by Sarah Crisman

Legendary does not even begin to describe a man who has played with Miles, Coltrane, Billie -- and now the University of North Texas faculty.

Jimmy Cobb, the elder statesman of all the incredible Miles Davis bands.

You don't have to be a die-hard, crazy-face Jazz Head to appreciate Jimmy Cobb. The spry 81-year-old drummer began working with Miles Davis in 1957 -- including a little album called Kind of Blue and many other watermark Davis recordings. His bandmates over the year included John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderly, Sarah Vaughn, Roy Hargrove ... and tonight, he'll be playing with University of North Texas faculty members Stefan Karlsson (piano), Lynn Seaton (bass), Brad Leali (saxophone), and Rodney Booth (trumpet). It was an aural study of jazz history, brought to life by five men shaping the future of this ever-evolving and vibrant American sound.

The crowd at McDavid Tuesday evening was a docile blend of mature aficionados and scrappy students, bound together by the spell of music. There is something sacred in the act of intent listening. There exists a trust between the players and the audience that I have not experienced at other shows. And yes, the ever present-risk exists that some unruly student is going to inexplicably yell out "Lester Young" during the performance (though they generally reserve that for shows the professors aren't playing in).

Jimmy now spends much of his time traveling around the world teaching aspiring jazz musicians at Stanford, Parsons, and Berklee; so a stop at UNT's Jazz lecture series was only natural. The presence of icons and heroes is something students have to contend with as part of the grueling Lab-band upbringing.

Heard Kind of Blue or Miles' "Someday My Prince Will Come"? Then you're ears will recognize Jimmy Cobb.

"I was getting ready for rehearsal and who should walk in the room at 12:59 but Jimmy Cobb," said One O'clock drummer Sean P. Jones.

"Then I played in front of him for an hour."

These cats can handle the pressure. Judging by the One O'Clock's performance last week with Lyle Mays, the nerve-wracking lecture series is doing well to rake the young musicians over the coals. This education is a crucial element to the creation of highly-demanded musicians, born and bred to play with the best of them. The university continues to attract top-tier lecturers like Cobb, and wide-eyed students are eager to stretch their mind and musicianship to extraordinary levels of greatness. It is within the listening rooms of academia and McDavid Studio that we catch a glimpse of the legacy of jazz unfolding into a fresh, yet fundamentally grounded form of expression.