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Leno's 'Tonight Show' changes afoot: Eubanks in play

By April MacIntyre Feb 17, 2010, 5:08 GMT

02/13/2010 - Jay Leno - Jay Leno - Atlantic City, NJ, USA © Paul Froggatt / PR Photos

TV show "Extra" today confirmed that Jay Leno's longtime bandleader Kevin Eubanks is leaving "The Tonight Show," as first reported by Lisa Stanley on
K-EARTH 101.

Eubanks "wanted a change" and decided to leave the show, and he wanted to pursue other opportunities. Another Extra source says he will appear on the debut of the revamped "Tonight Show" when it returns on March 1.

Former Hootie and the Blowfish member Darius Rucker, now a country star, is a rumored replacement for Eubanks according to Extra.

In 1992, Eubanks joined "The Tonight Show" band, becoming bandleader two years later. Before he joined the show, Eubanks released numerous albums.  Eubanks was also bandleader on "The Jay Leno Show."

Variety counters these claims, noting his on-air support team is undergoing a change.

NBC confirmed to Variety on Tuesday that the network is in discussions with longtime Leno bandleader Kevin Eubanks about his future on "Tonight."

Also the "Tonight Show" announcer John Melendez -- who took a job as a behind-the-scenes writer on "The Jay Leno Show" after Leno left late night and won't be returning.

Melendez, once a Howard Stern radio sidekick called "Stuttering John," replaced Edd Hall as the "Tonight Show" announcer in 2004.

Variety claims Eubanks, the guitar player "still serve as bandleader" on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" when it returns on March 1, and for the foreseeable future beyond that.

But Eubanks is said to be interested in returning to touring, according to Variety's version of this story.

Variety claims the Extra report that Hootie and the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker was rumored to replace him was "shot down."

NBC unveiled the new logo for "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."