Kevin Hays

Jazz Pianist and composer Kevin Hays has now recorded nearly a dozen CD's as a leader including 3 critically acclaimed recordings for Blue Note Records : His 'Seventh Sense' CD was recognized as one of the 'Top 40 Jazz Releases of the Year' by Musician Magazine and praised by The New York Times. His trio recording for that label which featured Jazz legends Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette was awarded 4 stars in DownBeat Magazine. Over the past 10 years, Kevin has performed extensively with his Trio which includes bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Bill Stewart. He also records and tours frequently with his group Sangha Quartet, which features tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake. The last 3 years have been productive ones for Hays. His recent recording activity includes the Solo Piano CD 'Open Range' released on the ACT label, the launching of PinonDisk Records, his own label on which he has released his Trio recording 'What Survives' which, along with his own compositions, features arrangements of classical works by Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann and Anton Webern. 2006 saw the release of a new Trio CD devoted to Jazz Standards and The American Songbook, 'For Heaven's Sake' received the prestigious Coups de Coeur Award in France, was chosen as ‘The Best of 2006’ by The New Yorker Magazine and was awarded Four Stars in JAZZMAN Magazine. His 2007 release, 'The Dreamer' for the groundbreaking and Grammy Winning web-based company, ArtistShare, is his most adventurous recording to date, and features a new set of Jazz compositions and songs including Vocal performances by the pianist; yet another facet of this ever-inventive and prolific musician.