Jazz Articles
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Phil Haynes: Return to Electric
by Glenn Astarita
Phil Haynes, a drummer who possesses an extensive and heralded resume, unleashes Return to Electric, a semiavant-garde fusion-fueled romp that feels like a love letter to the electric guitar's golden era, delivered with a sly wink. This album displays Haynes, guitarist Steve Salerno, and bassist Drew Gress capturing the experimental spirit of 1970s jazz-rock while demonstrating their mastery over modern styles. Haynes provides near-flawless support, punctuated by colorific cymbal accents, off-kilter deviations and polyrhythmic fills. The trio kicks ...
Continue ReadingPhil Haynes / Ben Monder: Transition (s)
by Dan McClenaghan
The call of the electric guitar has enticed drummer Phil Haynes to revisit his early passion for the instrument. Two albums have resulted: Return to Electric (review here), and now Transition (s), both on Corner Store Records. The former is a trio album that has Haynes teamed with guitarist Steve Salerno and bassist Drew Gress, the latter, the disc at hand, has the veteran drummer joined in a duo set with guitarist Ben Monder. Haynes pulled up roots ...
Continue ReadingPhil Haynes: Return to Electric
by Dan McClenaghan
The band Return to Forever was a seminal jazz fusion group led by pianist Chick Corea. The eponymous first album, on ECM Records, was released in 1972, opening doors for scores of other like-minded ensembles. Electricity was a main aspect of the move away from acoustic jazz. The Fender Rhodes piano and plugged-in bass and guitars of fusion took hold and, to some degree, seemed to be ushering the old (acoustic) guard out the door. But that did ...
Continue ReadingDay Dream: Duke & Strays Live
by Pierre Giroux
The Day Dream trio's album Duke & Strays Live is a two-CD release recorded at Bucknell University in September 2023. It is a sparkling exploration of the timelessness embedded in Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's music. Lead by drummer Phil Haynes along with pianist Steve Rudolph and bassist Drew Gress, the trio deftly navigates the familiar Ellington-Strayhorn catalogue, offering a fresh examination of these standards without ever lapsing into well-worn paths. It breathes new life into the classics, creating an ...
Continue ReadingPhil Haynes: My Favorite Things (1960-1969)
by Geno Thackara
For some reason, cover songs almost always seem to come across more jokey in folk/bluegrass mode than any other. There's just a certain innate good humor in upbeat romps with acoustic string instruments, especially so when the treatment is applied to formerly loud rock and roll songs. Perhaps it also feels that way because bluegrass covers so often serve as cute one-off novelties in an otherwise straightfoward set. Drummer Phil Haynes and his “freewheeling jazz- grass string band" here, on ...
Continue ReadingPhil Haynes & Free Country: My Favorite Things(1960-1969)
by Jerome Wilson
There have been several jazz projects that looked back at the popular music of the 1960's, but none have been as all-encompassing as what drummer Phil Haynes and his band Free Country do here. They touch on Baby Boomer favorites like Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and James Brown, but their sweep of the Sixties is wide enough to also bring in Leonard Bernstein and John Coltrane. This quartet of guitar, cello, bass and drums is extremely flexible in ...
Continue ReadingSettings For Three: No Fast Food
by Glenn Astarita
It would be easy enough to cite this trio as a veritable jazz supergroup. And as one would surmise, the musicians give it their best shot. It's the trio's third album and first not recorded from a live performance. Here, legendary reedman David Liebman uses various flutes and saxophones, yet this is a democratic engagement where each player serves a crucial role. Indeed, their insightful improv tactics and acute communications rule the roost via somber ballads and popping funk vamps, ...
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