ROY HAYNES, THE MOST RECORDED DRUMMER IN JAZZ

Jazz drummer and bandleader Roy Owen Haynes, was born on March 13, 1925, in the Roxbury section of Boston, Massachusetts. Haynes is one of the most recorded drummers in jazz and in his over 60-year career has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to Jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz.

He has a highly expressive, personal style ("Snap Crackle" was a nickname given him in the 1950s) and is known to foster a deep engagement in his bandmates. One of the few jazz musicians alive today whose roots touch the origins of jazz itself, the drum legend has been “hard swinging” since 1944, when he made his professional debut at the age of seventeen in his native Boston.

In the last sixty years, Roy Owen Haynes has shaped some of the most important recordings in Jazz history, transforming the role of the percussionist from timekeeper to front-line collaborator.

Before the innovations of Jo Jones, Sid Catlett, Kenny Clarke, Max Roach and Roy Haynes, Jazz drummers were timekeepers. These percussion masters emancipated the drummer. Haynes in particular, extracted the rhythmic qualities from melodies and created unique new drum and cymbal patterns. Rather than using cymbals strictly for effect, Haynes brought them to the forefront of his unique rhythmic approach. His idiosyncratic style, now instantly recognizable, was the inspiration for his nickname, ‘Snap Crackle’.

Haynes began his full time professional career in 1945. From 1947 to 1949 he worked with saxophonist Lester Young, and from 1949 to 1952 was a member of saxophonist Charlie Parker's quintet. He also recorded at the time with pianist Bud Powell and saxophonists Wardell Gray, and Stan Getz. From 1953 to 1958 he toured with singer Sarah Vaughan. Haynes went on to work with more experimental musicians, like saxophonists John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy, and pianists Chick Corea and Andrew Hill.

He has also led his own groups, some performing under the name Hip Ensemble. His most recent recordings as a leader are Fountain of Youth and Whereas, both of which have been nominated for a Grammy Award. He continues to perform worldwide.

His Legacy

His son Graham Haynes is a cornetist. His son, Craig Haynes, grandson, Marcus Gilmore, and nephew Christopher Haynes are all drummers.

Roy's influence on the rock world has also been apparent in recent years, with a tribute song recorded by Jim Keltner and Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones and on-stage appearances with The Allman Brothers Band and Page McConnell of Phish.

He was inducted into the Down Beat Magazine Hall of Fame in 2004.

A 3 CD/1 DVD boxed set entitled A Life in Time - The Roy Haynes Story was released by Dreyfus Jazz in October 2007. The set chronicles highlights from Roy's career from 1949-2006, including recordings with Parker, Vaughan, Davis, Monk, Corea, Metheny and his own Hip Ensemble and Fountain of Youth quartet. The set was listed by The New Yorker Magazine as one of the Best Boxed Sets of 2007, and was nominated for an award by the Jazz Journalist's Association.

WKCR-FM, New York, surveyed Haynes's career in 301 hours of programming January 11-23, 2009.

Esquire Magazine named Roy Haynes one of the Best Dressed Men in America in 1960, along with Fred Astaire,Clark Gable and Cary Grant.

Roy Haynes - A Life in Time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsF5QAKvpoo

Recommended CDs

1971 Hip Ensemble
1977 Vistalite
1992 When It's Haynes It Roars
1994 My Shining Hour
2000 The Roy Haynes Trio
2001 Birds of a Feather: A Tribute to Charlie Parker (with Roy Hargrove,Dave Holland and Kenny Garrett)
2003 Love Letters
2004 Quiet Fire (reissue of Thank You Thank You and Vistalite)
2007 A Life in Time: The Roy Haynes Story 3CD-1DVD Boxed Set, 1949-2006'

Reference - Wikipédia