Legendary Jazz Drummer Roy Haynes Dead at 99 After “Brief Illness”

Legendary jazz drummer Roy Haynes passed away yesterday (November 12) at the age of 99. He was a major force in the genre, helping to drive each new era with more than sixty years behind the kit. More than a drummer, Haynes was a bandleader, an inspiration, and an innovator.

According to the New York Times, his daughter Leslie Haynes-Gilmore confirmed his death. She stated that the jazz legend died in Nassau County on the South Shore of Long Island after a “brief illness.” However, she did not specify if he spent his final moments at home or in a hospital.

Nicknamed Snap Crackle in the ‘50s for his unique style, Haynes was one of the most highly regarded and widely recorded drummers in music history. His career began in his hometown of Boston in the mid-‘40s. He worked with the likes of Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Stan Getz, and Sarah Vaughn in the first decade of his professional career.

Roy Haynes Left His Fingerprints on Jazz

Roy Haynes was one of the most recorded drummers in jazz history. As a result, he found himself in recording sessions with some of the biggest names in the genre that became legendary albums. For instance, he played on Eric Dolphy’s Outward Bound, Chick Corea’s Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, Stan Getz’s Focus, and Oliver Nelson’s The Blues and the Abstract Truth to name a few.

Haynes also recorded with the likes of Art Blakey, Ray Charles, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis. However, he never appeared on a Duke Ellington album. The legend offered Haynes a spot in his band in the early ‘50s but he turned it down. He worried that Ellington’s band’s traditional style would limit his drumming.

Haynes did not spend his entire career as a sideman, though. He was also a prolific bandleader who released several albums. His first, Busman’s Holiday dropped in 1954.

He earned eight Grammy nominations over the course of his long career and took home two trophies from the Recording Academy.

“Some musicians play the same songs the same way every night. That’s impossible for me. My fundamental style may not really be different but there have been so many things added,” he once said, explaining what made him stand out from other drummers.

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