Great jazz drummer, Ben Riley was born Benjamin A Riley on July 17th, 1933 in Savannah, Georgia. He studied with Cecil Scott, turning professional in 1956. He worked with Bobby Brown, then Gene Rodgers.
He was a member of New York Jazz Quartet, along with Roland Hanna, Ron Carter and Frank Wess.
JUNIOR MANCE GROUP
This was the Junior Mance Trio in February 1961:
They recorded the live album At The Village Vanguard that same month.
|
JUNIOR MANCE GROUP #? |
1961 |
|
|---|---|---|
Junior Mance piano | Larry Gales bass | Ben Riley † drums |
They recorded the live album At The Village Vanguard that same month.
BABS GONZALES GROUP
Around 1962, jazz singer Babs Gonzales assembled this superb lineup:
A live album was released, Live at Small´s Paradise (later reissued with different titles and track listings).
|
BABS GONZALES GROUP #? |
1962 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Babs Gonzales † vocals | Buddy Catlett † bass | Horace Parlan † piano | Clark Terry † trumpet | Johnny Griffin † sax | Ben Riley † drums |
A live album was released, Live at Small´s Paradise (later reissued with different titles and track listings).
| Other info on members of Babs Gonzales Group (I know up to 8 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (1): | Buddy Catlett |
| To be covered (5): | Brian Auger, Walter Davis, Johnny Griffin, Horace Parlan, Clark Terry |
| Not enough info (1): | Babs Gonzales |
SONNY ROLLINS GROUP
This was the Sonny Rollins-Jim Hall Group in March 1962
|
SONNY ROLLINS GROUP #? |
1962 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Sonny Rollins sax | Jim Hall † guitar | Bob Cranshaw † bass | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of Sonny Rollins Group (I know up to 57 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (3): | Jim Hall, Freddie Hubbard, Mickey Roker |
| To be covered (39): | Peter Bernstein, Russell Blake, Paul Bley, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bobby Broom, George Cables, Don Cherry, Stanley Clarke, Stanley Cowell, Bob Cranshaw, Walter Davis, Alan Dawson, Jack DeJohnette, Kenny Drew, George Duke, Sammy Figueroa, Al Foster, Henry Franklin, Henry Grimes, Herbie Hancock, Rufus Harley, Tootie Heath, Billy Higgins, Alphonso Johnson, Robert Kenyatta,... up to 39 musicians. |
| Not enough info (14): | Reshid Kmal Ali, Clifton Anderson, James Benjamin, Tommy Campbell, Kimati Dinizulu, Armen Donelian, Mardoqueo Figueroa, Beaver Harris, Jerome Harris, Jerome Jennings, Aurell Ray, Larry Ridley, Kobie Watkins, Herman Wright |
PAUL WINTER GROUP
This was the Paul Winter Sextet in 1963, with Chuck Israels on bass:
This was the Paul Winter Sextet in March 1963, with Arthur Harper Jr on bass:
|
PAUL WINTER GROUP #? |
1963 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paul Winter sax | Chuck Israels bass | Warren Bernhardt keyboards | Dick Whitsell trumpet | Jay Cameron sax | Ben Riley † drums |
This was the Paul Winter Sextet in March 1963, with Arthur Harper Jr on bass:
|
PAUL WINTER GROUP #? |
1963 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paul Winter sax | Arthur Harper Jr † bass | Warren Bernhardt keyboards | Dick Whitsell trumpet | Jay Cameron sax | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of Paul Winter Group (I know up to 42 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (17): | Joe Beck, Warren Bernhardt, Sam Brown, Oscar Castro-Neves, Jamey Haddad, Chuck Israels, Gordon Johnson, Harold Jones, Phil Markowitz, Cecil McBee, Paul McCandless, Glen Moore, Jordan Rudess, Ralph Towner, Arto Tuncboyaciyan, Freddie Waits, Collin Walcott |
| Not enough info (24): | Bill Cahn, Jay Cameron, David Darling, Richard Evans, Erik Friedlander, Eugene Friesen, Gordon Gottlieb, Paul Halley, Arthur Harper Jr, Russ Hartenberger, Russ Landau, Rhonda Larson, Susan Osborn, Dorothy Papadakos, Mark Perchanok, Les Rout, Nancy Rumbel, Jim Scott, Paul Sullivan, Gaudencio Thiago De Mello, Glen Velez, Eliot Wadopian, Dick Whitsell, Paul Winter |
THELONIOUS MONK GROUP
Ben Riley joined Thelonious Monk Quartet in 1964 until 1967.
This was The Thelonious Monk Group in February 1964:
And this was the Thelonious Monk Group in April 1966:
This was The Thelonious Monk Group in February 1964:
|
THELONIOUS MONK GROUP #? |
1964 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Thelonious Monk † piano | Butch Warren † bass | Charlie Rouse † sax | Ben Riley † drums |
And this was the Thelonious Monk Group in April 1966:
|
THELONIOUS MONK GROUP #? |
1963 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Thelonious Monk † piano | Larry Gales bass | Charlie Rouse † sax | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of Thelonious Monk Group (I know up to 30 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (2): | Paul Motian, Butch Warren |
| To be covered (22): | Gene Allen, Eddie Bert, Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Lou Donaldson, Frankie Dunlop, Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Griffin, Roy Haynes, Paul Jeffrey, Elvin Jones, Thad Jones, Steve Lacy, Scott LaFaro, Al McKibbon, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Rouse, Sonny Stitt, Nick Travis, Kai Winding, Phil Woods |
| Not enough info (5): | Larry Gales, Willie Jones, Lenny McBrowne, John Ore, Larry Ridley |
ALICE COLTRANE GROUP
Around 1971, Ben Riley started working with Alice Coltrane:
But I haven´t been able to find proper info about the live lineups. Help, please...
|
ALICE COLTRANE GROUP #? |
1971-? |
|
|---|---|---|
Alice Coltrane † piano, harp | Ben Riley † drums | + others unknown to me. Help! |
But I haven´t been able to find proper info about the live lineups. Help, please...
| Other info on members of Alice Coltrane Group (I know up to 9 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (8): | Rashied Ali, Alice Coltrane, Jack DeJohnette, Paul Dunmall, Jimmy Garrison, Charlie Haden, Pharoah Sanders, Carlos Ward |
NEW YORK JAZZ QUARTET
This was the new lineup for New York Jazz Quartet in 1974:
|
NEW YORK JAZZ QUARTET #? |
1974 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Roland Hanna † piano | George Mraz bass | Frank Wess † sax, flute | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of New York Jazz Quartet (I know up to 9 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (7): | Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Roland Hanna, Hubert Laws, George Mraz, Grady Tate, Frank Wess |
| Not enough info (1): | Richie Pratt |
RON CARTER GROUP
Ben Riley joined Ron Carter Group around 1975, on and off along the years.
In March 1977, this was the Ron Carter Quartet that recorded the double live LP Piccolo:
In March 1977, this was the Ron Carter Quartet that recorded the double live LP Piccolo:
|
RON CARTER GROUP #? |
1977 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Ron Carter piccolo bass | Buster Williams bass | Kenny Barron piano | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of Ron Carter Group (I know up to 14 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (5): | Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Mulgrew Miller, Roger Squitero, Buster Williams |
| Not enough info (8): | Payton Crossley, Ted Lo, Russell Malone, Guilherme Monteiro, Rolando Morales-Matos, Renee Rosnes, Stephen Scott, Donald Vega |
JUNIOR MANCE GROUP (again)
This was the Junior Mance Trio in June 1977:
They recorded the live album Live at Sweet Basil that same month.
|
JUNIOR MANCE GROUP #? |
1977 |
|
|---|---|---|
Junior Mance piano | Gene Taylor bass | Ben Riley † drums |
They recorded the live album Live at Sweet Basil that same month.
| Other info on members of Junior Mance Group (I know up to 10 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (1): | Mickey Roker |
| To be covered (6): | Ron Carter, Rudy Collins, Bob Cranshaw, Wilbur Little, Junior Mance, Ed Thigpen |
| Not enough info (2): | Larry Gales, Gene Taylor |
SPHERE
Sphere was formed in 1982 as a sort of tribute to Thelonious Monk´s music:
They were together for many years, on and off (they were still together in 1986).
|
SPHERE #? |
1982-? |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Buster Williams bass | Kenny Barron keyboards | Charlie Rouse † sax | Ben Riley † drums |
They were together for many years, on and off (they were still together in 1986).
FREDDIE HUBBARD GROUP
This is the lineup that played at San Sebastian Jazz Festival in Spain in 1983, with the name of Festival All Stars:
|
FREDDIE HUBBARD GROUP #? |
1983 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Charlie Haden † bass | Joanne Brackeen piano | Freddie Hubbard † trumpet | Lew Tabackin sax | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of Freddie Hubbard Group (I know up to 69 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (4): | Dwayne Burno, Joel DiBartolo, Freddie Hubbard, Cedar Walton |
| To be covered (64): | Carl Allen, Ray Appleton, Kenny Barron, Michael Barsimanto, Mickey Bass, Juini Booth, Joanne Brackeen, Donald Braden, Kent Brinkley, Donald Brown, Carl Burnett, George Cables, Hadley Caliman, Ron Carter, Michael Carvin, Jeff Chambers, Billy Childs, Buck Clarke, Billy Cobham, Ira Coleman, Junior Cook, Sa Davis, Steve Davis, Xavier Davis, Jack DeJohnette,... up to 64 musicians. |
SPHERE (again)
This was one of the lineups for Sphere, with Gary Bartz:
|
SPHERE #? |
? |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Buster Williams bass | Kenny Barron keyboards | Gary Bartz sax | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of Sphere (I know up to 5 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (4): | Kenny Barron, Gary Bartz, Charlie Rouse, Buster Williams |
STAN GETZ GROUP
This was the Stan Getz Group in 1989, backed by Kenny Barron Trio:
|
STAN GETZ GROUP #? |
1989 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Stan Getz † sax | Ray Drummond bass | Kenny Barron keyboards | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of Stan Getz Group (I know up to 57 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (6): | Bob Brookmeyer, Larry Bunker, John Guerin, Al Harewood, Hank Jones, Horace Silver |
| To be covered (34): | Bill Anthony, Kenny Barron, Alex Blake, Joanne Brackeen, Brian Bromberg, Gary Burton, Terri Lyne Carrington, Sonny Clark, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, Bill Crow, Jack DeJohnette, Eduardo Del Barrio, Ray Drummond, Mitchel Forman, Al Foster, Stan Getz, Danny Gottlieb, Billy Hart, Roy Haynes, Frank Isola, Andy LaVerne, Victor Lewis, Chuck Loeb, Art Mardigan,... up to 34 musicians. |
| Not enough info (16): | Jeff Brillinger, Rune Carlsson, George Gray, Bob Harrison, Clint Houston, Duke Jordan, Al Levitt, Eddy Louiss, Bernard Lubat, Tommy Potter, Georg Riedel, Lars Sjosten, Rene Thomas, John B Williams, John Williams, Frank Zottoli |
THE JET ALL STAR QUARTET
In October 1994, these musicians played gigs under the name The Jet All Star Quartet:
|
THE JET ALL STAR QUARTET #? |
1994 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Ray Drummond bass | Kenny Barron keyboards | Gary Bartz sax | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of The Jet All Star Quartet (I know up to 4 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (3): | Kenny Barron, Gary Bartz, Ray Drummond |
KENNY BARRON GROUP
This was the Kenny Barron Group circa 1995:
|
KENNY BARRON GROUP #? |
1995 |
|
|---|---|---|
Kenny Barron keyboards | Reggie Johnson bass | Ben Riley † drums |
CHARLES THOMAS GROUP
This was the Charles Thomas Group that recorded the live album Live in Europe in October 1997:
|
CHARLES THOMAS GROUP #? |
1997 |
|
|---|---|---|
Charles Thomas † piano | Essiet Okun Essiet bass | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of Charles Thomas Group (I know up to 3 members) | |
|---|---|
| Not enough info (2): | Essiet Okun Essiet, Charles Thomas |
BEBOP & BEYOND
Another all star jazz combo, dubbed Bebop & Beyond, in January 2000:
|
BEBOP & BEYOND #? |
2000 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ray Drummond bass | George Cables keyboards | Jack Walrath trumpet | Mel Martin flute | Bobby Watson sax | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of Bebop & Beyond (I know up to 17 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (1): | Donald Bailey |
| To be covered (10): | George Cables, Jeff Chambers, Ray Drummond, Warren Gale, Billy Hart, Eddie Marshall, Mel Martin, Frank Tusa, Jack Walrath, Bobby Watson |
| Not enough info (5): | John Handy, Ed Kelly, Charles McPherson, Randy Vincent, Wayne Wallace |
BRUCE COCKBURN BAND
This were the musicians that backed Bruce Cockburn in December 2003:
|
BRUCE COCKBURN BAND #? |
2003 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Bruce Cockburn vocals | Steve Lucas bass | Julie Wolf keyboards | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of Bruce Cockburn Band (I know up to 8 members) | |
|---|---|
| Not enough info (7): | Bruce Cockburn, Jon Goldsmith, Steve Lucas, Fergus Marsh, Michael Pouliot, Chi Sharp, Julie Wolf |
KENNY BARRON GROUP (again)
This was the Kenny Barron Group in July 2005:
And this was the Kenny Barron Group in 2006:
Ben Riley passed away on November 18th, 2017 in West Islip, New York. He was 84. What a great drummer we´ve lost...
18 BANDS (WITH 45 SELECTED RECORDINGS):
7 ALBUMS FOR 4 BANDMATES AND FRIENDS:
4 COLLECTIVE ALBUMS:
44 SESSIONS (FOR 35 ARTISTS):
|
KENNY BARRON GROUP #? |
2005 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Kenny Barron keyboards | Anne Drummond | Ray Drummond bass | Ben Riley † drums |
And this was the Kenny Barron Group in 2006:
|
KENNY BARRON GROUP #? |
2006 |
|
|---|---|---|
Kenny Barron keyboards | Ray Drummond bass | Ben Riley † drums |
| Other info on members of Kenny Barron Group (I know up to 12 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (8): | Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, Eddie Henderson, Reggie Johnson, Victor Lewis, Cecil McBee, Rufus Reid, John Stubblefield |
| Not enough info (3): | Anne Drummond, Kiyoshi Katagawa, David Williams |
Ben Riley passed away on November 18th, 2017 in West Islip, New York. He was 84. What a great drummer we´ve lost...
18 BANDS (WITH 45 SELECTED RECORDINGS):
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||||
| Kenny Barron Group | 6 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Bebop & Beyond |
| |||||||||
| Ron Carter Group | 4 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Bruce Cockburn Band | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Alice Coltrane Group | 5 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Stan Getz Group |
| |||||||||
| Babs Gonzales Group | 2 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Freddie Hubbard Group |
| |||||||||
| The Jet All Star Quartet | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Junior Mance Group | 2 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Thelonious Monk Group | 8 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| New York Jazz Quartet |
| |||||||||
| Gene Rodgers Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Sonny Rollins Group | 3 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Sphere | 6 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Charles Thomas Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| The Whole Drum Truth |
| |||||||||
| Paul Winter Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
7 ALBUMS FOR 4 BANDMATES AND FRIENDS:
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||||
| John Coltrane Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Roland Hanna Group | 2 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Frank Wess Orchestra | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Buster Williams Group | 3 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
4 COLLECTIVE ALBUMS:
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS |
| VVAA | 2 RECORDINGS:
|
44 SESSIONS (FOR 35 ARTISTS):
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||||
| Jamey Aebersold Group | 2 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Harold Ashby Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Noah Baerman Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Chet Baker Group | 2 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Bill Barron Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Gary Bartz Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| John Blake Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Ray Bryant Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Kenny Burrell Group | 2 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Freddy Cole Group | 2 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Charles Davis Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Michael Franks Band | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Benny Golson Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Bennie Green Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Johnny Griffin Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Eddie Harris Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Eddie Higgins Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Abdullah Ibrahim Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Hank Jones Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Sam Jones Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Barney Kessel Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Bob Kindred Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Hugh Lawson Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Turk Mauro Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Red Mitchell Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Dick Morgan Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Bob Mover Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Maria Muldaur Band | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Charlie Rouse Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Rob Schneiderman Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Jonathan Schwartz Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Bernie Senensky Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Jack Sheldon Orchestra | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Ben Sidran Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Lonnie Smith Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
RELATED MUSICIANS:
Ben Riley mostly worked with these musicians: (name + number of credits)
Kenny Barron (35)
Charlie Rouse (18)
Ron Carter (16)
Larry Gales (15)
Buster Williams (15)
Thelonious Monk (11)
Ray Drummond (9)
Teo Macero (9)
Johnny Griffin (8)
Alice Coltrane (7)
Page created by Miguel Terol on: 30/November/2017 - Last modified on: 30/November/2017. If you want to contribute with info, please write to: molympus1@gmail.com
Please, note than you can check the indexes (musicians, bands, obituaries) at the top of this page.
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