Jimmy Cobb, ‘Kind of Blue’ drummer for Miles Davis, dies at 91

Jimmy Cobb, the jazz drummer and last surviving player on Miles Davis’ ‘Kind of Blue’, a 1959 album, has died after a protracted battle with lung cancer at age 91.

Douglas Lawrence, an organist, broke the news in a Facebook post. He said the Jazz musician breathed his last on Sunday at his Manhattan home in New York City.

“I’m deeply saddened by the news that Jimmy passed. Jimmy was one of the nicest and most humble musicians I have ever had the honor of knowing and working with,” Lawrence wrote.

“Being on tour or sitting at dinner with him was always a lesson in jazz music. His life in jazz was truly unmatched, prolific, and profound. Someone should make a movie about Jimmy’s life.”

Before his death, Cobb helped to achieve the successes that Davis’s works recorded, including 1959’s ‘Porgy and Bess,’ 1960’s ‘Sketches of Spain’, and 1961’s ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’.

Born in 1929, he had begun his touring career with saxophonist Earl Bostic in 1950, which later led to a series of gigs with Dinah Washington, Wynton Kelly, and Cannonball Adderley.

Cobb was married to Eleana Steinberg, his wife, until his death. The union was blessed with two daughters (Serena and Jaime).

“We lost a true giant of our music last night. A true Jazz Master. His music will live on forever through the thousands of recordings he appeared on,” Lawrence added.

“My deepest heartfelt condolences to Eleana, Jaime and Serena, and to Jimmy’s large extended jazz family and friends. May we all find some peace and love in Jimmy’s memory.”