Drummer Louis Hayes’ music
is full of life and humanity- sometimes light, sometimes dark but always
provocative and consistently engaging. Listening to Exactly Right, his latest CD on the Savant label one steps into a
living, breathing art form that expresses a musical continuum where past and
present are on equal footing.
Born in Detroit in 1937, Hayes, like most aspiring jazzers at the time moved to NYC to launch a career that would include stints with John Coltrane, Horace Silver and a six year membership with the Cannonball Adderly Quintet. He also recorded several albums apiece with Freddie Hubbard and Cedar Walton.
Currently in his 87th
year, Hayes’ band includes younger stalwarts, Abraham Burton, Dave Hazeltine, Steve
Nelson and Dezron Douglas, all of whom rise to the occasion with aplomb. The
repertoire is an engaging mix of 1960s' jazz classics along with two new
originals by Hazeltine and Hayes. To boot, an updated take of the 18th
century English folk song, Scarborough
Fair, round out the playlist delightfully.
Sergio Mendes’ So Many Stars is given a slower and compellingly
mysterious instrumental reading that contrasts with the original Brazil 66 version.
Burton’s tenor sax converses moodily with Nelson’s brooding vibes while Hayes’
brushes keep time like rain in the night. Similarly, Horace Silver’s Mellow D
retains the freshness of its original airing on the 1959 Finger Poppin' LP. While the band is fully cooking,
the leader fully emerges the star as he propels and colours the tune in grand
fashion.
Most noteworthy of all are Hayes’ drums and cymbals. Splashing here and there with an equilibrium of drama and precision., along with a taut economy on his solos, fuelled and formed from his six decades of experience- both as soloist and sideman..(if its okay to use that term today…)
The title and opening
track - Exactly Right is precisely correct in every way for this disc. Fans of
one of the lasting veterans of jazz drumming will be more than delighted with
this fine 2023 testimonial on offer. Frank Griffith
Available on Savant Records SCD 2026
Exactly Right; Is That so?; Hand in Glove; So Many Stars; Carmine's Bridge; Nefertiti; Mellow D; Theme For Ernie; Scarborough Fair
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