Connie Kay

For two months shy of 40 years (including seven years in which the group was on "vacation"), Connie Kay was the drummer/percussionist with the Modern Jazz Quartet. His subtle contributions (showing both restraint and swing) were an invaluable asset to the group. Self-taught on the drums, Kay played in the mid-'40s with Sir Charles Thompson, Miles Davis, and Cat Anderson. He was in Lester Young's quintet off and on during 1949-1955, a period in which Kay also worked with Beryl Booker, Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins, and Charlie Parker, among others. In February 1955, he joined the ...