Ben Riley

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This article is about the musician. For the similarly named fictional character, see Ben Reilly.

Photo by Tom Marcello

Ben Riley (b. 17 July 1933) is an American hard bop drummer who has worked with Thelonious Monk, Alice Coltrane, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Ahmad Jamal, and Kenny Barron, and was a member with Barron of Sphere.

[edit] Early career

In high school Riley played in the school band, and after graduation he joined the army, where he was a paratrooper, and also played with the army band. Upon leaving the army in 1954 he moved to New York, and in 1956 started playing jazz professionally. He played with such musicians as Randy Weston, Mary Lou Williams, Sonny Rollins, Woody Herman, Stan Getz, Billy Taylor, and Johnny Griffin. What made his name, however, and helped direct his career to success, were four years spent playing, touring, and recording with the great pianist, Thelonious Monk.