Jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb, who brought subtlety and swing to Miles Davis’ epochal “Kind of Blue” and many other classic albums, died at his home in New York on Sunday, according to NPR and other outlets. He was 91. His wife, Eleana Tee Cobb, said the cause was lung cancer.

While best known as a member of what aficionados call “Miles Davis’ First Great Sextet,” performing on albums like “Sketches of Spain” and “In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk,” Cobb and his Davis bandmates, bassist Paul Chambers and pianist Wynton Kelly, continued to play together until Chambers’ death in 1969, working with John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Wes Montgomery, Art Pepper and many others. Cobb also worked with singers like Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington.

Born in 1929, Cobb was raised in Washington, D.C. and began drumming as a teenager. He performed with Billie Holiday in his hometown and later with bandleader Symphony Sid, where he performed with Davis and Charlie Parker. A tour with saxophonist Earl Bostic led to five years with Washinton, which is where he first performed with Kelly. Saxist Cannonball Adderly recruited Cobb to perform with him, and the two later performed together on “Kind of Blue.” (SD-Agencies)