Alvin Queen



Alvin Queen is an American-born Swiss jazz drummer born in the Bronx, New York, on August 16, 1950. At 16, he played for Ruth Brown and Don Pullen and with the Wild Bill Davis trio. He played with trombonist Benny Green and guitarist Tiny Grimes in 1969 and replaced Billy Cobham in the Horace Silver quintet. He also played with the George Benson quartet before rejoining Charles Tolliver in November 1971. During the seventies, he lived in Canada, before settling in Switzerland in 1979 and creating the label Nilva, an anagram of his first name.

He has also played with Michael Brecker, Kenny Drew, Oscar Peterson, Bennie Wallace, Duško Gojković, Johnny Griffin, and George Coleman.

As leader

 * Alvin Queen in Europe (Nilva, 1980)
 * Ashanti (Nilva, 1981)
 * Glidin' and Stridin'  (Nilva, 1981) with Junior Mance
 * A Day in Holland (Nilva, 1983) with Dusko Goykovich
 * Lenox and Seventh (Black & Blue, 1985) with Dr. Lonnie Smith
 * Jammin' Uptown (Nilva, 1985)
 * I'm Back (Nilva, 1992)
 * I Ain't Looking at You (Justin Time, 2005)
 * Mighty Long Way (Justin Time, 2008)
 * Night Train To Copenhaguen (Stunt Records, 2021)
 * Feeling Good (Stunt Records, 2024)

As sideman
With George Coleman With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis With John Hicks and Elise Wood With Horace Parlan With John Patton With Pharoah Sanders With Charles Tolliver With Warren Vaché
 * At Yoshi's (Theresa, 1989)
 * Jaw's Blues (Enja, 1981)
 * Luminous (Nilva, 1988)
 * Pannonica (Enja, 1981 [1984])
 * Soul Connection (Nilva, 1983)
 * A Prayer Before Dawn (Theresa, 1987)
 * Impact (Enja, 1972)
 * Live at the Loosdrecht Jazz Festival (Strata-East, 1973)
 * Talk to Me Baby (Muse, 1996)

With Pierre Boussaguet

 * Charme (Polydor 1998)