What do John Coltrane's Lover, Grant Green's Gooden's Corner, Joe Henderson's The Kicker, The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard, Bennie Green's Back on the Scene and Wes Montgomery's Movin' Along have in common? Louis Hayes was on drums.
Today, Louis is one of the last men drumming from jazz's galloping hard-bop era. Best of all, the 85-year-old artist hasn't lost an ounce of energy or style. As evidenced by his latest album, Exactly Right! (Savant), Louis not only is at the top of his game but also his taste in songs is terrific.
Recorded in December and produced by Maxine Gordon, Dexter Gordon's widow, Exactly Right! features Louis on drums, Abraham Burton on tenor saxophone, Steve Nelson on vibraphone, David Hazeltine and Dezron Douglas on bass.
The tracks are Louis's Exactly Right!, Duke Pearson's Is That So?, Cedar Walton's Hand in Glove, Sergio Mendes's So Many Stars, David Hazeltine's Carmine's Bridge, Wayne Shorter's Nefertiti, Horace Silver's Mellow D, Fred Lacey's Theme for Ernie, Scarborough Fair (traditional) and Cedar Walton's Ugetsu.
What's fascinating are the two triangular conversations going on simultaneously. The dominant one consists of Louis, Burton (sax) and Nelson (vibes) playing off each other. The second one is Louis, Hazeltine (piano) and Douglas (bass). Louis is the driving force energizing the front line and the rhythm section. Burton brings the heat while Nelson lays down the cool, but Louis's drums set the mood and and keep the hard bop edgy.
Best of all are Louis's cymbals. They splash in all the right places and erupt at unexpected moments like geysers. On drum solos, Louis plays with a taut economy and decades of hard bop experience. He also shows his funk on Scarborough Fare, which is given the soul-jazz treatment. Louis Hayes is a global treasure.
JazzWax clips: Here's Is That So?...
And here's Ugetsu...
Today, Louis is one of the last men drumming from jazz's galloping hard-bop era. Best of all, the 85-year-old artist hasn't lost an ounce of energy or style. As evidenced by his latest album, Exactly Right! (Savant), Louis not only is at the top of his game but also his taste in songs is terrific.
Recorded in December and produced by Maxine Gordon, Dexter Gordon's widow, Exactly Right! features Louis on drums, Abraham Burton on tenor saxophone, Steve Nelson on vibraphone, David Hazeltine and Dezron Douglas on bass.
The tracks are Louis's Exactly Right!, Duke Pearson's Is That So?, Cedar Walton's Hand in Glove, Sergio Mendes's So Many Stars, David Hazeltine's Carmine's Bridge, Wayne Shorter's Nefertiti, Horace Silver's Mellow D, Fred Lacey's Theme for Ernie, Scarborough Fair (traditional) and Cedar Walton's Ugetsu.
What's fascinating are the two triangular conversations going on simultaneously. The dominant one consists of Louis, Burton (sax) and Nelson (vibes) playing off each other. The second one is Louis, Hazeltine (piano) and Douglas (bass). Louis is the driving force energizing the front line and the rhythm section. Burton brings the heat while Nelson lays down the cool, but Louis's drums set the mood and and keep the hard bop edgy.
Best of all are Louis's cymbals. They splash in all the right places and erupt at unexpected moments like geysers. On drum solos, Louis plays with a taut economy and decades of hard bop experience. He also shows his funk on Scarborough Fare, which is given the soul-jazz treatment. Louis Hayes is a global treasure.
JazzWax clips: Here's Is That So?...
And here's Ugetsu...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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