Jimmy Cobb, a percussionist and the last surviving member of Miles Davis’ 1959 “Kind of Blue” groundbreaking jazz album which transformed the genre and sparked several careers, died Sunday.

Born in Washington, D.C., Cobb told The Associated Press in 2019 he listened to jazz albums and stayed up late to hear disc jockey Symphony Sid playing jazz in New York City before launching his professional career.

But Cobb’s role as a drummer on the “Kind of Blue” jam session headed by Davis would forever change his career.

It also served as a protest album for African American men who looked to Davis and the jazz musicians to break stereotypes about jazz and black humanity.

Cobb released his last album, This I Dig of You, with Smoke Sessions Records in August 2019.