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NEA Jazz Master Louis Sedell Hayes was born May 31, 1937 in Detroit Michigan. He was always surrounded by music, actually first starting with the piano, before his father gave him a set of drums at age 10. A cousin noticed his talent, took him under his wing and made sure that his approach to the instrument would serve him well. And well it did, for after developing his skills in the fertile musical ground of Detroit in the 1950's with the likes of Yusef Lateef, Kenny Burrell, Doug Watkins and others, Louis found himself at the tender age of 18 in New York as a member of the great Horace Silver Quintet. His first recording with Horace, the classic Six Pieces Of Silver would introduce him to the jazz world as a new force to be acknowledged.
Louis continued to enhance his reputation with Horace from 1956 until 1959 when he joined Cannonball Adderley where he propelled the quintet to joyous musical heights and timeless recordings through 1965. He joined piano master Oscar Peterson from 1965-67 during which time he and bassist Sam Jones became known as the "dynamic duo", recognized as the most powerful rhythm duo in jazz. Louis would rejoin Oscar in 1971 for a year.
For the next decade or more he became leader or co-leader of a series of electrifying groups which included musicians such as Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Barron, Junior Cooke, Woody Shaw and Dexter Gordon. Louis also spent several years touring with McCoy Tyner. The Louis Hayes Group with Herald Mabern and Frank Strozier culminated four years of artistry with the album; Variety Is The Spice which received five stars, truly an accomplishment during a period when his style of hard driving, "bebop" was less preferred. He continuously traveled throughout the United States, Europe and Japan making musical history wherever he performed.
Louis has played and recorded with jazz greats such as John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, J J Johnson, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Wes Montgomery, Joe Henderson, Cedar Walton, George Benson as well as Ravi Shankar, John Lee Hooker and others.
He has been leading a Quintet for over a decade and The Cannonball Legacy Band for two decades. Recent engagements of note would include The Kennedy Center for the Arts, The Chicago Jazz Festival, The Detroit Jazz Festival, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and the Chivas Jazz Festival in Brazil.
His latest recording "Artform Revisited" (Savant), showcases his long-time quintet with Abraham Burton on tenor saxophone, Steve Nelson on vibes, David Hazeltine on piano and Dezron Douglas on bass, and Louis at the helm. This recording was selected as one of the Top Ten Jazz Recordings of 2024 by The New York Times.
Recently, Louis Hayes was named and NEA Jazz Master. A ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC will be held on April 1, 2023.
The Critics Speak:
“Drummer Louis Hayes is a man with a past and an eye on the future.”- Hot House Magazine
“Louis Hayes is one of the chief architects of modern jazz drumming. He’s provided the rhythmic drive for historic recordings by Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, Oscar Peterson, Joe Henderson, Dexter Gordon, and McCoy Tyner. His playing has an intensity that is as subtle as it is complex, creating a musical feel and vibe that is unmistakably Hayesian.” - Jazz Times
"With Louis at the helm, you can hear instantly that the music is a step above and led by a long-time pro. So many jazz albums that feature musicians taking a shot at bop or hard bop sound good but are missing the true-flavor ingredient. " Louis's latest album "Artform Revisted" is the real deal, and he clearly worked with the band to deliver just the right energy and phrasing. He's joined by Abraham Burton on tenor saxophone, Steve Nelson on vibes, David Hazeltine on piano and Dezron Douglas on bass." - Jazz Wax
"A prime pleasure this year was hearing Louis Hayes — a working drummer for around 70 years, who helped lay the foundations for hard bop through his early work with Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley and others — dig into “G,” the slow blues that ends “Artform Revisited,” the latest in a string of albums he has released as a bandleader stretching back to 1960. Throughout this record, a tribute to the golden age of bebop featuring a sharp intergenerational cast, Hayes’s loose yet insistent ride-cymbal beat acts as a red carpet, ushering the listener back to an earlier era in style." - New York Times
Awards and Honors:
• The Down Beat New Star Award - 1961
• State Of Louisiana Special Recognition Award -1986
• State Of Michigan Special Tribute 1996
• The Society of the Culturally Concerned Appreciation Award - 1996
• The Greater Jamaican Development Corp. In Appreciation Of - 1996
• Spirit Of Detroit Award -2004
• Life Time Achievement Award From Bakers Keyboard Lounge - 2004
• United States House Of Representatives Special Tribute – 2004
• NEA Jazz Master -2023
For additional information contact: Maurice Montoya/MM Music Agency
Phone: 212-229-9160 | E-mail [email protected]
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