Jazz Review : Haynes Dances With Beat at Jazz Bakery

When fellow drummer Sherman Ferguson introduced Roy Haynes at the Jazz Bakery Thursday night, he described Haynes’ playing as “loose.” As it turned out, that description proved more than apt.

In a first set that ran nearly two hours, Haynes showed muscular, if sometimes erratic chops, then devoted time to discuss his career in a very informal question-and-answer session with an appreciative audience filled with a good number of his colleagues, including Billy Higgins and Albert (Tootie) Heath, and a 5-year-old just starting his career.

Scattered throughout the disjointed performance were flashes of the brilliance that marks the 69-year-old percussionist’s career. Teamed with pianist Billy Childs and bassist John Clayton, Haynes, the veteran of stints with Lester Young, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, among others, took his time warming to the task, entering hesitantly and at reserved volume as the three negotiated “Alone Together.” But it wasn’t long before the drummer began to roll and rattle, sprinkling his play with explosive, sometimes unexpected cymbal crashes.

Wearing a gray felt cowboy hat, Haynes rode roughshod over even the most reserved rhythms, galloping across the tom-toms and splashing his way around the cymbals. He worked an open sense of timekeeping, mixing spare on the beat-emphasis with dynamic passages that sometimes stood at odds with the piano and bass. Other times, his potent exchanges took the tune from one place to another in astonishingly perfect fashion.

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Haynes showed an uncanny way of suggesting the melody with his drum kit, following the piano’s lead in a way that mirrored the song’s unspoken lyric. Left alone on stage, the drummer established an insistent rumble from his bass drum before developing intricate snare and tom-tom figures with his mallets. At the close of “All Blues,” he dragged his high-hat out center stage to develop a cascade of shimmering sounds that pulled the kind of pulsing cymbal beat Jo Jones developed for the Basie band squarely into the future.

Childs’ solo spot on his “I’ve Known Rivers” was a beautifully detailed exploration, full of chance-taking runs and subtle rhythmic variations. Clayton’s solos, especially when bowed, developed in melodic fashion. But this one-night-only appearance was clearly Haynes’ moment to shine, although he did so inconsistently. “I listen to the heartbeat and then dance all around it,” he said in answer to one question. “That’s my concept.”