Jimmy Cobb on replacing Philly Joe Jones

Now, A Jazz Moment...

MUSIC: "Summertime" (Miles Davis w/ Jimmy Cobb), CD: Porgy and Bess Columbia/Legacy CK65141 (cut 5)

In 1958, NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Cobb lucked into a recording date that has gone down in the annals of jazz history. It was with a band he'd followed religiously -- led by trumpeter Miles Davis, with saxophonist Cannonball Adderly and Drummer Philly Joe Jones, among others.

Jimmy Cobb: When Cannonball got in the band, by that time Joe wasn't showin up for a lot of gigs, you know, so Cannonball and me -- we got to be friends a long time before that - had asked me to come and sit in with the band -- in case Joe didn't show up, I could play. He had told Miles about me. You know, and, one day that happened, I went to a record date and Joe didn't show up, and you know the time was burning, they say, "Okay, you got it." So I finished out the date. The date was Porgy and Bess.

MUSIC: up and fades

... "Summertime" from "Porgy And Bess" -- the first of many Miles Davis recordings to feature drummer Jimmy Cobb. This Jazz Moment was created by the National Endowment for the Arts.