The Herlin Riley Quartet — Live at Jazz St. Louis
A full evening of joyful, soulful New Orleans rhythm — from the September 2025 run.
New Orleans · The Lastie family · Since 1957
Herlin Riley The Groove Master
Drummer, bandleader and third-generation keeper of the Lastie family rhythm — the engine behind Ahmad Jamal, Wynton Marsalis and 17 years of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
17years with the Lincoln Center Orchestra
On the bandstand
All dates
Catch the groove live
Watch
See the hands, hear the street
Featured set · Harlem, Nov 2023
Live From Emmet's Place Vol. 113
Herlin leads a reunion with Emmet Cohen, Russell Hall, Bruce Harris and Stacy Dillard — his own tunes, a Wynton Marsalis dedication, and a closing "Tootie Ma" with Herlin on vocals.
- Harlem Shuffle17:50
- Rush Hour — H. Riley30:45
- Shake Off the Dust — H. Riley41:21
- Down Home With Homey — W. Marsalis55:16
- Tootie Ma Is a Big Fine Thing1:45:53
"Borders Without Lines" — Jazz St. Louis
From Perpetual Optimism, stretched out on stage.
New Orleans Groove Masters — Jazz in Marciac 2015
Three drummers — Riley, Jason Marsalis, Shannon Powell — with Victor Goines, Dan Nimmer and Carlos Henriquez.
The Lastie bloodline
A rhythm handed down at the kitchen table
After toast and eggs at his grandparents' house, Frank Lastie would wipe off the butter knives, tap out New Orleans street beats on the table — and challenge young Herlin to play them back.
"I'm not the greatest, I'm just one of his vessels, one of the people that he put the light in."
Frank Lastie had jammed with a young Louis Armstrong at the Colored Waif's Home and is credited with bringing drums into the church. His sons Melvin, David and Walter "Popee" all became professional musicians, and Herlin's mother, Betty, played piano and sang gospel.
Read the full storyDiscography
Four records as leader
Watch What You're Doing
Criss Cross Jazz · 2000His debut as a leader, with Ryan Kisor, Wycliffe Gordon, Victor Goines, Farid Barron and Rodney Whitaker.
Cream of the Crescent
Criss Cross Jazz · 2005Crescent City swing with Wycliffe Gordon, Wynton Marsalis, Victor Goines, Eric Lewis and Reginald Veal.
New Direction
Mack Avenue · 2016His Mack Avenue debut, with Emmet Cohen and Russell Hall.
Buy the CD → (opens in a new tab)
Perpetual Optimism
Mack Avenue · 2019The New Direction quintet reunites — home of "Borders Without Lines."
Buy the CD → (opens in a new tab)What they say
Press room →
"Herlin can play all kinds of stuff… from a burlesque show to playing with Ahmad Jamal to playing New Orleans parades."Wynton Marsalis · NPR (opens in a new tab)
"You can hear the ancestry in his playing."David Torkanowsky · NPR (opens in a new tab)
"A master of color, nuance, and dynamics."All About Jazz (opens in a new tab)
Clinics & masterclasses
Pass the torch
A former adjunct drum professor at the University of New Orleans, Juilliard and Northwestern, Herlin brings second-line drumming, church tambourine and ensemble coaching to schools and festivals.
Clinics & residencies
Booking & press
Bring the groove to your stage
Concerts, festivals, clinics, recording sessions and interviews.
Booking agentMaurice Montoya
MM Music Agency · 1133 Broadway, Suite 1605, New York, NY 10010
Maurice@mmmusicagency.com · 212-229-9160
ManagementVernon Hammond III, CFP
The Management Ark, Inc. · Bethesda, MD
Vernon@managementark.com · 301-856-4050