Roy Haynes, one of the greatest and most influential drummers in jazz history, died Tuesday in Nassau County, New York, on the South Shore of Long Island. He was 99 years old.
After a short illness, he was pronounced dead by his daughter Leslie Haynes-Gilmore. She declined to say where in the county he died.
Mr. Haynes was an irresistible force who was involved in every major development of modern jazz starting with the bebop era and proudly remained current and stylish throughout his 70-year career. Remarkably, he achieved that style without changing his style significantly. His style was characterized by lean clarity (Snap Crackle was his nickname in the 1950s), with locomotive energy and smooth but emphatic flow.
Few musicians have worked with such a wide range of jazz legends. Mr. Haynes recorded with classic swing-era tenor saxophonist Lester Young and contemporary guitarist Pat Metheny. He had short-lived but notable associations with bebop’s major pioneers, including singer Sarah Vaughan, alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, and pianists Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, among others. .
And he went on to film Eric Dolphy’s Outward Bound (1960), Oliver Nelson’s The Blues and the Abstract Truth (1961), and Stan Getz’s Focus (1962). He participated in dozens of albums, including many that are considered classics, such as Chick (2010) and Chick. Corea’s “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” (1968).
Mr. Haynes has recorded works such as the 1958 trio session “We Three” with pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. and bassist Paul Chambers and 1962’s “Out of the Afternoon” with Rahsaan. As a leader, he produced several highly acclaimed albums. Roland Kirk (then known simply as Roland Kirk) on lead, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Henry Grimes on bass. He led a series of actively active bands over the years, particularly the Hip Ensemble, which championed the funkier side of 1970s fusion.
More recently, he has connected with collaborators many years his junior, including trumpeter Roy Hargrove and bassist Christian McBride. In 2000, he released the Roy Haynes Trio, featuring pianist Danilo Perez and bassist John Patitucci. A few years later, he formed the Fountain of Youth Band with players in their 20s and 30s. The group is included on his last album “Roy-Alty”, released in 2011 on the Dreyfus label.
Mr. Haynes was one of the first jazz drummers to abandon the metronome-like stomps on beats two and four and use his left foot expressively on the hi-hat pedal. He brought similar freedom of purpose to the snare and bass drum, adding punchy accents that suggested conversation continued against the beat of the ride cymbal.
His flexible tempo articulation and departure from the rigid framework of four- and eight-bar phrases influenced generations from Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette born in the 1940s to his grandchildren. It set a precedent that was adopted by countless others. Marcus Gilmore, born 1986.
Panache was also a trademark of Mr. Haynes, who developed a penchant for flashy cars and clothing as an adult. He bought his first car, an Oldsmobile convertible, in 1950 and was proud to surprise Charlie Parker with it. In 1960, he was named one of America’s best-dressed men by Esquire magazine, a list that also included Fred Astaire, Cary Grant, and Miles Davis.
He remained a presence on the jazz scene even at what many would consider retirement age, performing and recording into his 80s. He did narrator work in the 2008 video game “Grand Theft Auto IV” and played the host of a radio station whose motto was “jazz before it was elevator music.”
Roy Owen Haynes was born on March 13, 1925 in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, the third of four sons of Gus and Edna (Payne) Haynes. The couple immigrated to the area from Barbados.
Roy was drawn to the drums early on and took lessons from Herbert Wright, who lived on the same street and was a member of James Reese Europe’s band, the 369th Infantry Hellfighters. For the record, Mr. Haynes found a lifelong hero in Count Basie’s drummer, Joe Jones.
He worked steadily around Boston as a teenager and found work with the Louis Russell Band, which brought him to New York. There he found himself in demand as a sideman and became a regular at jam sessions, including one at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem, which attracted most of bebop’s young followers. He collaborated with Lester Young from 1947 to 1949, then took over Max Roach’s important role in the Charlie Parker Quartet.
Because rhythmic innovation was central to bebop, and because Mr. Haynes worked with both Mr. Parker, the music’s pied piper, and Mr. Monk, the so-called high priest, he quickly became a leading figure. has gained a reputation as Bop drummer.
A famous photograph taken by Robert Parent shows him on stage with Mr. Parker, Mr. Monk and bassist Charles Mingus at the Open Door in Greenwich Village in 1953 (Mr. Haynes was part of that session). was the last living participant). The band also included tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins and trumpeter Fats Navarro, who appeared on Volumes 1 and 2 of The Amazing Bud Powell.
But bebop was always just one side of Mr. Haynes, who began a five-year partnership with Sarah Vaughan in 1953, establishing his sensitivity and grace as an accompanist. And the shrewd, spare music he played with the Monk Quartet at Manhattan’s Five Spot Cafe, captured on two albums recorded there, had little to do with bebop’s enthusiastic reputation. Not applicable.
In the 1960s, he played a key role in the development of experimental post-bop, exploring abstraction in a way that kept a strong momentum intact. He contributed to a series of important albums in this vein, including Mr. Korea’s Now He Sings, which defined the modern piano trio album. Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean’s “Destination… Out!” (1964) and “It’s Time!” (1965); pianist Andrew Hill’s “Black Fire” (1964) and “Smokestacks” (1966) year). and “Reaching Fourth” (1963) by pianist McCoy Tyner.
He occasionally played with Mr. Tyner in the John Coltrane Quartet, serving as backup when the band’s regular drummer, Elvin Jones, was unavailable. His most notable appearance with the Coltrane Band came during the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival.
Although Mr. Haynes was not a central figure in the jazz-rock boom of the 1970s, he played on several associated albums by vibraphonist Gary Burton, who ushered in the jazz-rock boom, and was among the earliest. The album was released in 1966. They released an album of the same name in 1971, branched out into fusion music, and gained young fans. However, the style he preferred most in his bands was a driving, harmonically open style of post-bop.
After recording Pat Metheny’s album “Questions and Answers” in 1990, Mr. Haynes featured Mr. Metheny on his own album “Te-Vou!”. (Dreyfus), alongside Mr. McBride, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, and pianist David Kikosky.
The time Haynes spent early in his career, particularly in long sideman positions with Sarah Vaughan, may have cost him some of his reputation. For a while, he was overshadowed by peers like Max Roach and Elvin Jones. However, he appreciated that he was able to bring stability to his family. He bought a home on Long Island, where he and his wife, Jesse Lee Nevels Haynes, raised their three children. His wife died in 1979.
In addition to her daughter, she is survived by her sons, Craig, a drummer, and Graham, a cornet player; eight grandchildren, including Mr. Gilmore; and seven great-grandchildren.
In the fame department, Mr. Haynes then made up for lost time by ramping up his performance and recording schedule and beginning to win accolades, especially from the 1990s onwards. He was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 1995. In 2000, he won his second Grammy Award with Mr. Burton, Mr. Corea, Mr. Metheny and bassist Dave Holland for the album “Like Minds.” He won his first Grammy 12 years ago for his role on McCoy Tyner’s album Blues for Coltrane.
Mr. Haynes participated in his Jazz at Lincoln Center tribute concert in 2010 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy in 2011 and the Jazz Foundation of America in 2019.
Two other incidents illustrate the breadth of Mr. Haynes’ life in jazz. In 2010, he attended Mr. Rollins’ 80th birthday concert and at one point had both the guest of honor and alto saxophonist and free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman interact on stage for the first time.
And in 2011, Mr. Haynes appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman” with the Fountain of Youth Band. Wearing a brightly patterned suit jacket, crisp shirt and tie, and reflective sunglasses, he looked busy but calm under the stage lights, appearing on his 1992 album When It’s Haynes. They actively performed the song “Summer Nights” from “It Roars”. (New York Times)
