GUEST SPOT #56 - Roy Haynes And The Fountain Of Youth Band

It's Monday, and it's guest spot day again. We welcome back Emma who gives us this excellent review of a gig at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 18th November 2011

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Now I know where Bill Crosby got his dance moves from…the legendary Mr. Roy Haynes. Regarded as one of the jazz drumming greats, Roy Haynes came on stage tap dancing at 86 years old, every bit the 5’2” kid with a streak of mischief in his eye!!
The crowd had been wooed with the likes of Peter King and his Quartet (Steve Melling, Marc Fletcher and Jeff Gascoyne) playing fluid tracks such as Lush Life, B’s Groove and Joshua, but they still weren’t ready for Roy!

His introduction on the stage was even marked with a note from Charlie Watts (of The Rolling Stones) apologising for his absence. Apparently he sent Roy a bouquet of red roses, so we knew we were in the presence of sheer talent! I must admit I felt I was in the presence of a timeless man, timeless for the fact he didn’t look 86 nor did he play like an 86 year old. Timeless as time didn’t have any constraints on his music. Roy could take on time and lose it in melody and rapture, weaving rhythms with effortless ease. Switching between sticks I was hypnotised forgetting to focus on his drumming technique but getting carried away in the sheer buzz and rhythm from Roy and his American band (Martin Bejerano on piano, David Wong on double bass and Jaleel Shaw on saxophone).

Noted as a band leader as well as a “hard swinging” drummer Roy would randomly get up and work the band, beating his sticks and playing with the crowd. He knew he had us and we didn’t know what to expect! Rolling in track after track eventually the gig came to a stand still and we were all left wanting more! The audience immediately jumped up as Roy left the stage, we had sampled his magic music and we wanted more! In true Boston style Roy came back and toasted to our good health, everyone had forgotten the legend was a little older than he looked. When I left the hall I felt truly blessed to have seen such pure talent perfected with age yet still youthful in spirit, truly Roys’ Fountain of Youth with waves of sound.

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