Give the Drummer Some: Herlin Riley

Titled “Give the Drummer Some,” this four-night series curated by the eminent Bay Area pianist Joe Warner brings an amazing group of the world’s great drummers to the Joe Henderson Lab for intimate performances with Warner and master bassist Tarus Mateen, celebrated for his work with Jason Moran’s omnivorous trio The Bandwagon.

Best known as pianist and Music Director for San Francisco jazz treasure The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol, Warner has performed and recorded with Marcus Shelby, Mary Stallings, Steve Turre, Gary Bartz, John Santos, and many others.

ABOUT HERLIN RILEY
New Orleans native Herlin Riley is the quintessential Crescent City rhythm master whose style is the ultimate mix of post-bop edge and second-line swagger.

He came to prominence as a member of fellow New Orleans jazz hero Wynton Marsalis’s various ensembles, recording over 30 albums with the trumpeter including several of his Standard Time releases and the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1997 jazz oratorio Blood on the Fields with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, for which he originated the signature percussion parts.

Riley has recorded and performed with a roster of major artists including George Benson, Marcus Roberts, and Harry Connick Jr., and was a member of piano icon Ahmad Jamal’s working quartet for over three decades. He’s released four albums as a leader for the Criss-Cross and Mack Avenue labels including his latest, 2019’s Perpetual Optimism.