Jazz drummer Roy Haynes dies at 99

by William Schomberg

November 13 – Roy Haynes, revered as one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, who helped shape the bebop era and played with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, has died at the age of 99.

According to reports in the US media, Haynes’ death was announced by his daughter on Tuesday.

Born in Boston in 1925, Haynes began playing drums as a child.

“I always wanted to be a drummer,” he said in a 2008 interview with the website JazzWax. “My brother had drumsticks around the house, and they were the first drumsticks I ever held in my hands. The emotion and rhythm was always there, as long as I can remember.”

His career began in swing bands, and shortly after moving to New York in 1945, he worked for Louis Armstrong and began studying with saxophonist Lester Young.

After touring with singer Sarah Vaughan in the 1950s, Coltrane, who calls himself “one of the best drummers I’ve ever worked with”, played with Stan Getz and Eric Dolphy, and formed his own band in the late 1960s.

Haynes, whose nickname “Snap Crackle” reflected his energetic playing style, stood out among drummers for his flexible approach to tempo that influenced artists such as Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette.

His voice was used as the host of a jazz radio station in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, and he performed an annual show to celebrate birthdays at the Blue Note club in New York until his 90s.

Haynes’ death comes shortly after saxophonist Lou Donaldson, another prominent US jazz artist who cut his teeth in the bebop era, died on Saturday at the age of 98.

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