Guitarist Kevin Eubanks, perhaps best known for his 18-year stint as the music director of the Tonight Show Band (and Jay Leno’s comic foil), closes out a four-day gig with two shows at Blues Alley on Sunday night. He will perform with his touring band, which features Bill Pierce on saxophone and Rene Camacho at the bass.
“I love the whole feel of the room at Blues Alley and how intimate it is,” said Eubanks, who from 1992 to 2010 played for millions of “Tonight Show” viewers at home. “You give the energy to the people and they give it right back to you. It feels like when you go to Blues Alley, you’re settling in and you look forward to that.”
The Eubanks Trio will perform a few pieces from his highly successful album “Zen Food,” as well as a few great standards.
| ONSTAGE |
| Kevin Eubanks Trio |
| Where: Blues Alley Jazz and Supper Club, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW |
| When: 8 and 10 p.m. Sunday |
| Info: $30; 202-337-4141; bluesalley.com |
Eubanks is a prolific and gifted composer in his own right, having won the BMI Classic Theme Composer Award. He was born in Philadelphia into a highly musical family — his mother and uncle are highly respected pianists, his brother, Robin, is considered one of the greatest living trombonists, and his other brother, Duane, is a fine trumpeter. Eubanks, who studied at Berklee College of Music, found himself drawn to the energy inherent in the sounds of fusion and progressive rock.
“I’m thrilled to know that people are open to new music,” continued Eubanks, who prefers not to put a label on his musical style but would rather have his listeners make up their own minds. “I just like to call it music that touches you; that you can get into no matter what category of music you like!”
In his new career chapter as a recording and touring artist, Eubanks stays open to every performing possibility. Even as he looks forward to the “wonderful fun we’ll have tonight” at Blues Alley, he maintains that, “You just never know. The phone rings and … a new adventure.”
