Jimmy Cobb is a highly acclaimed jazz drummer who played on some of the most influential albums of the 1950s and '60s including Miles Davis's 'A Kind of Blue'. In 2017, Billboard Magazine cited 1959 as "the greatest year in jazz" thanks to innovations by players such as Davis, Charles Mingus, Dave Brubeck and John Coltrane, and Cobb was a major figure in the jazz firmament. He has remained active in his later years leading combos such as Cobb's Mob in New York and touring internationally with his So What Band in celebration of 50 years of the music of Miles Davis.
Born in Washington D.C he studied with orchestral percussionist Jack Dennett and performed with artists including Billie Holiday and Pearl Bailey before he joined saxophonist Earl Bostic's band in 1950. He accompanied Dinah Washington for three years and played with stars such as Cannonball Adderley, Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie before linking up with Davis in 1958. He played with many other artists and bands and released the album 'Encounter' with his own outfit in 1994.
His albums since then include 'Four Generations of Miles: A Live Tribute to Miles' (2002), 'Tribute to Wynton Kelly & Paul Chambers' (2004), 'Marsalis Music Honors Series: Jimmy Cobb' (2006), 'Cobb's Corner' (2007), 'Jazz in the Key of Blue' (2009), 'Live at Smalls' (2010), 'The Original Mob (Smoke Sessions' (2014) and 'You'll See' (2016).
