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.

Kevin Hays - El Matador (1990)

Kevin Hays recorded this early session (his second as a leader) in 1990, at the age of 22. Originally released in 1991 on the Jazz City import label, the disc was reissued in the U.S. in 1998 by Evidence. The young pianist is joined by alto/soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson, bassist Scott Colley, drummer Bill Stewart, and on four tracks, the tenor titan Joe Henderson. Hays' writing and playing are remarkably advanced, particularly on "Emperor Leon" (dedicated to drummer Leon Parker) and "The Brahmin's Son," an extended piece inspired by Herman Hesse. Quartet renderings of "The Good Life" and John Coltrane's "Like Sonny" also appear, along with a full quintet arrangement of Hindemith's "Nobilissima Visione," on which Henderson truly shines. Steve Wilson's angular blues-head "No Such Luck" closes the set. El Matador is a vital addition to Hays' discography, even after the fact. ~ by David R. Adler, AMG. 

Jazz City, PCCY-00247, 1991
Evidence Records, ECD 22199-2, 1998
Recorded August, 1990 At “The Studio”, New York City 

Musicians:
Kevin Hays - Piano
Steve Wilson - Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone
Joe Henderson - Tenor Saxophone {#1,2,5,6)
Scott Colley - Bass
Bill Stewart - Drums 

Tracks:
1. El Matador {Kevin Hays} (8:02)
2. Emperor Leon {Kevin Hays} (10:28)
3. Like Sonny {John Coltrane} (6:46)
4. The Good Life {Sacha Distel, Jack Reardon} (6:56)
5. The Brahmin's Son {Kevin Hays} (10:54)
6. Nobilissima Visione {Paul Hindemith} (6:16)
7. Snake Eyes {Kevin Hays} (7:53)
8. No Such Luck {Steve Wilson} (5:26) 

Total Time: 62:41 

Credits:
Producer - Tony Ariga, Yoshiaki Masuo
Engineer - David Baker
Photography - Alan Nahigian
Liner Notes - Ira Gitler
Reissue Producer - Jerry Gordon

Kevin Hays Trio - North (2016)

The New Day Trio is Kevin Hays on acoustic piano, Rob Jost on bass and Greg Joseph on drums. North is their follow-up to last year’s New Day, but Hays lays off the vocals this time around and keeps guest artists at bay. It’s thus the first purely instrumental expression of this still-new lineup, and the project on which they find their footing.

Hays has been making records using various configurations for over two decades, but the trio format works especially well for him. He displays an intrepid spirit and a strong sense of harmonic and rhythmic initiative that is sometimes dulled when he brings others into the mix. Here, on a 10-track set-seven originals and three covers-he sticks to the basics, intent on avoiding repetition of mood, even if that means drastic juxtapositions. An opening take of Bird’s “Scrapple From the Apple” is attacked from a place where velocity and ferocity rule; “Elegia,” which follows, is tamer but no less edgy. Track three, “Violetta,” is sprightly yet august, while “Schumann’s Chamisso” draws on Hays’ love for the classics. There are times when one might question whether the same three musicians could have cut all of these tunes-which they did in a single day, incidentally-were it not for the telepathic rapport they so obviously share.

The album’s title is Hays’ nod of respect both to Harlem (which is, after all, in northern Manhattan) and his prior residence in upstate New York. It starts off feeling like the latter, serene and open; then an undercurrent of groove arrives that suggests the former. That Hays, Jost and Joseph instinctually understand the correlations and how to get from one to the other so seamlessly is why their union is such a welcome one. ~ By Jeff Tamarkin, JazzTimes.

Sunnyside Communications, SSC 1464, 2016

Recorded 29^th January, 2016 At Acoustic Recording, Brooklyn, New York

Musicians:

Kevin Hays - Piano

Rob Jost - Bass, Ukulele

Greg Joseph - Drums

Tracks:

01. Scrapple From The Apple {Charlie Parker} (3:56)

02. Elegia {Kevin Hays} (7:49)

03. Violetta {Kevin Hays} (6:50)

04. Schumann's Chamisso {Kevin Hays} (7:32)

05. Sweet Caroline {Kevin Hays} (5:47)

06. Where Did You Sleep {Leadbelly} (6:24)

07. All Things Are {Kevin Hays} (5:38)

08. North {Kevin Hays} (5:50)

09. I'll Remember April {Don Raye, Gene De Paul} (7:46)

10. Morning {Kevin Hays} (4:44)

Credits:

Producer, Photography - Kevin Hays

Engineer - Michael Brorby

Mixing, Mastering - Katsuhiho Naito

Graphic Design - Christopher Drukker

Total Time: 62:16

Kevin Hays - Andalucia (1997)

Kevin Hays was already comfortable in the big leagues by the time he recorded Andalucia, his third album for Blue Note. But the fact that this outing featured the young pianist in a trio setting with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jack DeJohnette turned heads nonetheless. Hays more than holds his own in the company of these two giants, and he's not a chops player, so his strong showing is all the more impressive. His rhythmic and harmonic ingenuity generates well-paced excitement throughout the set. Half the tunes are non-originals, and they include the standard "That's All," Ernesto Lecuona's "Andalucia (The Breeze and I)," Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma," and Ron Carter's "Einbahnstrasse." There's also an inventive reworking of the Beatles' "And I Love Her." But the five originals do more to reveal the full depth of Hays' musicality. "Agua," a driving boogaloo tune, kicks off the record. The other four are clustered consecutively in the middle of the program: first the calmly flowing "Mind," then the swinging Chick Corea tribute "Chickory Stick," the amorphous Billy Hart tribute "Hart," and the vigorous abstraction "Break." No matter what he's playing, Hays' soulful, uncluttered, unassuming style sets him apart among talented young jazz pianists. ~ by David R. Adler, AMG.

Blue Note, CDP 7243 8 55817 2 4, 1997

Recorded 21^st-22^nd December, 1996 At Clinton Recording Studio, New York

Musicians:

Kevin Hays - Piano

Ron Carter - Bass

Jack DeJohnette - Drums

Tracks:

01. Aqua {Kevin Hays} (5:11)

02. Andalucia [The Breeze And I] {Ernesto Lecuona} (4:28)

03. And I Love Her {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (6:20)

04. That's All {Alan Brandt, Bob Haymes} (8:48)

05. Mind {Kevin Hays} (4:59)

06. Chickery Stick {Kevin Hays} (5:52)

07. Hart {Kevin Hays} (3:25)

08. Break {Kevin Hays} (4:35)

09. Einbahnstrasse {Ron Carter} (6:22)

10. Con Alma {Dizzy Gillespie} (5:34)

Credits:

Producer, Liner Notes - Bob Belden

Engineer - James Farber

Mastering - Mark Wilder

Art Direction - Darey Cloutier

Design - Brigid Pearson

Photography - Chuck Stewart, Jules Allen

Total Time: 55:35