Louis Hayes, Artform Revisited Review

Artform Revisited: Louis Hayes’ Expressions in Jazz Interplay

by Nolan DeBuke

In Artform Revisited, drummer Louis Hayes offers eight arrangements and two originals focusing on the hard-bop and bebop styles. This is an album where history is expressed through an ensemble where playing is as much about listening as it is about playing. Hayes, whose career has spanned over seven decades, leads a group of excellent musicians as he conducts a dialogue, a conversation that captures today’s musicians expressing themselves in the very jazz language he helped refine.

From the first song, “Tour de Force,” it’s clear that Artform Revisited is about more than individual solos; it’s about the synergy between players. Hayes is the gravitational force holding it all together, his drumming propelling the ensemble with buoyant swing and perfectly timed fills. His sizzle cymbal underpins Steve Nelson’s vibraphone, offering a crisp pulse while also leaving space for Nelson to weave his melodic and rhythmic ideas.

There’s an especially remarkable moment during Abraham Burton’s fluid bebop saxophone solo, where Hayes’ interaction provides energy to build the saxophone solo while punctuating Burton’s phrasing. By the time we reach David Hazeltine’s piano solo, Hayes’ accents on the snare add just the right amount of commentary, accentuating key phrases without ever overwhelming the harmonic foundation laid by Hazeltine and bassist Dezron Douglas. During Douglas’ solo, in which he keeps the walking quarter-note as his expression, Douglas and Hayes show the beauty of the forward motion and rhythmic grounding, epitomizing the straight-ahead bebop style.

With Steve Nelson’s performance on “A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing,” we see the vibraphone at its most intimate. Nelson and Hayes open with a duet, allowing Nelson’s shimmering tones to float atop Hayes’ delicate brushwork. The vibraphone’s resonance adds an ethereal quality to the tune, and Nelson’s harmonic choices deepen the expressive impact of Billy Strayhorn’s melody. The arrangement expands as Hazeltine and Douglas join, but Nelson’s solo remains the heart of the piece, building tension and release in waves that mirror Hayes’ rhythmic dynamics.

While hard bop is often thought of as an exuberant, driving force, Artform Revisited reminds us of the emotive nuance the genre can offer. “You’re Looking at Me,” a Bobby Troup standard, sees Burton’s tenor saxophone bring a lyrical expressiveness that’s almost vocal in its phrasing. His tone is warm and inviting, and when paired with Hazeltine’s elegant piano solo—filled with double-time phrases and smooth transitions—the track reveals layers of tenderness.

Hayes’ brushwork is steady throughout, offering just enough color without stealing focus from the soloists. As the song progresses, Hayes switches to sticks for the final coda, a subtle but powerful shift that mirrors Burton’s ascent to the saxophone’s upper register. It’s these small moments—Hayes’ intuitive feel for when to change texture—that give the album its expressive power.

Part of Hayes’ brilliance on this album lies in his ability to refresh bebop standards without losing their spirit. “Cheryl,” a Charlie Parker composition, is played with all the energy of bebop but carries a modern edge, especially in Burton’s solo. Burton alternates between bebop’s rapid-fire phrasing and bluesy, expressive lines, while Nelson takes a more intervallic approach to sections of his solo, adding a contemporary flavor to a classic framework.

In “Ray’s Idea,” the ensemble demonstrates its skill in navigating the well-known rhythm changes harmonies with a modern sensibility. Nelson’s vibraphone work here is particularly striking as he colors the bebop language in surprising intervals, blending past and present with ease. Hazeltine’s piano solo, marrying pentatonic figures to traditional bebop structures, grounds the piece in both eras at once.

Though the album is filled with classic compositions, Hayes’ originals—”Ruby” and “G”—offer the most precise insight into his musical mind. “Ruby,” in particular, showcases Hayes’ compositional strength with a flowing melody that feels rooted in the bebop tradition, crafting a melody through standard chord changes but carrying rhythmic figures that are unmistakably his own. The ensemble molds itself around Hayes’ vision, accenting key rhythmic figures while maintaining the fluidity of the tune.

“G” is a more straightforward affair, allowing the ensemble to explore a blues shuffle with a hard-swinging attitude. This track feels like an homage to Hayes’ deep understanding of the bebop idiom; there’s a freshness in how the players interact. It’s a fitting close to the album, bringing together all the elements of swing, harmonic sophistication, and ensemble dialogue that define Artform Revisited.

Artform Revisited is a lesson in how to lead an ensemble without overpowering it, an expression in real-time communication between players. Louis Hayes’ command of rhythm and his ability to elevate those around him make this album a solid addition to his discography. Whether reinterpreting bebop classics or presenting his original compositions, Hayes proves that he is a keeper of the jazz flame and a visionary who continues to push the music forward to future generations.