Kevin Hays
Encyclopedia
Kevin Hays is a jazz pianist. He was raised in Greenwich, Connecticut
He is known for the Kevin Hays Trio and being in the Bill Stewart Trio
.
Featured on dozens of recordings with a variety of leading jazz artists, 10 CDs as a leader himself, 3 included on the renowned Blue Note Records
, Kevin Hays is amongst the most brilliant pianist/keyboardists and composers in the current international jazz panorama.
Hays has played with Sonny Rollins
, Benny Golson
, Ron Carter
, Pat Metheny
, Joe Henderson
, Roy Haynes
, John Scofield
, Donald Harrison
, Chris Potter
, Al Foster
, Buster Williams
, Art Farmer
, et al.
He began studying piano at the age of 6 and was playing professionally by 15, finding himself two years later, playing with baritone saxophonist Nick Brignola
. After spending a year at the Manhattan School of Music
to perfect his skills, he began travelling around the U.S., Japan, and Europe with various bands, including The Harper Brothers, Benny Golson, Joe Henderson and Eddie Gomez.
In 1994 he signed a contract with Blue Note
, releasing 3 recordings which received favourable opinion by the press and from specialized critics. His “Seventh Sense” (1994), praised by the New York Times, was recognized as one of the "Top 40 Jazz Releases of the Year" by Musician Magazine; and
“Andalucia” (1997), featuring Ron Carter
and Jack DeJohnette
, was voted four stars by DownBeat Magazine.
In 1995 Sonny Rollins
invited Kevin to join his group, and a year and a half later guitarist John Scofield
wanted Hays to tour in his celebrated “Quiet” band.
Kevin Hays continues to perform worldwide in solo concerts and as a member of The Sangha Quartet, which features young and well known overseas jazz players such as Seamus Blake (tenor sax), Larry Grenadier (double bass), and Bill Stewart (drums): with this quartet he has recorded “Fear of Roaming”, where he contributed five compositions and one arrangement.
His own trio, which lines up as permanent elements bass player Doug Weiss and Bill Stewart on drums: on its recordings with the Kevin Hays Trio (the latest release is For Heaven's Sake, JazzEyes) demonstrates both his innate talent for arrangements and his high-level piano technique.
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
He is known for the Kevin Hays Trio and being in the Bill Stewart Trio
Bill Stewart (musician)
William Harris "Bill" Stewart is an American jazz drummer. Stewart is a versatile player who has performed with a broad array of musicians, from Maceo Parker to Jim Hall...
.
Featured on dozens of recordings with a variety of leading jazz artists, 10 CDs as a leader himself, 3 included on the renowned Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
, Kevin Hays is amongst the most brilliant pianist/keyboardists and composers in the current international jazz panorama.
Hays has played with Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
, Benny Golson
Benny Golson
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
, Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
, Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
, Roy Haynes
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
, John Scofield
John Scofield
John Scofield , often referred to as "Sco," is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who has played and collaborated with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey Defrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham,...
, Donald Harrison
Donald Harrison
Donald Harrison, Jr. is an American jazz saxophonist from New Orleans, Louisiana.-Biography:Harrison studied at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and Berklee College of Music. He played with Roy Haynes, Jack McDuff, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Terence Blanchard and Don Pullen in the...
, Chris Potter
Chris Potter (jazz saxophonist)
Chris Potter is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Potter spent most of his childhood in Columbia, South Carolina where his mother taught psychology at the University of South Carolina...
, Al Foster
Al Foster
Al Foster is an American jazz drummer. Foster played with Miles Davis's large funk fusion group in the 70s, was one of the few people to have contact with Miles during his retirement, and was also part of his comeback album The Man With the Horn of 1981...
, Buster Williams
Buster Williams
Charles Anthony Williams is an American jazz bassist.-Biography:Williams has gained prestige among jazz musicians as a solid supportive player. Since the early 1960s, he has made subtle swing, a precise rhythm and superb technique the landmark of his playing...
, Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
, et al.
He began studying piano at the age of 6 and was playing professionally by 15, finding himself two years later, playing with baritone saxophonist Nick Brignola
Nick Brignola
-Biography:He was born on July 17, 1936 in Troy, New York. Nick was born into a musical family in which his father played the tuba and his uncle played the banjo. As a mostly self-taught musician, he developed his facility on all of his instruments using unconventional techniques, which gave his...
. After spending a year at the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
to perfect his skills, he began travelling around the U.S., Japan, and Europe with various bands, including The Harper Brothers, Benny Golson, Joe Henderson and Eddie Gomez.
In 1994 he signed a contract with Blue Note
Blue note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
, releasing 3 recordings which received favourable opinion by the press and from specialized critics. His “Seventh Sense” (1994), praised by the New York Times, was recognized as one of the "Top 40 Jazz Releases of the Year" by Musician Magazine; and
“Andalucia” (1997), featuring Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
and Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...
, was voted four stars by DownBeat Magazine.
In 1995 Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
invited Kevin to join his group, and a year and a half later guitarist John Scofield
John Scofield
John Scofield , often referred to as "Sco," is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who has played and collaborated with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey Defrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham,...
wanted Hays to tour in his celebrated “Quiet” band.
Kevin Hays continues to perform worldwide in solo concerts and as a member of The Sangha Quartet, which features young and well known overseas jazz players such as Seamus Blake (tenor sax), Larry Grenadier (double bass), and Bill Stewart (drums): with this quartet he has recorded “Fear of Roaming”, where he contributed five compositions and one arrangement.
His own trio, which lines up as permanent elements bass player Doug Weiss and Bill Stewart on drums: on its recordings with the Kevin Hays Trio (the latest release is For Heaven's Sake, JazzEyes) demonstrates both his innate talent for arrangements and his high-level piano technique.