Keith Carlock is an American jazz drummer and Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee based in New York City and Nashville, Tennessee. He is a first-call studio and touring musician whose résumé includes about 100 recording credits. Carlock is known for his deep, organic swing and a circular groove sensibility, and has appeared on recordings by everyone from Paula Abdul and Steely Dan to Mike Stern, Diana Ross, and Toto. He was part of a studio collective with guitarist Robben Ford, saxophonist Bill Evans, and bassist James Genus on 2019's The Sun Room. In 2022, with Darryl Jones replacing Genus, the quartet released Common Ground.

Carlock was born in 1971 in Clinton, Mississippi. He began playing drums in high school and studied music for four years at North Texas State University. After graduating, he began his professional career playing shows, recording sessions, and even TV commercial dates in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He played with Jeff Taylor in Tin Man, appearing on their self-titled debut album in 1993. After recording Lonesome Questions the following year with Jack Ingram, Carlock moved to New York City and was recruited to play on Paula Abdul's Head Over Heels in 1995.

Carlock subsequently became a session player and a regular touring drummer, establishing a reputation as a top-shelf kitman. He was, and remains, a member of the original Blues Brothers Band. In the late '90s, he was recruited by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen to play drums on Two Against Nature, the first studio album from Steely Dan in 20 years. It took home four Grammys including Album of the Year. Carlock became their touring drummer and also played on 2003's Everything Must Go. His relationship with the band and Fagen (whose solo recordings and tours he often plays on) has continued even after Becker's passing in 2017.

The Steely Dan gig opened the floodgates for Carlock; since then, he has almost never been idle. In the immediate aftermath, he played on albums by Phil Keaggy, Jane Getter, Betty, and Leni Stern. He recorded Krantz/Carlock/Lefebvre in a trio with Wayne Krantz and Tim Lefebvre in 2002. Carlock joined Fagen's band for the solo Morph the Cat in 2006, and played on Becker's Circus Money in 2008. The following year, he issued his first instructional DVD, titled Keith Carlock: The Big Picture: Phrasing, Improvisation, Style, & Technique. He toured constantly with artists ranging from John Mayer and Sting to Phil Lesh Friends, Chris Botti, and Harry Belafonte.

In 2012, Carlock joined Mike Stern on the guitarist's All Over the Place, and in 2014 he took a break from his intense schedule before replacing drummer Simon Phillips in Toto. He appeared on 2014's Hold You Back in Tokyo and the 2015 studio album Toto XIV. Carlock served in Michael Buble's studio group on 2016's Nobody But Me, and played on the At Blue Note Tokyo by Larry Carlton and Steve Lukather. After 2017's Take Me as I Am by Christopher Cross, Carlock established a second residence in Nashville since he seemed to work there so often.

In 2018, he was contacted by old friend and fellow Nashvillian Robben Ford. The guitarist recruited him to play in a collective that also included bassist James Genus and saxophonist Bill Evans. They cut The Sun Room live in the studio, and it was issued on Ear Music in 2019. The drummer also appeared on Ford's Pure in 2021. The Sun Room quartet reunited after the pandemic, with Rolling Stones' bassist Darryl Jones replacing Genus, and they released Common Ground (also on Ear Music) in September 2022. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi