honors series

In a career spanning nearly six decades, drummer Jimmy Cobb has proven to be a master of every musical situation. One of jazz’s definitive accompanists, Cobb made his name in support of such giants as Dinah Washington, Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery and Sarah Vaughan, and on literally hundreds of studio sessions. As the drummer on Davis’ legendary album Kind of Blue, Cobb may be the most frequently heard (if not the best known) drummer in jazz history; and as part of the legendary Davis rhythm section with pianist Wynton Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers, he created a manner of swinging in the modern idiom that remains the gold standard for rhythmic inspiration. Read more »

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Even when he has not been in the spotlight, drummer Michael Carvin’s presence has been felt over a wide range of music. There are the jazz gigs he has logged over the last 30 years, in support of numerous major artists as well as at the helm of his own groups; and there are the many blues and pop performances he has energized, beginning with two years as house drummer for Motown Records in the late 1960s. Even when he’s not directly involved, Carvin’s influence can be felt through the number of talented drummers who have availed themselves of his insights in the 32 years since he established the Michael Carvin School of Drumming. Read more »

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New Orleans has been a primary source of musical creativity for more than a century, and the Tuxedo Band has been at the center of New Orleans music most of the way. “The Tuxedo Band began as an orchestra, either in 1909 or 1910, depending on where you get your information,” notes Bob French, who has had charge of the incredible Tuxedo legacy for the last 30 years. A multi-generational celebration of traditional New Orleans music is French’s focus in a new volume of the Marsalis Music label’s Honors Series. Read more »

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Few musicians are more deserving of honors than Alvin Batiste, the subject of a new volume in Marsalis Music’s Honors Series. As an instrumentalist, a composer and an educator, he has been a central figure in shaping modern music for the past half century, and the ten tracks on Alvin Batiste provide a too-rare glimpse of a giant who has spent far too much of his career out of the limelight. Read more »

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