Louis Hayes

Drummer Louis Hayes is a hard bop stylist best known for supporting soloists to the tune of 800 recording credits. Over a seven-plus-decade career, he has been ranked alongside Art Blakey as a superior, swinging stylist. He has been both a leader and a sideman (some of his employers included Horace Silver, Yusef Lateef, Cannonball Adderley, and John Coltrane). His eponymous debut was released by Vee-Jay in 1960, but he didn't lead again until 1974's Breath of Life. 1978's The Real Thing showcased trumpeter Woody Shaw and 1979's Variety Is the Spice of Life highlighted saxophonist Frank Strozier. Between 1989 and 1996, he released The Crawl (1989), Una Max (1990), Nightfall (1991), and Blue Lou (1993). In 2006 he released Maximum Firepower, his Savant debut and tribute to Adderley. In 2017 he issued Serenade for Horace on Blue Note. He returned to Savant for 2021's Crisis, 2023's Exactly Right!, and 2024's Artform Revisited.