Tonight Show With Jay Leno Band Leader

In April 2010, Eubanks announced that he was stepping down as band leader to pursue other touring and recording opportunities outside of late night television. Kevin Tyrone Eubanks was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in November 1957. He was born into a musical family that included pianists and a trumpet and trombone player. Kevin studied trumpet, violin and piano, but eventually chose the guitar. He attended the Berklee College of Music before moving to New York.

He started performing jazz and played in India, Pakistan, and Jordan. He had his first album titled Guitarist released on Elektra and has since gone on to appear on over 100 albums. He started playing with The Tonight Show Band in 1992 and composed the show's closing theme song. He took over as band leader in 1995 when Branford Marsalis left. In addition to leading the band Eubanks would sometimes interact and joke with Leno during the show.

Eubanks was voted PETA's World's Sexiest Vegetarian Man in 2007. Kevin Eubanks Reflects On 15 Years Leading Leno Kevin Eubanks has ended his 15-year run as band leader of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Eubanks pulls back the curtain on a day in the life of the musical director of a late night talk show, and explains his role as sidekick to host Jay Leno. Changes in Leno's show reflected other major changes in television since its earlier days.

By the late 1980s late-night talk had become slightly less a white male domain. Joan Rivers hosted her own talk show for a short time, and popular black comedian Arsenio Hall had his own show which enjoyed a wide following, attracting mostly a young black audience, a segment previously ignored in late night talk. The first leader of Jay Leno's late night studio band was the accomplished black jazz musician Branford Marsalis. The second band leader and Leno sidekick was Kevin Eubanks, also black. A big change for The Tonight Show during Leno's tenure was its first serious competition. With the changing of the guards, there was inevitably going to be a changing of the bands.

Much to my delight, Jimmy Fallon had chosen Philadelphia's own The Roots as his house band. As a Philadelphian myself, it was something that I took as a personal accomplishment, though I had absolutely nothing to do with the decision. Thusly introducing The Roots, and their afro'd polymath musical director and band leader, Ahmir "? Uestlove" Thompson, beaming them onto millions of televisions across Middle America.

The Roots, who up until that point had, only been known in popular culture as the band from the first two seasons of Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central, or within the industry as the "hardest working band in show-business". The appointment of The Roots to the coveted spot would be a monumental signal across the late night landscape, and set a trend that is evident today in the complexion the music departments across the late night genre. The Roots would also go on to be the band for The Tonight Show along with Jimmy Fallon, but not after some well documented tumult. On July 1, 2010, Variety reported that only six months into its second life, Leno's Tonight Show posted its lowest ratings since 1992. By September 2010, Leno's ratings in the adults demographic had fallen below those of O'Brien when he had hosted The Tonight Show.

NBC ratings specialist Tom Bierbaum commented that due to the host being out of late night television for a period of time and the subsequent 2010 Tonight Show conflict, Leno's ratings fall was "not a surprise at all". In October 2010, David Letterman beat Leno's program in the ratings, for the first time since Leno returned to hosting The Tonight Show. By May 2011, Leno's Tonight Show regained the lead and has held it since then.

However, by August 2012, The Los Angeles Times was reporting that The Tonight Show was in serious trouble for a number of reasons, most notably that NBC has been losing money. While Leno offered to take a pay cut, at least 24 members of his staff were laid off. Johnny Carson retired from The Tonight Show on May 22, 1992, and was replaced by Jay Leno. With his heart set on the earlier time slot, Letterman left NBC in June 1993 and joined CBS that August.

The Late Show with David Letterman, airing in the same slot, competed against The Tonight Show for the remainder of Leno's run. Leno would outdo Letterman in ratings for the majority of the show's run. Conan O'Brien slid into the late night time slot vacated by Letterman in September 1993. Taking a survey of of the late night hosts in the modern era (since Letterman's move to CBS to today) the band leader has been a de facto sidekick during the monologues. Strategically adding musical accompaniment to accentuate punchlines. Or — if they happen to be mic'd — the band leader will make their own jokes or provide a little relief to the host if a joke doesn't land quite right .

In the case of the legendary duos of Kevin Eubanks and Jay Leno (obligatory "he's from Philly"), Paul Schaffer and David Letterman, and even Max Weinberg and Conan, were each eccentrics in their own right. Over the course of their respectively long runs each band leader became a integral characters in their televised lounge act. Kevin Eubanks has ended his 15 year run as band leader of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Eubanks got his start on the show playing guitar in the Tonight Show band under leader Branford Marsalis. He played his last show as Leno's musical director and sidekick on May 28. In 1966, Henderson left the show as the conductor from the original NBC late-night show from 1951, Broadway Open House, Milton DeLugg came in for one year.

In 1967 Severinsen returned, this time as conductor, and with basically the same personnel nonetheless inaugurated a somewhat more aggressive sound (using, for example, an electric bass, and a brassier version of the "Here's Johnny" theme). Occasionally, renowned drummer Louie Bellson would sit in for Shaughnessy. When Jay Leno replaced Carson in 1992, he ended the tradition of a large in-house orchestra.

Branford Marsalis became musical director, and a smaller band was formed. Starting in the mid- to late-1980s, television talk shows, both daytime and late-night, multiplied in number. The in-studio talk program was inexpensive to produce and audiences were increasingly drawn to the sensationalism and celebrity showcased each day and night on television. Some late-night talk shows--including those hosted by Joan Rivers, Chevy Chase and Pat Sajak on the FOX network--came and went quickly. Arsenio Hall's show was on the air for several years before cancellation.

Especially successful in late night was the up-and-coming David Letterman. Late Night with David Letterman started out on NBC, airing immediately after The Tonight Show from 1982 until 1993. Passed over for the host position on The Tonight Show when Leno was chosen for the post, Letterman moved to CBS where his new show ran in direct competition with Leno. They key to Letterman's charm was that he never hid the fact that it was an inconvenience for him to be hosting his own show, but his band leader would always call him out on it.

Schaffer is also unique in that he wasn't just circumstantially funny. He had natural comedic timing and he constantly made Letterman laugh. A new season of diversity is blossoming in late night television as Black musicians are being recognized and given leading roles as music directors.

Batiste is continuing the tradition of bandleaders like Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong, who enjoyed a level of celebrity and the spotlight while maintaining compositional and leadership roles with large musical ensembles. Neither O'Brien's version of the program, which premiered June 1, 2009, nor The Jay Leno Show generated the ratings NBC had expected. The network decided to move a condensed 30-minute version of Leno's show to O'Brien's time slot, and O'Brien's Tonight Show a half-hour later. This decision met with opposition from O'Brien, whose stint on The Tonight Show ended January 22, 2010, after which he began his own talk show, Conan, on TBS. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno then began its second incarnation, the sixth of the franchise, on March 1, 2010.

Leno left The Tonight Show for good on February 6, 2014 and on February 17, was succeeded by Late Night host Jimmy Fallon, at which time the series returned to New York for the first time since 1972. The people you're with every day influence you more than a record you hear or a video you see. Being around the music of my mother; my brother Robin, who plays trombone; and hearing my mother play gospel and classical music; and hearing my uncles Ray and Tommy playing jazz, affected me.

The big, warm sound my brother Robin got from his trombone helped me develop an affinity for the low register. I love cellos, French horns, bass clarinets, and baritone guitars. I think it comes from hearing Robin play long tones on the trombone. It made me want to have a big, fat sound on guitar and play through bass amps. It seemed to me that the lower register in music was where all the action was going on, where the resolutions were.

The melody is above, but there is a lot of interest for me in the harmony below it. In June 2009, Conan O'Brien became the host, and Max Weinberg replaced Kevin Eubanks as band leader, with the house band from Late Night with Conan O'Brien forming Max Weinberg and The Tonight Show Band. Eubanks and his band migrated to The Jay Leno Show in September 2009 as the Primetime Band. When Conan O'Brien left The Tonight Show in February 2010, Leno returned as host, bringing back Kevin Eubanks, who took a more limited role. Eubanks announced his departure from the show in February 2010; his last show was May 28, 2010. Rapport between host and bandleader might not seem instrumental to a show's success, but today late-night TV is as much about the house band as the host; bandleaders fulfill increasingly comedic expectations.

When Jay Leno took overThe Tonight Showin 1992, famed jazz musician Branford Marsalis served as his bandleader butchafed under the role in part because it required him to play jokey sidekick. Ellis Marsalis had six sons, four of whom followed his career in music. Wynton Marsalis, who plays jazz trumpet, is the managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Branford Marsalis plays jazz saxophone, has recorded with Sting and was the band leader of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" starting in 1992. "After 18 years, I just need a change of pace and see what else is going on," Eubanks said from Leno's couch last night.

"After 18 years of playing America in to commercials, I'm gonna go somewhere where I can finish a song," he joked. My mother was a music teacher, and she would bring different instruments home for me to try. I started off playing violin and trumpet and probably should have been a piano player. My mother's side of the family was very into music, she taught piano and played classical and gospel music. My uncles Ray Bryant and Tommy Bryant were jazz musicians and played with Jo Jones, Carmen McRae, Betty Carter, and others.

I was around a lot of music, so I was bound to play some instrument. By 1982, Eubanks was releasing albums as a leader for the Elektra, Blue Note, and GRP labels. His recordings showcase his multifaceted guitar explorations in his own straight-ahead jazz, fusion, avant-acoustic, and soft-jazz compositions. His distinctive finger-style guitar technique allows him to slip seamlessly between fleet-fingered jazz lines and chordal work, screaming rock licks, funk-rhythm chomping, and meditative arpeggiated improvisations. This broad musical palette has served Eubanks well throughout his TV career.

Over the years, he and the Tonight Show Band have been called on to back such artists as k.d. They also supply fitting-and often tongue-in-cheek-intro and bumper music for the show's guests. For these musical bits and the songs they perform for the studio audience during commercial breaks, Eubanks draws on rock, funk, country, and jazz repertoire as well as film and TV theme songs. In 2009, Eubanks left The Tonight Show with Leno to become band leader of the talk show host's new primetime program, .

It wasn't long after Henderson left The Tonight Show for the second time in 1966 that Severinsen was named the show's newest musical director. Severinsen followed Milton DeLugg, a California composer who directed the band for a few months before pursuing other interests. This marked the first time that a sitting President of the United States appeared on a late night talk show. President Obama came under fire for a remark made about the Special Olympics, which he made in reference to Leno's congratulations to Obama's low bowling score. Following the September 11 attacks, The Tonight Show was off the air for about a week, as were most similar programs. The first post-9/11 episode began with a still image of an American flag and a subdued opening without the usual opening credits.

Leno's monologue paid tribute to those who lost their lives and to firefighters, police and rescue workers across the US. He also told a story about himself as a 12-year old Boy Scout, which Leno said he was not a very good one because of his dyslexia. His scoutmaster gave him the task of being the "cheermaster" of the troop, in which Leno told jokes to the troop to keep their spirits up.

Senator John McCain and the musical group Crosby, Stills, and Nash were featured guests. Leno also organized an auction for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle signed by celebrities (he signed his name on-stage), with the proceeds going to 9/11 support organizations. For an extended period after the attack, a short clip of a large American flag waving was shown in between the announcement of the musical guest and Leno's introduction during the opening montage.

On January 21, 2010, NBC announced Leno would return to The Tonight Show. Jay Leno began his second tenure on March 1, 2010, after the 2010 Winter Olympics. The show moved to Stage 11 in Burbank, the former home of The Jay Leno Show, with a similar set and theme song of The Jay Leno Show. Tonight Show bandleader Kevin Eubanks announced on April 12 he would be leaving The Tonight Show on May 28 after 18 years with Leno.

Eubanks' replacement was former American Idol musical director Rickey Minor. Minor will stick with Tonight at least through 2014, when Leno departs and newcomer Jimmy Fallon takes over as The Tonight Show's next host. Fallon will bring with him his Late Night band, The Roots, with musical director Questlove. No word yet on whether The Roots will adopt the name The Tonight Show Band for the purposes of the program.

Perhaps the most iconic late night talk show band that ever was, The Tonight Show Band has constantly evolved since its inception more than half a century ago. The first iteration of the band was formed in 1954 and was led by Skitch Henderson. The 52-year-old Eubanks joined Leno last fall for the short-lived "The Jay Leno Show" in prime time, then came back to "Tonight" when Leno reclaimed the show from Conan O'Brien in March. O'Brien left NBC rather than move "Tonight" to a later slot to make room for Leno in late night.

Kevin Eubanks ended his 15-year tenure as musical director of "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on Friday with a song, alone on acoustic guitar. It was "Adoration," an original ballad flecked with classical filigree, and he gave it a warmly dignified calm. He seemed unhurried and introspective, already pulling away from the frenetic clamor of the show. The moment played out like a curtain call, when an actor leaves his character in the wings and you think, "So this is who he really is." Not that you actually know him any better. Colbert clearly a very cerebral and well read comedian with above average intelligence, traits that aren't always an advantage in late night. Equally, Batiste is certainly qualified for his role, but his comedy chops are something to be desired.