*Jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb, the last surviving member of the ensemble sextet of Miles Davis’ iconic album, Kind of Blue, died Sunday of lung cancer at his home in Manhattan. He was 91. His wife, Eleana Tee Cobb, broke the sad news on Facebook.
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1929, Cobb was a self-taught musician who made his professional debut recording with Earl Bostic and went on to collaborate with such artists as Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderly, Wynton Kelly, Stan Getz, Wes Montgomery and many more.
The 1959 album Kind of Blue is considered one of the greatest jazz records of all time. It was honored as a national treasure by the U.S. House of Representatives, had widespread radio play and often is regarded as the best-selling jazz album in history.
Cobb worked on several other Davis albums including Sketches of Spain, Someday My Prince Will Come, Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall, and The Complete Blackhawk.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters Serena and Jaime.
Below, TV broadcast “The Robert Herridge Theater Show”, CBS Studios 61, NYC, April 2. 1959. Musicians: Emmett Berry, Johnny Coles, Louis Mucci, Clyde Reasinger, Ernie Royal (tp) Miles Davis (flh,tp) Jimmy Cleveland, Bill Elton, Frank Rehak (tb) Rod Levitt (vtb) Bob Northern, Julius Watkins (frh) Bill Barber (tu) Eddie Caine, Romeo Penque (fl) Danny Bank (bcl) John Coltrane (ts,as) Wynton Kelly (p) Paul Chambers (b) Jimmy Cobb (d) Robert Herridge (ann) Gil Evans (arr,cond)
