Kevin Hays was already comfortable in the big leagues by the time he recorded
Andalucia, his third album for Blue Note. But the fact that this outing featured the young pianist in a trio setting with bassist
Ron Carter and drummer
Jack DeJohnette turned heads nonetheless.
Hays more than holds his own in the company of these two giants, and he's not a chops player, so his strong showing is all the more impressive. His rhythmic and harmonic ingenuity generates well-paced excitement throughout the set. Half the tunes are non-originals, and they include the standard "That's All,"
Ernesto Lecuona's "Andalucia (The Breeze and I),"
Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma," and
Ron Carter's "Einbahnstrasse." There's also an inventive reworking of
the Beatles' "And I Love Her." But the five originals do more to reveal the full depth of
Hays' musicality. "Agua," a driving boogaloo tune, kicks off the record. The other four are clustered consecutively in the middle of the program: first the calmly flowing "Mind," then the swinging
Chick Corea tribute "Chickory Stick," the amorphous
Billy Hart tribute "Hart," and the vigorous abstraction "Break." No matter what he's playing,
Hays' soulful, uncluttered, unassuming style sets him apart among talented young jazz pianists. ~ David R. Adler