Now, A Jazz Moment...

MUSIC: "Blue Gardenia" (Dinah Washington with Jimmy Cobb), CD: Ultimate Dinah Washington , Verve 314539053-2 (cut 10)

NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Cobb has played drums behind many of the greatest vocalists in jazz -- Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, to name a few. Playing behind a vocalist is a different endeavor than playing in a purely instrumental group.

Jimmy Cobb: You just have to be more quiet and more sensitive to what they do. So with Dinah, most of the time, I played brushes. Even when she sang the blues sometimes, I played brushes. You just have to realize where you are and who you're playing to.

MUSIC: same -- up and fades

This Jazz Moment with drummer Jimmy Cobb was created by the National Endowment for the Arts.