Kevin Hays, Ben Street & Billy Hart – Bridges (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 43:23 minutes | 876 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Smoke Sessions
Pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Ben Street, and drummer Billy Hart reconvene their collective trio for a second release, but unlike their first live album recorded in the heart of the pandemic, BRIDGES was recorded in the cozy confines of the recording studio. They lose none of the chemistry and magic so apparent on the previous record in this setting but add to it significantly with the closeness and camaraderie possible now without masks and distancing. There is an unusual warmth to this music, to this album of rich harmonies and subtle ensemble interaction by three modern masters, that distinguishes it as subtly unusual and exceptional.
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Kevin Hays – North (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:02:15 minutes | 1,14 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sunnyside
Having lived in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem for five years, pianist Kevin Hays couldn’t escape the vibrations of the historic neighborhood. He was reminded of the deep musical history of Harlem when he photographed a wall that was uncovered in the midst of the City’s continuous redevelopment. The wall was festooned with concert posters from decades past, an image Hays interpolated for the cover of his new recording, North.
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Kevin Hays – Hope (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 54:33 minutes | 979 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Edition Records
Tension in music often leads to some of the most rewarding recordings and performances – when there’s cross-talk around who should take the lead, when someone is pushing and someone else is pulling, when the band isn’t resting in the beat but subjugating it. Duke Ellington’s great 1962 trio recording, Money Jungle, featuring Max Roach and Charles Mingus, was famously tense. You can hear it in the way Roach and Mingus are constantly snapping at each other, but their respect for Ellington takes precedence and leads to one of the finest trio records ever made.
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