1. 24 PORT OF HARLEM May 2005 -July 2005 May 2005 - July 2005 PORT OF HARLEM 25
I
t’s 7:30 p.m. in Los Angeles where Kevin Eubanks, the Tonight
Show’s band leader, has arrived home after an hour-long taping
of the night’s show. It’s 10:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C., only
an hour before the show will air on the East Coast, where I answer
Eubank’s anticipated call.
I quickly learn that Eubanks is just as cool and bubbly on the
telephone as he appears week nights as Jay Leno’s sidekick. I also
learn that he is very content with not being the headliner and
playing second fiddle. “They are not the opposites of each
other,” said Eubanks. “We all have a job to do and those jobs
are very different,” he continued after much quizzing.
Whether he is playing his own gig anywhere in the
world or on the Tonight Show, the Philadelphia native said
his goal is to “hit it, groove it hard, make it stick, and
make the people in the audience groove.” Eubanks has
hit it hard on about 19 CDs that he has recorded, about
14 of which he has released. The remaining five CDs
are available on his web site, www.KevinEubanks.com.
He plans to release those 5 in stores after the launching
of his new label, InSoul.
Though he has written some film scores, don’t
expect him to write another one. He hates the
bureaucracy. “Everybody has something to say about
the music, the director, the film editor, the producer, and
sometimes the producer’s girlfriend,” he chuckled.
After having more time to contemplate his supporting role on
the Tonight Show, he likened his role as film score creator to his job
as Leno’s sideman. “It’s a matter of trying to find a balance, where
the music supports what is happening on the screen, but not get in
the way,” said the 47-year-old jazz man.
The world of music has been a part of Eubank’s life since
birth, maybe even before his conception. His paternal
grandmother, Eleanor Bryant, was a Baptist preacher and
organist, who thought jazz was the devil’s music. His
mother, who has a master’s degree in Music Education
and is a retired middle-school music teacher, continues
to take piano lessons, manages to hold classical piano
concerts in their hometown, and has directed church
choirs since she was 13. “She got the gospel thing way
under control,” laughed Eubanks as he shot pool and
talked with me.
Eubanks grew up with uncles, cousins, and siblings who are
musicians. His older brother, Robin, is a trombonist, who wrote the
score for Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever and Mo’ Better Blues. One younger
brother, Duane, plays trumpet. (His father is a retired detective and
Duane’s twin manages a discount department store.)
Between his joyful laugh and the crack of colliding pool balls,
Eubanks added, “Yea, there wasn’t much hope of me doing
anything else.” As a youngster, he played the violin. However, after
experiencing a James Brown concert, he switched from playing the
trombone to playing the guitar. “For whatever reason, when I left
his show, I wanted to play a guitar,” he added.
He counts three diverse guitarists, Wes Montgomery, John
McLaughlin, and Jimi Hendrix, as his greatest musical influences.
From traditional jazz guitarist Montgomery, he learned that it was
OK to continue playing the instrument with his fingers. “When I
finally learned that he didn’t play with a pic that really gave me some
confidence that what I was doing was doable,” he said.
From traditional fusion jazz guitarist McLaughlin, he learned
writing or composition techniques. About heavy rocker Hendrix,
he said, “I really couldn’t copy Jimi’s stuff and really get anywhere.
It’s more like appreciating his spirit and the forcefulness of him as a
person coming through the guitar.”
After leaving his hometown, but before landing in California,
Eubanks set shallow roots in Boston, New York City, and Allentown,
Pennsylvania. “I moved to Allentown and tried to cool out,” he
said. However, don’t expect him to be in the City of Angels forever.
“Everybody is really separated out here, really spread out. There is
no public transportation really to unite everybody,” he observed.
By living on the West Coast, Eubanks said he has learned the
importance of public transportation. “It really makes a difference
when you see different types of people all in the same subway car,
all in the same bus,” continued the avid body builder.
And being so far away from his family in Philadelphia reinforces
his feeling of being disconnected. “I’m the only one out here,” he
said, “However, I am always home for Christmas!”
Going home to mom’s cooking doesn’t change Eubank’s diet.
While others are digging into cakes, Eubanks pulls out his sugarless
cookies. His health-conscious eating habits started during his second
year in college. “I was broke,” he continued, “and it was just cheaper
to eat beans and rice, and tuna fish.”
Today, Eubanks usually skips breakfast,
though sometimes he will have
a cup of juice. “Freshly
The Tonight Show’s
Kevin EubanksBY WAYNE A. YOUNG
The Guitar Player
Focus: Supporting Roles