Herlin Riley is a jazz drummer and bandleader and has been active since 1984, working with notable performers such as George Benson, Harry Connick, Jr., and Marcus Roberts. Born in New Orelans on February 15, 1957, Riley began playing drums at three years of age and went on to study percussion during his college years. After graduating, he spent time as a member of Ahmad Jamal's jazz group from 1984 to 1987. He joined Wynton Marsalis' touring band in 1988 and has since gone on to record a number of albums with the American trumpeter, including The Majesty of the Blues (1988), Blue Interlude (1991), and Blood on the Fields (1997). A regular musician at the Jazz at Lincoln Center (JCLO), led by Wynton Marsalis in New York, Riley also took part on their inaugural Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra United States tour in 1992. He lectures percussion at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and has released four solo albums including Watch What You're Doing (2000), Cream of the Crescent (2005), New Direction (2016), and Perpetual Optimism (2019). Riley has also recorded with Dr. John, Benny Wallace, Mark Whitfield and collaborated with Cassandra Wilson and Cecile McLorin Salvant.
