Louis Hayes | |
|---|---|
 Hayes in 1971 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1937-05-31)May 31, 1937 (age 88) |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1950s–present |
| Website | louishayes |
Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937)[1] is an Americanjazz drummer and band leader.[2] He was withMcCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together withVincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He is part of theNEA Jazz Masters awards class of 2023.
Louis Sedell Hayes was born inDetroit,Michigan, United States,[1] to a father, an automaker, who played drums and piano.[3] His mother waited tables and played the piano.[3] She was the sister ofJohn L. Nelson, the father of the musicianPrince.[4] Hayes got his first drum set at age 10. The key influence in his early development was his cousin Clarence Stamps, an accomplished drummer who grounded his technical fundamentals and gave him lessons that stuck for life.[3] He refers to the early influence of hearing jazz, especiallybig bands on the radio. His main influence wasPhilly Joe Jones[3] and he was mentored byJo Jones. His three main associations were withHorace Silver's Quintet (1956–59),[1] theCannonball Adderley Quintet (1959–1965), and theOscar Peterson Trio (1965–1967).[5] Hayes often joinedSam Jones, both with Adderley and Peterson, and in freelance settings.
When he was a teenager, he led a band in Detroit clubs before he was 16.[1] He worked withYusef Lateef andCurtis Fuller from 1955 to 1956. He moved to New York in August 1956, to replaceArt Taylor in the Horace Silver Quintet and, in 1959, joined the Cannonball Adderley Quintet, with which he remained until mid-1965, when he succeededEd Thigpen in the Oscar Peterson Trio. He left Peterson in 1967, and formed a series of groups, which he led alone or with others; among his sidemen wereFreddie Hubbard,Joe Henderson,Kenny Barron, andJames Spaulding.[1] He returned to Peterson in 1971.
The Louis Hayes Sextet, formed in 1972, became, in 1975, the Louis Hayes-Junior Cook Quintet and theWoody Shaw-Louis Hayes Quintet (Cook remained as a sideman until Rene McLean joined); in its last form the quintet played successful engagements throughout Europe and (without McLean) acted as the host group when, in 1976,Dexter Gordon visited theU.S. for the first time in many years.[1] After Shaw left the group in 1977, Hayes continued to lead it as a hard-bop quintet.[6]
Hayes has appeared on many records throughout the years, and played withJohn Coltrane,Kenny Burrell,Freddie Hubbard,Bobby Timmons,Hank Mobley,Booker Little,Tommy Flanagan,Cecil Taylor,McCoy Tyner,Ray Brown,Joe Henderson,Gary Bartz, andTony Williams.[7] He also led sessions forTimeless (1976),[8]Muse (1977),[9]Candid (1989),[9]Steeplechase (1989–1994),[9] and TCB (2000–2002).[9]
He was withMcCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years.[1][10] Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together withVincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band.
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