praised in a recent Six Picks issue not only for its musical excellence but also for the elaborate packaging and presentation that Shinya Fukumori's Nagalu label offers— Remboato is the Japanese label's second outing of the year and features a remarkable acoustic quartet made up of guitarist Kazuma Fujimoto, pianist Sumire Kuribayashi, bassist Toru Nishijima and label-boss Fukumori himself on drums. Expanding on the delicately lyrical ...

Album Review

Dave Holland: Another Land

Read "Another Land" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
August 2, 2021

Though bass legend Dave Holland's entire career has been one marked by adventure, it has been a while since he recorded back-to-back albums with the same working group. Recordings such as Hands (Dare2, 2010), with flamenco guitarist Pepe Habichuela, the duo outing The Art of Conversation (Impulse! 2014) with Kenny Barron, Blue Maqams (ECM, 2017) with Tunisian oud player Anouar Brahem and Good Hope (Edition Records, 2019) with tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and Chris Potter, suggest a musician increasingly stimulated ...

Album Review

Dave Holland / Kevin Eubanks / Obed Calvaire: Another Land

Read "Another Land" reviewed by Emmanuel Di Tommaso

by Emmanuel Di Tommaso
May 24, 2021

Dave Holland ritorna protagonista della scena musicale con l'album Another Land, pubblicato dalla Edition Records, e che riunisce, al fianco del monumentale bassista inglese, Kevin Eubanks e Obed Calvaire. Si tratta di un album registrato in studio e composto interamente da brani inediti che il trio ha concepito durante una serie di esibizioni live definite dal Guardian come “un inferno alimentato da un blues evocante lo spirito di Hendrix." Dopo aver suonato, sia come band leader che in ...

Album Review

Ralph Peterson & the Messenger Legacy: Onward & Upward

Read "Onward & Upward" reviewed by Paul Rauch

by Paul Rauch
August 8, 2020

Generally speaking, legacy bands are created to preserve the music of an artist. They feature innovative interpretations of an artist's compositions or past performances to share with future generations of listeners. In the case of drummer Ralph Peterson, his ambitious efforts to honor the continuum of his mentor Art Blakey are forward thinking, about a collective gathering of resources that stress creative thought and individuality. Just as the true legacy of the Jazz Messengers portends, contributors are charged with replenishing ...

Album Review

Kevin Eubanks: East West Time Line

Read "East West Time Line" reviewed by Mario Calvitti

by Mario Calvitti
September 19, 2017

Il nuovo album del chitarrista Kevin Eubanks, che segue Duets realizzato nel 2015 con il collega Stanley Jordan, si innesta direttamente nella grande tradizione della chitarra jazz, di cui da oltre trenta anni è uno dei maggiori interpreti. Da sempre poco interessato a sperimentazioni timbriche o strutturali, Eubanks ha preferito concentrare il suo approccio allo strumento cercando di modernizzare il linguaggio classico di Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel e Jim Hall concentrandosi principalmente sull'interpretazione e l'espressività. La sua lunga carriera testimonia ...

Album Review

Kevin Eubanks: East West Time Line

Read "East West Time Line" reviewed by Geannine Reid

by Geannine Reid
April 10, 2017

Philadelphia-born guitarist, composer Kevin Eubanks has been building a creative catalog and playing style since his 18-year tenure as the guitarist and music director of TV's, The Tonight Show Band ended in 2010. Eubanks took New York by storm, starting out in straight ahead jazz clubs, followed by progressive albums for contemporary jazz giant GRP Records and legendary Blue Note Records, frequent collaborations with cutting edge bassist Dave Holland, on “The Tonight Show" he played with seemingly every meaningful musician ...

Performance / Tour

Smoke Jazz Club Announces January 2025 Line-up Including Dynamic Groups The Cookers, Eubanks Brothers, And More

Source: AMT Public Relations
December 1, 2024

Hailed as the “#1 Jazz Club in New York City (SecretNYC),” SMOKE Jazz Club kickstarts 2025 with some of today’s top ensembles in performance this January. From one of the most musical families, The Eubanks Brothers – siblings Robin, Kevin and Duane – perform their collective club debut (Jan 22-25). The veteran jazz septet, The Cookers, electrifies audiences for five nights (Jan 29-Feb 2) with its forward-leaning hard-bop. SMOKE welcomes back both the acclaimed Bill Charlap Trio (Jan 8-12) as ...
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