Graham Haynes

Born in Sapporo, Japan in 1954, Yuko Fujiyama started playing piano at the age of four. But it wasn’t until a summer morning in 1980 standing on a sidewalk in New York’s East Village that she found her calling; someone was playing a Cecil Taylor tape and she was transfixed by the piano sounds. That someone was Taylor’s drummer, Jerome Cooper, and that moment opened a door for her to the abstract beauty of music. She has been “looking for musical structures” ever since. “Recently, I’ve been trying to be free from a feeling of linear time. This album, Night Wave, is the result of my long search.” Joining her in this quest are three esteemed fellow travelers in the art of improvisation: percussionist Susie Ibarra, violinist Jennifer Choi, and cornet/flugelhornist Graham Haynes: “It was a joy to play with these beautiful musicians. I appreciate Susie for her earthy but sensitive sound, Jennifer for her beautiful melodies, and Graham for his simple and rich expressions.” .

François Couperin’s period of pre-eminence falls neatly between those of Lully and Rameau, whose rising reputations have rather overshadowed his in recent years. Yet Couperin produced some splendid music: for example, the elegant Nouveaux concerts, written for chamber concerts at the French court and published in 1724 under the title Les goûts réunis (referring to their mixture of French and Italian styles). This reissue comprises eight of the ten Nouveaux concerts in accomplished period performances from 1972 and 1974. While the leisurely tempi and restrained playing now give the recording a somewhat dated air, the music largely retains its capacity to charm.

Bobby Previte - Weather Clear, Track Fast (1991) {Enja R2 79667}
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© 1991 Enja | R2 79667
Jazz / Modern Postbebop / Experimental / Modern Creative

Drummer/composer Bobby Previte takes his listening audience to the horseraces on this often stunning 1991 release. This is easily one of the most important modern jazz outings of the decade, with clarinetist Don Byron, woodwind ace Marty Ehrlich, cornetist Graham Haynes, and others of note rounding out the drummer's powerhouse septet. On pieces such as "Quinella" and "Photo Finish," the band exhibits a celebratory state of affairs via an abundance of infectious melodies and rapidly executed swing vamps.

Bob Stewart - Then And Now (1996) {Postcards POST1014}
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© 1996 Postcards | POST1014
Jazz / Post Bop / Tuba

Tuba player Bob Stewart's CD came out about the same time as Howard Johnson's Gravity release, and Stewart suffers by comparison. Bluesman Taj Mahal contributed the much too talky "Big Kneed Gal" and very tedious "Fishin' Blues." Carlos Ward's "Nubian Stomp" is at best uninspired reggae, while his street strut "Nette" barely gains headway in spite of trumpeter Graham Haynes' spirited solo.

Ed Blackwell Project - What It Is? (1993) {Enja ENJ-7089 2}
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© 1993 Enja | ENJ-7089 2
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Drums

Despite his failing health, Blackwell's skills on his drum kit were razor-sharp when he got on the bandstand for this headliner's gig at the third annual Eddie Moore Memorial Jazz Festival, recorded at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA. just two months before he passed away. Everything clicks – the band is tight, powered by the supple bass of Mark Helias, while saxophonist/flutist Carlos Ward and trumpeter Graham Haynes play inspired, almost possessed improvs and written lines, bent on giving the audience their best, and Blackwell the proper setting to weave his percussive wizardry. First up are pieces written by Ward. "'Nette," sporting a bright unison horn line, suggests Monk's angularity and Ornette Coleman's interval-leaping vision of expansion.

Arc of Testimony is one of the last recordings to feature legendary drummer Tony Williams, and its bold, experimental textures are a fitting epitaph to his career. Arcana was formed by bassist/producer Bill Laswell with the intention of exploring the outer reaches of fusion, ambient and free jazz. Like the group's debut, Last Wave (released only in Japan), Arc of the Testimony is a freewheeling, unpredictable blend of electronic and acoustic sounds. However, this record is even more adventurous, since it finds a common ground between improvisation and post-production studio trickery. All of the musicians – Williams, Laswell, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, saxophonist Byard Lancaster, cornetist Graham Haynes, guitarist Nicky Skopelitis and guitarist Buckethead .