Riley, John
Riley, John
Riley, John , jazz drummer; b. Aberdeen, Md., June 11, 1954. He spent his formative years in Scotch Plains, N.J. He got a B.M. from Univ. of North Tex. (1975) and a M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music (1985). He performed with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Milt Jackson, Art Farmer, Ray Brown, Phil Woods, Toots Thielemans, Randy Brecker, and Jack Dejohnette. He toured extensively with the John Scofield Quartet, the Woody Herman Big Band, the Vanguard Jazz Orch., the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the Red Rodney Quintet and Bob Mintzer. He also played concerts with Mike Stern and John Abercrombie, Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, and Bob Berg, among others. He toured with composer/pianists Marvin Hamlisch and Michel LeGrand. Riley has played at all of the world’s major jazz festivals. He teaches at Manhattan School of Music, The New School and William Paterson Univ.
—Lewis Porter