For nearly two decades, the world at large knew precisely where to find multi-faceted guitar hero Kevin Eubanks. For five nights a week, Eubanks was cranking up the band and issuing steamy solos as music director on NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he played with seemingly every meaningful musician across genres. In spring of 2010, after 18 years on the job, the Philadelphia native opened a new chapter as a recording and touring artist with the release of his first album for the Mack Avenue label, Zen Food, followed by the 2013 release of his second album, The Messenger. In 2015, he teamed up with fellow modern-day jazz prophet Stanley Jordan to record an album of originals and originally drawn covers, the “wholly fanciful, meditative” Duets.

Kevin Eubanks performs as part of the Wilson Center’s 5th annual Guitar Festival, which runs August 17-19, 2017. The Guitar Festival is an eclectic celebration of the world’s leading classical, fingerstyle, jazz, and rock & blues guitarists.