James Ross Lovelace (February 6, 1940 – October 29, 2004) was an American jazz drummer.
From the mid-1960s to the 1980s, he was a session musician on albums by performers such as Junior Mance, Tony Scott, George Benson, and Wes Montgomery, with whom he also played regularly.
[1][2] In later years, he regularly played at Smalls Jazz Club in West Village, with pianist Frank Hewitt, and as a member of the band Across 7 Street, that also featured Sacha Perry (piano),Chris Byars (saxophone), and Ari Roland (bass).
[2] Pianist Brad Mehldau described playing with Lovelace: "He had a swing that was right down the middle — maybe comparable to Art Taylor, but all his own.
Whereas Jimmy Cobb and others had pulled me, Lovelace held me in place with his beat, gently but absolutely.