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Biography
Infobox musical artist|name =Kevin Eubanks|image =Kevin Eubanks 2011.jpg|background =non_vocal_instrumentalist|birth_name =Kevin Tyrone Eubanks|Born =birth date and age|1957|11|15 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |genre = Jazz , Rock music|rock |occupation = Musician |Instruments = Guitar |years_active =|label = Mack Avenue Records|Mack Avenue |associated_acts = Tonight Show Band , Branford Marsalis |website =URL| http://www.kevineubanks.com Kevin Tyrone Eubanks (born November 15, 1957 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) is an American jazz guitarist and composer who was the leader of the The Tonight Show Band| Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led Kevin Eubanks and the Primetime Band|The Primetime Band on the short-lived The Jay Leno Show .
Personal background
Eubanks was born into a musical family. His mother, Vera Eubanks, is a gospel and classical pianist and organist. His uncle, Ray Bryant , was a jazz pianist. His older brother, Robin Eubanks , is a trombonist , and his younger brother Duane Eubanks is a trumpeter . 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.
As an elementary school student, Eubanks was trained in violin, trumpet, and piano at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia. He later attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and then moved to New York to begin his professional career.
Eubanks is a pescetarian and maintains a diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, egg whites, and fish.cite news| url= http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlighthealth/2002-11-04-eubanks-meatless_x.htm | work=USA Today | first1=Mike | last1=Falcon | title=Kevin Eubanks beefs up without meat | date=2002-11-04 He is also an avid fan of Philadelphia sports teams. He once lost a bet on the Philadelphia 76ers , and he was forced to eat a corn dog when he lost. In 2007, he was voted PETA 's "World's Sexiest Vegetarian Man".cite web | url = http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp? id=9962 | title = Jay Leno's Tonight Show Rally Takes Band Leader to the Top; Tens of Thousands of Votes Cast at PETA.org for Celebrities Who Exude Both Passion and Compassion | accessdate = 2010-02-17
Professional background
After Eubanks moved to New York, he began performing with noted jazzmen such as Art Blakey (1980–81), Roy Haynes , Slide Hampton and Sam Rivers . Like his brother Robin Eubanks|Robin , he has played on record with double bassist Bill Dryden .cite web | url = Allmusic|class=artist|id=p74553|pure_url=yes | title = Kevin Eubanks | publisher = AllMusic | author = Scott Yanow | date = | accessdate = 2009-01-27 In 1983, while continuing to perform with others, he formed his own quartet, playing gigs in Jordan , Pakistan , and India on a tour sponsored by the United States State Department|U.S. State Department .
Recording
His first recording as a leader, Guitarist , was released on the Elektra Records|Elektra label when Eubanks was 25 years old. It led to a seven-album contract with the GRP Records|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.
Teaching
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 College of Music, of which he is an alumnus, but not a graduate. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and has served as an active member of the Artistic Advisory Panel of the BMI Foundation since 1999.
The Tonight Show
In 1992, Eubanks moved to the West Coast to assume the guitar spot in the The Tonight Show Band| Tonight Show Band . At this time, he composed The Tonight Show with Jay Leno's closing theme music, "Kevin's Country". http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5434/is_200707/ai_n21291493/print "LIGHTS, CAMERA, REACTION& #33; KEVIN EUBANKS", International Musician , July 2007 In 1995, Eubanks replaced Branford Marsalis to become the leader of the The Tonight Show Band| Tonight Show Band . He served in this capacity from 1995 to 2010.
When NBC moved Leno's show from late night to primetime (10PM in the Eastern time zone), Eubanks moved with the band to continue conducting the music for the short-lived The Jay Leno Show . Eubanks appeared on the new show as Kevin Eubanks and the Primetime Band|The Primetime Band . It was announced on February 16, 2010 that Eubanks would only be returning for a short time as band leader when Jay Leno began The Tonight Show with Jay Leno|his second tenure on The Tonight Show . http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35429096 Kevin Eubanks to Leave the Tonight Showdead link|date=March 2012
On April 12, 2010, Eubanks announced on the show that he would be leaving The Tonight Show following its 18th season. http://www.hulu.com/watch/141904/the-tonight-show-with-jay-leno-kevin-eubanks-resigns dead link|date=March 2012 His last show was on Friday, May 28, 2010. Eubanks indicated in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer that he wanted to refocus on music, adding that his leaving was not provoked by any problems with Jay Leno or NBC.cite news| url= http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/31/arts/music/31eubanks.html | work=The New York Times | first=Nate | last=Chinen | title=Sidekick No More: Eubanks Starts Post-Leno Life | date=2010-05-30 Following his departure from The Tonight Show , Eubanks began touring with band mate Marvin Smith|Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums and Bill Pierce on sax.
Television appearances
Eubanks has appeared on various TV shows such as Hollywood Squares , V.I.P. , Muppets Tonight , Girlfriends , Longshot and Days of our Lives . He has written four feature film scores.cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004903/ | title = Kevin Eubanks | publisher = Internet Movie DataBase | author = | date = | accessdate = 2009-01-27
Equipment
On his website Eubanks states his preference for Abe Rivera guitars, Mesa/Boogie amplifiers and D'Addario guitar strings. http://www.kevineubanks.com/links.aspx dead link|date=March 2012
World Trio Mino Cinelu , Kevin Eubanks, Dave Holland (1995) Intuition Records
Live at Bradley’s (1996) Blue Note Records
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
Zen Food (2010) Mack Avenue
References
Reflist
External links
Commonscat
Official website|1= http://www.kevineubanks.com
IMDB name|id=0004903|name=Kevin Eubanks
http://www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/bios/Kevin_Eubanks.shtml A profile for The Tonight Show
http://www.jazzguitar.be/kevin_eubanks_licks.html Kevin Eubanks Licks
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlighthealth/2002-11-04-eubanks-meatless_x.htm Kevin Eubanks' Vegetarianism
S-starts-mediaSuccession box|title= The Tonight Show bandleader|before= Branford Marsalis |after= Max Weinberg |years=1995& nbsp;– 2009Succession box|title= The Tonight Show bandleader|before= Max Weinberg |after= Rickey Minor |years=2010S-endTonightShow Persondata | NAME = Eubanks, Kevin | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = musician, band leader | DATE OF BIRTH = November 15, 1957 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Eubanks, Kevin Category:African American guitarists Category:African American television personalities Category:American bandleaders Category:American expatriates in Canada Category:American expatriates in Italy Category:American jazz guitarists Category:American television personalities Category:American vegetarians Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Post-bop guitarists Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:Lead guitarists Category:The Tonight Show Band members
