Herlin Riley was born and raised into a musical family (The Lastie Family) in New Orleans, LA. He's been a professional musician for 50 years and a Mapex artist for 33 years. Riley begin playing the drums at three years old. Although he played the trumpet during his school days, he always had a passion and connection to playing the drums. In the early 80s, Riley was called to London, Australia and Europe to play in a 1920's musical call "One Mo Time" and subsequently received calls to play with Al Hirt and Ahmad Jamal. In 1988 he joined Wynton Marsalis' quintet which evolved into his septet and later evolved into The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. As a member of the LCJO he developed the drum parts for Wynton's Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio "Blood On The Fields". Herlin Riley has performed and or recorded with Harry Connick Jr., Jon Batiste, George Benson, Dianne Reeves, Dr John, Dr Lonnie Smith, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Ruth Brown, Cubanismo, McCoy Tyner, John Clayton, Dee Daniels, Yutaka Shiina, Junko Onishi, Rufus Reid, Ellis Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Branford Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Nicolas Payton, Donald Byrd, Paul Simon, Boz Scaggs, Steve Miller, Bennie Wallace and Victor Goines. Riley formed a collaborative group called The New Orleans Groove Masters with fellow drummers: Shannon Powell and Jason Marsalis. He has served as a professor at the Juilliard School, the Bienen School of Music in Chacago and the University of New Orleans. In addition to appearing on countless recordings as a collaborator, Riley has released four recordings on Criss Cross and Mack Avenue Labels. In 2025 he played on a trio recording with Ambrose Akinmusire and Bill Frizell which received a Grammy nomination. Also in 2025, the Mellon Foundation and Jazz Foundation of America name Riley as a member of the inaugural class of twenty Jazz Legacy Award Recipients.