Kevin Hays

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Review:

This is the one hundred and sixty-seventh in a series of special Jazz on the Tube reviews of live stream performances.

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Kevin Hays started playing piano when he was six, becoming interested in jazz as a teenager, having lessons with Lou Stein.

Hays worked with Nick Brignola, briefly attended the Manhattan School of Music and was recording as a leader by 1990; he has since led more than 20 other albums.

Hays gained experience working with Bob Belden, the Harper Brothers, Steve Wilson, Benny Golson, Joshua Redman, Seamus Blake, Eddie Henderson, and Sonny Rollins (1995), leading a trio with bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Bill Stewart for 15 years, and the New Day trio with bassist Rob Jost and drummer Greg Joseph.

Kevin Hays mixes together his piano playing with an occasional tasteful use of electronics during his May 29, 2020 LiveStream, improvising on adventurous renditions of Wayne Shorter’s “El Gaucho,” the Beatles’ “And I Love Her,” “Summertime,” a boppish Charlie Parker blues, “Alone Together” and a few other pieces, creating melodic yet unpredictable music that is often a bit cinematic, showing why he is rated so high in the modern jazz world.

– Scott Yanow