Riley, Ben(jamin A.) (Savannah, GA, 17 July 1933)
Drummer
Between 1956 and 1965 he played
with Randy Weston, Sonny Stitt, Stan Getz, Woody
Herman, Junior Mance, Kenny Burrell, Eddie
"Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin (1960-62), Paul Winter, Jeremy Steig, Ahmad Jamal, Roland Hanna, Billy Taylor, Walter
Bishop, Jr., Kai Winding, and Ray Bryant, and recorded with Mance
(1961), Winter (1963), Steig (1963), and Bryant
(1964). He became best known for his work as Thelonious
Monk's drummer from 1964 to 1967, during which time he traveled extensively. He
recorded with Alice Coltrane (1968-75) and performed with her from 1971; the
same year he joined the New York Jazz Quartet, with which he played at
intervals into the 1980s. He also performed in the
Jeff Potter
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, © Macmillan Reference Ltd 1988