Roy Haynes

While Roy Haynes’s first big break came in 1947, backing legendary saxophonist Lester Young, it was not until 1958’s WE THREE that his name graced the front of an LP. That’s not to understate the importance of the Boston born drummer’s steady beat in the history of jazz; with a career that eclipsed a half-century, the ground-breaking skins man sat in with much of the jazz universe, from Young to Miles Davis to Charlie Parker to Eric Dolphy. Haynes maintained a career into the 21st Century, as comfortable in swing as in the avant-garde, boasting a style and a knack for experimentation equaling that of his collaborators.