Alvin Queen Quintet

Talk about a storied life: New York drummer Alvin Queen recorded with Zoot Sims and Hank Jones at age 12; a year later, Elvin Jones invited him to sit in with the John Coltrane Quartet during its epic 1963 Birdland stint. A veteran of groups led by Horace Silver, Charles Tolliver and George Benson, Queen now calls the tunes for a hot quintet fronted by Javon Jackson and Terell Stafford.