Kevin Haynes grupo elegua

About Kevin Haynes grupo elegua

Band leader Kevin Haynes skilfully created a unique harmonic fusion of Jazz, Afro-Cuban melodies and Bata drums to accompany the personal voice of his Alto Sax. The band plays his original composition Reviews
Kevin Haynes/Grupo Elegua Ori Ire (Egbe Oduniyi)
Though alto saxophonist Kevin Haynes first appeared in the
bands of Phil Bent and Courtney Pine, his solo career has
been an undeservedly low key affair. This is Grupo Elegua's
Second album after a seven year gap, and it's been well
worth the wait. Steeped in the West African Yoruba religion
(which has been celebrated and practiced by musicians as
diverse as Alice Coltrane, Airto Moreira and Carlos
Santana), Haynes forges a deeply felt spiritual Afro Cuban
jazz vibe on the 8 tracks here. In Yoruba culture, Elegua is
the force which makes communication possible between
man and the divine, which makes it a pretty good name for
a band that sets out to do just that. With a trio of Bata
drummers in tow for most of the album, Grupo Elegua lay
down earthy, irresistible grooves that avoid latin jazz cliché} yet are guaranteed to set the spine twitching. Ranging from the lovely yearning Yoruba chant of the opening "Elegua" through to the delicate balladry of "Tears Rolling Down Her Face" and the closing ritual beatfest of "Medley for Babaluaye", Haynes has crafted an album rich in contrasts that's never less than cohesive. Even the use of narratives on two tracks sounds unforced, sitting within the music rather than sounding superimposed. The leader's lithe alto occasionally recalls Steve Coleman (whose own Sign and the Seal album explored roughly similar spiritual territory), but where Coleman's diamond hard rhythmic interrogations can be unforgiving over a long haul, Haynes is a more emotionally charged, communicative player. The mostly modal settings give his questing solo flights plenty of space. Pianist Bennet Mclean is both a sensitive group player and a gifted soloist (though the sound of his digital piano is a little thin); his improvisations are vibrant, percussive flashes of colour. On the superb "Egun" he provides shifting, foggy atmospherics behind a beautifully judged Haynes solo, full of trills and slurs before launching into a McCoy Tyner-esque improvisation of colourful chordal splashes and tumbling runs. Bassist Nevil Malcom provides warm, resonant lines and drummer Davide Giovanni pulls off the difficult task of injecting jazz swing over the intricate networks of bata beats. A deep, rewarding listen from a band who are probably even better heard in the flesh. Very fine indeed.
Peter Marsh BBC Jazz Review
Straight No Chaser July 2002
Kevin Haynes is the multi-talented British born percussionist/saxophonist/dancer of Trinidadian descent who has been active on the UK jazz scene for over 15 years.
For the last eight years, his major project has been Grupo Elegua, a band who fuse post-hard bop modal jazz with folkloric Afro-Cuban rhythms, in particular the rumba, but also Bata drumming used in in the Yoruban descended religion of Santeria.
This is their second album, and it is a giant leap forward - the band has never sounded more cohesive and together, now playing as one integrated unit as opposed to two sections, jazz and Afro-Cuban. Kevin Haynes has matured as a saxophonist displaying a clear, pure tone and sharp attack on the alto reminiscent of Jackie Macleans's 'Destination Out' Blue Note era. Add to this his mastery of the Bata drum, and sweet but gruff lead vocals, you have one very talented individual leading an inspiring the band. The music here is a varied selection of Rumba and Bata jazz, with modal vamps, spoken word, and even two traditional "orishas", or prayers to the Santeria gods. It's deep and spiritual music that is not standard Latin jazz, and therefore requires you to listen a little harder. But take time to do so and you'll be rewarded from start to finish with quality musicianship and compositions. Two killers are the up-tempo modal rumba/Bata jazz workouts, 'Lying in Wait' and 'Rumba Para Senegal' - check the fat bass line holding it down on the latter!
My own personal favourite is the opener 'Elegua', a traditional Bata drum and vocal number, augmented by keyboards and bass, that features Kevin on lead vocals. Beautiful soulful music that touches you the same way a Coltrane ballad or Lauren Hill and Terry Callier song does. respect to Kevin Haynes for keeping his is vision alive, and not being distracted by commercial pressures. Support the man and his group - they deserve it- and buy this cd.