Kevin Leaving Jay: Lucky Him!
Changes are coming to Jay Leno’s revamped “Tonight Show.” Leno’s longtime bandleader Kevin Eubanks is leaving the program, and announcer John Melendez will no longer provide voiceover for the show.
Eubanks will still appear on the revamped “Tonight Show” when it debuts March 1, but the guitarist is currently negotiating an exit date with NBC. Sources expect Eubanks will depart within months of the show’s return.
The oft-amused Eubanks joined the “Tonight” in 1992 and took over as bandleader in 1995. Eubanks then followed Leno to his short-lived “Jay Leno Show.”
As for Melendez, the former Howard Stern sidekick still expected to continue as a writer on the show.
The network also unveiled a new logo for “Tonight,” a more sophisticated-looking and darker image than those used in the past.
