John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Oscar Peterson, Horace Silver, Yusef Lateef, and Wes Montgomery; what do all of these jazz giants have in common? Legendary drummer Louis Hayes recorded/performed with all of them during his illustrious eight-decade-long (and counting) career!
Louis Sedell Hayes was born May 31, 1937 in Detroit Michigan. At age 10 he received his first drumkit, with his cousin, Clarence Stamps, being integral in his early development.
Hayes with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet, Sep. 1961
Mentoring sessions with “Papa” Jo Jones and cutting his teeth in the rife 1950’s Detroit jazz scene (Yusef Lateef, Kenny Burrell) all led to the then 18-year-old Hayes’s eventual move to New York.
It was here that he replaced Art Taylor in the Horace Silver Quintet (1956-1959), joined the Cannonball Adderley Quintet (1959-1965), and came and went in the Oscar Peterson Trio. All the while, Hayes performed on many a jazz classic, from Coltrane’s “Lush Life” to McLean’s “A Long Drink of the Blues,” as well as non-jazz albums from Ravi Shankar and John Lee Hooker.
He has lead/co-lead many iterations of his own band since 1972 and received the prestigious NEA Jazz Master award in 2023.
Hayes with the Oscar Peterson Trio circa 1971
The 86-year-old legend will now be performing in Greenville with his quartet including Kevin Bales (piano), Mace Hibbard (saxophone), and Shannon Hoover (bass) at the 105th Wheel Session on Thursday, February 22nd. Get your tickets HERE!
