Philadelphia native Kevin Eubanks grew up surrounded by music. His mother, Vera, was both a gospel and classical pianist, and his brothers Robin and Duane play trombone and trumpet respectively. Eubanks started as an elementary student playing violin, trumpet and piano and eventually found himself studying at Berklee College of Music. After graduating, he moved to New York City and started performing with legends such Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, and Sam Rivers, carving out a spot as the go-to guitarist in the New York jazz scene. In 1992 he moved to Los Angeles to join The Tonight Show Band and in ‘95 he replaced Branford Marsalis as the leader and served in that role for 15 years. Eubanks left the showin 2010 and has since released three albums with Mack Avenue Records: Zen Food, The Messengerand Duets (with Stanley Jordan).