At Onkel Pö's Carnegie Hall, Hamburg 1976 (Remastered) (Live) Louis Hayes & Junior Cook Quintet

• 1All the Things You Are (Live)22:46
• 2When Sunny Get's Blue (Live)12:34
• 3Moontrane (Live)19:09
• 4Pannonica (Live)11:29
• 5Ichi-Ban (Live)18:20
• 6Moment to Moment (Live)17:36
• 7Four for Nothing (Live)13:06
• Total Runtime01:55:00

Info for At Onkel Pö's Carnegie Hall, Hamburg 1976 (Remastered) (Live)

Songs for the Father: When he turned 80 himself, the drummer Louis Hayes once - and with renewed enthusiasm - remembered the master of jazz, to whom he himself owed so much: the pianist, composer and style-forming bandleader Horace Silver, who had passed away three years earlier and who had spent the last years of his life gravely ill. However, another six decades earlier, the very same Horace Silver, who back then had just started his own band after leaving Art Blakey’s “Jazz Messengers”-school, asked a not-yet 20-year old guy from Detroit, who had gained his first experiences side-by-side with saxophonist Yusef Lateef, to join his ensemble. For the following three years Louis Sedell Hayes was the drummer in Silver’s quartet; and although he soon moved on to join Cannonball Adderley’s band and later Oscar Peterson’s trio, his time with Horace Silver has influenced him for the rest of his long jazz-life.

This could also be felt in March 1976 at the concert given by the quintet, whose leader Louis Hayes was, at “Onkel Pö’s Carnegie Hall” in Hamburg-Eppendorf; and this even without any compositions by Silver on the playlist of the evening. Silver was there: also because Woody Shaw had been influenced by him, too. The trumpeter turned 32 in the year this recording was made and was already on track for a career, which would make him one of the most important representatives of contemporary jazz (silenced way too early!). Shaw died in 1989, not even 45 years old. Already almost completely blind, he lost an arm in a subway-accident. Shortly afterwards his body just gave up. Recordings of Shaw together with his own ensemble are among the highlights of the “Onkel Pö”-series and more will follow soon. Shaw is exemplary for the musician at the crossroad between tradition on the one side and change on the other. He was able to perform freely but still keep a close attachment to the masters who had influenced and formed him. Until today he is one of the great forbears and casts a long shadow on young musicians, who again and again explore the narrow path which separates tradition and progress.

Who performed alongside Shaw that evening at “Onkel Pö” under the benevolent leadership of Louis Hayes? The saxophonist Junior Cook, ten years Shaw’s senior, was also influenced (or received his finishing touch) by his close cooperation with the exceptional jazz-stylist Horace Silver. Cook was a member of Silver’s band until the mid-1960s, after having performed with Dizzy Gillespie before. Afterwards he moved on to Blue Mitchell and countless others; in the mid-1970s he was available to join a quintet newly formed by the former Silver-partners Hayes and Shaw. The very same ensemble also recorded “Ichi-ban”, a composition by Hayes with Japanese motives, which also formed part of the playlist at “Onkel Pö”. Bassist Stafford James, born in 1946 and the youngest member of the quintet performing at the “Onkel Pö” that evening,

continued to perform regularly together with Woody Shaw later on, e.g. also at the 1982 visit to “Onkel Pö”; just like pianist Ronnie Matthews, James was also a graduate of the most important hands-on jazz-academy ever, the “Jazz Messengers” ensemble of Art Blakey. Matthews passed away in 2008 at the age of only 53. Cook had already died aged 58 in 1992, after a life of teaching and performing with his own ensemble and the big-band formed by McCoy Tyner.

It is certainly not self-evident that a person like Louis Hayes turns 80 in good health and is still full of creative energy (as his homage to Horace Silver from 2017 proves). The veteran from Detroit shows some qualities that are beneficial for his long-term wellbeing. For instance, he is an expert in conserving his energy; Louis Hayes is certainly no showman behind drums and cymbals. He is never ostentatious but knows precisely when his input is needed, not only to enrich the overall sound of the ensemble but to decisively shape it. He also has the ability to wait in the wings, even if it takes a while – remember, the “Onkel Pö” recording dates back to a very relaxed period, when soloists regularly took quite some time to perform individual pieces. Sometimes one track could last for half the concert.

This is one of the reasons why the current recording is presented as a double-CD. Quite often it was Harriett, the legendary ruler over bar and beer tap at the old “Onkel Pö”, who had the final say when it came to deciding when to stop the show, by calling last orders – especially when (as was the case on the evening in question) the musicians themselves would have gone on ‘forever’. Many in the audience would have probably preferred to continue listening to this well-matched quintet for the rest of the night. The artists would certainly also have honoured Horace Silver – with Silver’s very own “Song for my father”. But Silver was present all along: as a guiding spirit. - Michael Laages

Woody Shaw, trumpet

Junior Cook, tenor saxophone

Ronnie Mathews, piano

Stafford James, double bass

Louis Hayes, drums

Recorded March 11, 1976 at Onkel Pö´s Carnegie Hall, Hamburg, Germany
Recorded by NDR Hamburg
Recording Produced by Michael Naura

Digitally remastered

Louis Sedell Hayes
was born May 31, 1937 in Detroit Michigan. He was always surrounded by music, actually first starting with the piano, before his father gave him a set of drums at age 10. A cousin noticed his talent, took him under his wing and made sure that his approach to the instrument would serve him well. And well it did, for after developing his skills in the fertile musical ground of Detroit in the 1950's with the likes of Yusef Lateef, Kenny Burrell, Doug Watkins and others, Louis found himself at the tender age of 18 in New York as a member of the great Horace Silver Quintet. His first recording with Horace, the classic Six Pieces Of Silver would introduce him to the jazz world as a new force to be acknowledged. Louis Hayes with Oscar Peterson and Sam Jones

...during which time he and bassist Sam Jones became known as the "dynamic duo", recognized as the most powerful rhythm duo in jazz. Louis continued to enhance his reputation with Horace from 1956 until 1959 when he joined Cannonball Adderley where he propelled the quintet to joyous musical heights and timeless recordings through 1965. He joined piano master Oscar Peterson from 1965-67 during which time he and bassist Sam Jones became known as the "dynamic duo", recognized as the most powerful rhythm duo in jazz. Louis would rejoin Oscar in 1971 for a year.

For the next decade or more he became leader or co-leader of a series of electrifying groups which included musicians such as Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Barron, Junior Cooke, Woody Shaw and Dexter Gordon. Louis also spent several years touring with McCoy Tyner. The Louis Hayes Group with Herald Mabern and Frank Strozier culminated four years of artistry with the album; Variety Is The Spice which received five stars, truly an accomplishment during a period when his style of hard driving, "bebop" was less preferred. He continuously traveled throughout the United States, Europe and Japan making musical history wherever he performed.

...he became leader or co-leader of a series of electrifying groups... Louis has played and recorded with jazz greats such as John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, J J Johnson, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Wes Montgomery, Joe Henderson, Cedar Walton, George Benson as well as Ravi Shankar, John Lee Hooker and others.

Recent engagements of note would include The Kennedy Center for the Arts, The JVC Jazz Festival, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and the Chivas Jazz Festival in Brazil.

His current endeavors primarily involve the leadership of The Cannonball Legacy Band, which pays tribute to the gifted art form of that heritage and The Jazz Communicators which is Louis' desire to continue bringing exciting musical alternatives to audiences around the world.

This album contains no booklet.