Widely admired for his long tenure with the influential Modern Jazz Quartet, Connie Kay made equally important contributions as a house drummer for Atlantic Records in the early 1950s, when he laid down a long list of historic tracks that helped to bridge the transition from R&B to early rock ’n’ roll. In fact, depending on where you fall in the debate regarding the true inception of rock, these recordings actually were the beginning of the style.

August 2013 Issue