Kevin Hays Trio - What Survives (2001)

For the uninitiated What Survives is a strong entry point, highlighting Hays' abstract yet appealing writing, and a playing style that is filled with impressionistically out-of-the-box yet eminently lyrical musical thinking. It also demonstrates Hays' ability to innovatively adapt classical material that's as reverential yet improvisational. The album opens with three Hays originals, ranging from Stellar, whose dark and introspective solo piano introduction evolves into lithely swinging vehicle for understated interplay between Hays, Weiss and Stewart. The title track revolves around a repeated 11/8 bass figure doubled by Weiss and Hays' left hand - the piano treated to lend it a buzzing quality. Hays gradually builds a vivid yet economical solo while Stewart plays liberally with time placement. Hays applies a delicate electronic tremolo on the brooding Black Elk full of the subtle processing but not pop-inflected. Four adaptations of classical pieces follow, with Anniversary Waltz being the most well-known. Hays retains its familiar theme intact over Weiss and Stewart's vivid swing, but reharmonizations lend a more modernistic edge.  J.B. is the clear highlight of the album, demonstrating just how forward-thinking Hays' musical aesthetic is. Based on Brahms' Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, it opens with reverse-attack processed piano, but ultimately moves into an organic middle section that progressively narrows the 200-year gap between its composition and Hays' performance. An ambient reading of the classic You are My Sunshine ends the disc on an ambiguous note that proves beauty can be found in the most somber of places. The long break between albums may have cost Hays some momentum, but also works to his advantage in allowing him to reinvent himself. What Survives is hopefully just the beginning of a renewed career that will finally appeal to the larger jazz-buying public. ~ Extract by John Kelman, AAJ. 

PinonDisk Records, 001, 2005
NDS Records, NDS001, 2010
Recorded 13th March (#1,4) & 3rd December (#2-3,5-8), 2001
At Acoustic Recording, Brooklyn, New York 

Musicians:
Kevin Hays - Piano
Doug Weiss - Bass
Bill Stewart - Drums 

Tracks:
1. Stellar {Kevin Hays} (7:23)
2. What Survives {Kevin Hays} (3:41)
3. Black Elk {Kevin Hays} (4:33)
4. Anniversary Waltz {Josef Ivanovichi, Adpt. Kevin Hays} (7:25)
5. J.B. {Adaption Kevin Hays} (9:52)
6. Anton {Adaption Kevin Hays} (7:02)
7. Du Pre {Adaption Kevin Hays} (5:57)
8. You Are My Sunshine {Jimmie Davis} (5:58) 

Total Time: 51:51 

Credits:
Producer, Cover Painting - Kevin Hays
Engineer - Michael Brorby
Mastering - Katsuhiko Naito
Photography - Jimmy Katz, Onno de Jong, Lea Rubin, David Johnson 

"A beautiful record. Kevin Hays is a true original. Everything he plays has a deep intelligence and swing. This record showcases his own compositions. Doug Weiss and Bill Stewart on bass and drums are in top form. Highly recommended."  ~ Brad Mehldau.