Kevin Hays

Recognized globally for his award-winning piano artistry, Kevin Hays maintains an international profile as a performer whose approach remains rooted in post-bop and modern jazz. Active as a sought-after sideman and bandleader since arriving on the New York scene in the late 1980s, he has appeared alongside Chris Potter, Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, Sonny Rollins, and numerous other prominent figures. Leading his own ensembles, he has documented refined trio and sextet sessions such as the 1995 album Go Round, 2003’s Fear of Roaming, and North from 2016. In 2018 he also performed as a member of Steve Gadd’s Grammy-winning group.

Hays entered the world in 1968 in New York and spent his childhood in Greenwich, Connecticut, where his father first placed him at the piano at age six. Although rock and pop initially drew his ear, jazz claimed greater attention during his teenage years. He began accepting gigs while still enrolled in high school and sharpened his technique through private study with Lou Stein as well as attendance at the Interlochen Music Camp. Following graduation he completed one year at the Manhattan School of Music while playing in Nick Brignola’s band, then left school to devote himself entirely to performing. His first recording as a leader, El Matador, appeared in 1990 and featured saxophonist Steve Wilson, bassist Scott Colley, drummer Bill Stewart, and guest Joe Henderson. He continued with several SteepleChase releases, among them 1992’s Ugly Beauty, Crossroad in 1993, and Sweet Ear the following year.

Mid-decade he joined the Blue Note roster and issued a series of well-received albums that began with 1994’s 7th Sense, recorded with saxophonist Seamus Blake, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, bassist Doug Weiss, and drummer Brian Blade. The sextet project Go Round followed a year later, succeeded in 1996 by the trio date Andalucia, which paired Hays with Miles Davis alumni bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Throughout the 1990s he also collaborated with Bob Belden, the Harper Brothers, Joshua Redman, and Sonny Rollins.

During the 2000s Hays formed a longstanding trio alongside drummer Bill Stewart and bassist Doug Weiss. The group produced several albums, including 2001’s What Survives, For Heaven’s Sake in 2005, and You’ve Got a Friend released in 2009. The same rhythm section joined Seamus Blake in the Sangha Quartet for the 2003 recording Fear of Roaming. Hays further explored duo formats with pianist Brad Mehldau and participated in saxophonist Tim Ries’s cross-pollinated Saffron quintet. In 2011 he issued the solo piano album Variations, presenting his interpretations of classical composer Robert Schumann’s music.

New Day appeared in 2015, documenting the trio completed by bassist Rob Jost and drummer Greg Joseph. Developed during the ensemble’s two-year residency at New York’s 55 Bar, the album also marked Hays’s first recorded vocals. The group returned the next year with North. Shortly afterward Hays joined drummer Steve Gadd for the 2018 release Steve Gadd Band, which received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. The year 2019 proved equally active: he recorded the duo album Hope with Beninese guitarist Lionel Lueke and collaborated with Italian vocalist Chiara Izzi on Across the Sea. He additionally introduced a new trio featuring saxophonist Mark Turner and drummer Marc Miralta on Where Are You.