Soon after Jay Leno reclaims his longtime 11:35 p.m. timeslot, he may lose bandleader Kevin Eubanks.
Eubanks has asked to leave the show and is working out the terms of his departure, The New York Times reports. Eubanks is set to come back with the rest of The Tonight Show band on March 1 but will leave sometime after that, according to the report.
NBC would not confirm the report and a network spokeswoman would only say he will be with the show when it returns.
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It’s unclear when Eubanks may leave or who could take over his spot as leader of The Tonight Show band. Eubanks, 52, has served as Leno’s bandleader since 1995, when Branford Marsalis left the post. He was the band’s lead guitarist from the 1992 start of Leno’s original run on Tonight.
Who do you think should replace Eubanks?