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“Hayne’s brash
watchfulness keeps his music in a state of suspended agitation—he
makes listeners and musicians feel secure and wary at the same time.
He commands the drums and the rhythm like a general looking over a
field, apparently willing to try anything and confident he has the
discipline to make it work.”—Gary Giddens, Village Voice
 Photo by Andrea Canter
Roy Haynes enjoys the
Artists Quarter. He adores owner (and drummer) Kenny Horst—in fact
he once gave Horst a set of drums, the same drums he played during
his recent three-night stand/live recording session at the downtown
St. Paul club. And he loves finding and promoting hot young talent,
which he proudly put in the spotlight throughout the weekend. These
days Haynes calls his quartet The Fountain of Youth, but that’s not
quite accurate. It’s more like a geyser, an eruption of steam and
energy. And the molten source is the 81-year-old drummer himself.
A student of the 1940s and
50s street academies of Armstrong, Parker, Gillespie, Monk, Powell,
and Coltrane, Haynes has established his own “college” of jazz
performance, fueling the careers of Ralph Moore, David Kikoski,
Marcus Strickland, and (son) Graham Haynes, among others. With
Strickland “graduating” to leading his own bands, Haynes wasted
no time recruiting a new horn player, alto sensation Jaleel
Shaw. And on the recommendation of recent protégé
Martin Bejerano, Haynes debuted pianist Robert Rodriguez
at the AQ. Original Fountain of Youth cadet John Sullivan
continues to put down the basslines. Figure his three young
collaborators combined are younger than Haynes— while the drummer
has spent more than sixty years managing and rearranging time, he has
somehow kept Father Time at bay.
 Roy with Kenny Horst, Photo by Andrea Canter
It was a rare
two-set/three-night gig at the Artists Quarter; most without advance
reservations were turned away. Kenny and Dawn Horst were in constant
motion, looking for one more bar stool, one more table to seat just
one more eager patron. More densely packed than the AQ New Year’s
Eve Party a few weeks earlier, the atmosphere was equally festive.
Any appearance by Roy Haynes is cause for celebration, and further,
the Mayor of St. Paul had issued a proclamation declaring this Roy
Haynes Weekend. Haynes already owned the club and the
audience; now it was officially his weekend. And from the first notes
of the opening set to the last blast of the final tag late Sunday
night, The Fountain of Youth was the center of universe.
Each set was well
constructed if not altogether planned ahead, combining fast and
explosive classics of Monk’s “Green Chimneys” and “Twinkle
Trinkle” and bouncing romps through (former Haynes pianist)
Kikoski’s “Inner Trust” and Charlie Parker’s “Diverse”
with more lyrical covers of Metheny’s “Question and Answer” and
such standards as “My Romance” and a very lovely “Body and
Soul.” Haynes often turned to his young cohorts for suggestions,
encouraging them to shine on their own as well as with the
ensemble—Rodriguez soloing on an increasingly complex reading of
Chick Corea’s “Windows;” Sullivan opting for Joe Henderson’s
“Inner Urge,” and Shaw bringing down the house with a bluesy
traverse of Sonny Rollins’ “Doxy.” Like a proud pop (or
grandpop), Haynes frequently let loose with his own applause and big
smile.  Jaleel and John, Photo by Andrea Canter Haynes himself provides
the definitive description of his approach to these arrangements:
“I structure pieces like
riding a horse,” he says. “You pull a rein here, you tighten it
up here, you loosen it there. I'm still sitting in the driver's seat,
so to speak. I let it loose, I let it go, I see where it's going and
what it feels like. Sometimes I take it out, sometimes I'll be
polite, nice and let it move and breathe -- always in the pocket and
with feeling. So the music is tight but loose.” And in each set,
the band loosened the reins a bit more, the finale a maelstrom of
joyous abandon. Robert Rodriguez in particular seemed a
bit tentative on the first few numbers of Friday’s opening
set—maybe a bit intimidated by the idea of playing with an idol.
But by the end of the first night, and most noticeably by Sunday
night, the young pianist was relaxing in a hot groove, initial
hesitations replaced by an assertive attack, clean articulation, and
confident soloing, his angular lines and chord combinations adding a
Latin touch to “Twinkle Trinkle,” hefty basslines and deft
climbing scales highlighting his solitary effort on “Windows.”
Ever the mentor, Haynes wisely kept Rodriguez at arms length early
on, pushing him a bit further and further as the weekend moved along.
Jaleel Shaw
garnered a truckload of honors as a student at Berklee; his first
recording (Perspective, Fresh Sound) was named one of the top
five debuts of 2005 (All About Jazz). And his AQ debut met and
exceeded all expectations. On alto or soprano, he coaxed a menagerie
of sound, from the sweet impassioned tones of such ballads as “My
Romance,” “What’s New,” and “Body and Soul,” to the
twists and squeals of “Doxy” to the wailing spirals of “Twinkle
Trinkle.” At once he exudes sheer lung power, rhythmic virtuosity,
and harmonic invention, often bopping and weaving, his body language
seemingly directing each note, each dramatic climb to the top and
bottom of the horn. He brought powerful eccentricity to “Bemsha
Swing,” swinging energy to “Summer Night,” furious phrasing to
“Diverse,” well-placed minor harmonies to “My Heart Belongs to
Daddy,” and a beautiful cadenza to close “Question and Answer.”
Bassists are too-often
overlooked, but Haynes makes sure that each audience gets a good dose
of John Sullivan. Like Shaw, he is a very physical
musician, literally dancing with the big box, pulling it back,
pushing it down, bouncing on his feet while his hands engage the
strings in feats of legerdemain. Sullivan took at least one solo on
every tune, ferociously walking across “Diverse,” lyrically
engaging on “What’s New,” and demonstrating his wide range of
tone and harmonies on Joe Henderson’s “Inner Urge.”
 Robert ROdreguez, Photo by Andrea Canter
“I don't want to
overplay. I like the guys to trade, and I just keep it moving, and
spread the rhythm, as Coltrane said. Keep it moving, keep it crisp."
Roy Haynes’ philosophy was ever present throughout
the three nights. His young cohorts were continuously in the
spotlight, much to his apparent delight. Yet it was Haynes in the
drivers’ seat, Haynes who propelled every tune with the energy of a
teenager and the wisdom of the prophet. Noted Kenny Horst, “he’s
the heavyweight champion.” Certainly there is no finer array of
artillery than what Roy Haynes brings to the trapset, and he is a
master strategist. Area drummer Steve Hirsh commented that “Roy
never plays an unnecessary note—it all counts.” Haynes never
holds back, which is not to say that he is constantly pounding.
Rather, he is perpetually engaged in “drive” and never allows a
pattern to become routine, be it spanking the ride cymbal, jiggering
the hi-hats, swatting the toms, or spit-firing the snare. He
maintains the pulse while frequently dropping accenting pops and
crashes, seeming to never cross the same path twice, often enticing
his partners to duel, his own solos outlining melody and harmony
independent of other voices. In live performance one has the
opportunity to not only hear the shapes of his figures but to see the
artful ballet he creates—Haynes is the penultimate choreographer of
percussion.
Special moments came
nonstop throughout the weekend, but perhaps one of the most memorable
was the tune the band created on the spot. In his bantering with the
audience, Haynes noted that “It Feels Like a Dream” to be on the
bandstand at the AQ. Deciding this was a great song title, the band
took off on a joint improvisation effort yielding a joyful melody
initially shaped by Shaw’s alto conversing with Rodriguez’
plucked strings, colored by Haynes’ assorted clinks and clatters
and a deeply resonating solo from Sullivan. Shaw shifted the rhythm
to a samba-like groove, adding a bit of buzz to his vibrato that gave
the piece an edgy feel as it twirled toward resolution. It was like
watching the spontaneous combustion of the Big Bang.
Throughout the weekend the
band played at least three renditions of “Summer Night,” a
standout track on Fountain of Youth, and each time the music
seemed to crest at a higher level. Closing out the last set (before
returning for an encore), Rodriguez gave the Dubin/Warren gem a new
twist, with dissonant chords, blitzkrieg runs, and a montuno figure
that complemented Shaw’s out-of-orbit spin. Haynes, appropriately,
had the last word—or more accurately, the last volley. But the
audience refused to call it quits, a long ovation finally answered by
an even more raucous, exuberant reprise of “Doxey.”
Taking their final bows
and toasting the weekend with champagne, the three twenty-somethings
look spent; the unflagging octogenarian Roy Haynes looked relaxed and
satisfied. We were breathless.
“He
defies time, doesn’t he?” –Chick Corea
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Wednesday, 07 January 2009
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