# The five salute to Jimmy Cobb, the consummate Hard-Bop drummer: Videos, Photo

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2020/05/27/the-five-salute-to-jimmy-cobb-the-consummate-hard-bop-drummer-videos-photo/
- Published: 2020-05-27T16:09:01+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Jimmy Cobb, the incomparable hard-bop drummer, died on Sunday at 91.**

In his honor, here is the first installment of Take Five, compiled in celebration
of his 88th birthday in 2017.

Jimmy Cobb will probably always be hailed first in the popular conversation as the
drummer on the Miles Davis album _Kind of Blue_. That’s how a cultural touchstone
works, and Cobb, a 2009 NEA Jazz Master, hasn’t shied away from the distinction.
But of course there’s an entire career full of other highlights to celebrate, moments
that underscore Cobb’s strong glide with the beat and agile attunement to a band.

He’s an excellent subject for this first installment of Take Five — our new weekly
playlist feature.

**Miles Davis Sextet, “Oleo,”** from _Jazz at the Plaza_

Many jazz fans who know Cobb’s work with Davis will point to his work at the 1958
Newport Jazz Festival, which preceded _Kind of Blue _by a year, and features an 
indelible rhythmic performance on “Two Bass Hit.” There’s no reasonable argument
to make against that selection, but I felt honor-bound to shine a light on this 
one. Recorded as part of a promotional event at the Plaza Hotel on Sept. 9, 1958,
it somehow wasn’t released until 1973 — and that LP mistakenly credited Philly Joe
Jones as the drummer. This is actually the _Kind of Blue _band playing a set of 
standards, and “Oleo” is the most dynamic of the bunch. Cobb begins on brushes, 
hitting a ringing series of accents in sync with pianist Bill Evans, and dropping
out (save for his hi-hat) during stretches of Davis’s Harmon-muted solo. When he
finally switches to sticks on the ride cymbal behind John Coltrane’s tenor saxophone,
around the track’s two-minute mark, it feels like a thoroughbred bursting out of
a starting gate. Hard-bop perfection.

**Wynton Kelly, “Softly As In A Morning Sunrise,”** from _Kelly Blue_

It’s possible that no partnership in Cobb’s sideman career made more sense, on the
level of groove, than the one he had with pianist Wynton Kelly. From one angle this
is another tether to _Kind of Blue_, via “Freddie Freeloader.” But the real story
is the Wynton Kelly Trio, in which Cobb played alongside either Paul Chambers or
Sam Jones. _Kelly Blue_, from 1959, features Chambers — and on some tracks, Nat 
Adderley on cornet, Bobby Jaspar on flute and Benny Golson on tenor saxophone. For
this mosey through “Softly As In a Morning Sunrise,” though, it’s just the trio,
working a medium swing tempo with the deepest possible pocket. Listen for the way
that Cobb subtly asserts the beat whenever Kelly decides to hang back.

**Wynton Kelly Trio with Wes Montgomery, “Four On Six,”** from _Smokin’ at the Half
Note_

Does it seem redundant to have another Kelly track in the mix? It shouldn’t, given
that _Smokin’ at the Half Note _is so universally loved as Wes Montgomery’s shining
hour. There aren’t enough encomiums in the dictionary for this album, recorded in
1965. Montgomery’s guitar playing is soulful and impeccable, and the trio cooks 
behind him. You could pick any track for inclusion here, but mine would be “Four
On Six,” which — along with brilliant solos by Montgomery, Kelly and an arco Chambers—
has a rhythmic motor both powerful and smooth. Cobb also takes an excellent turn
himself, starting out trading fours and then expanding to a full chorus.

**Sarah Vaughan, “Bye Bye Blackbird,”** from _Live in Japan, Vol. 2_

Cobb has had some momentous affiliations with singers, including Dinah Washington,
with whom he was also romantically involved. He served a few tours with Sarah Vaughan
at the height of her powers, in the 1970s. Perhaps you heard Live at Rosy’s, the
previously unreleased live album originally recorded by NPR, and released on Resonance
Records last year. (If not, you should.) _Live in Japan_ is a classic recorded in
1973, and this track comes at the end of the concert, as an audience request. “You
know, I’ve never recorded ‘Bye Bye Blackbird,’” Vaughan says, “and I’ll do it.” 
She has to take a moment up front to figure out the key, and as the band gets started
she also fiddles with the tempo: “A little faster.” It’s a testament both to her
improvisational genius and Cobb’s powers of adjustment that the performance is so
smashing.

**Jimmy Cobb, “Remembering U,”** from _The Original Mob_

Finally, it would be a crime not to acknowledge Cobb’s track record as a bandleader,
his skill as a ballads player, and his lesser-known gifts as a composer. This track,
recorded at Smoke (sans audience) a couple of years ago, takes care of all of the
above. “Remembering U” is a handsome theme that Cobb had previously recorded on 
a 2009 album, with Roy Hargrove playing the melody on flugelhorn. This album enacts
a reunion of Jimmy Cobb’s Mob, which formed around one of Cobb’s classes at the 
New School in the early ‘90s. The melody is played with sensitivity by guitarist
Peter Bernstein; the others in the group are pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist John
Webber. Listen to the way that Cobb briefly flirts with double time during Mehldau’s
solo — and the general air of reverie that the band creates.

![Jimmy Cobb in the kitchen of the Village Vanguard, 2013.](https://i0.wp.com/www.
wbgo.org/sites/wbgo/files/styles/medium/public/202005/cobb-vv-edits_3-296aa3da9ddd8abbad124e5933b5454a4a149a6d-
s1000-c85.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

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