Tuesday 16 July 2002
From Duke Ellington to Steve Williamson, musicians have made it a mission to connect jazz with its African roots. Latest to try is Kevin Haynes, a former dancer turned percussionist then saxophonist who has worked with Courtney Pine and Williamson. On Ori Ire (Egbe Oduniyi) his Grupo Elegua sets out to fuse Yoruba chants and percussion with Coltrane-like sax and piano. Occasionally ideas are overextended but mostly this is an absorbing exercise;the group are a sharp ensemble and Haynes 's alto has some of Coltrane's spirituality as it weaves around the bata drums.
July 7 2002
Unable to digest Steve Coleman's Afrocentric hieroglyphics or his uncompromising time signatures? If so the saxophonist Kevin Haynes represent the more accessible face of the back-to-Africa school. Born to Trinidadian parents, he was a dancer before signing up as a sideman with Courtney Pin. Nobody could miss the intensely kinetic ambience created by his regular band, Grupo Elegua. This is very much a collective unit, the drums and Tynerish piano chords ebbing and flowing around alto lines that are more incantations then solos. Like the american drummer Leon Parker, Haynes is searching for the missing link between contemporary jazz and its folk roots. Sometimes he stumbles, sometimes the trail goes cold. The journey is worth it all the same.
November 2002
Haynes made is entrance in the marketplace a few years back with Tomorrow's Path, which enabled him to pick up a following. For this new set, he has, according to the sleeves notes, further investigated the history of the Yoruba religious ceremony where Ori Ire can be interpreted as the acknowledgment of the spiritual self. Although I have never been entirely comfortable with those who choose to espouse philosophical and spiritual concerns on CD covers, some manage to harness the spiritual beliefs to their careers. Haynes is a fine alto player , possessed of a superior tone and armed with an effective rhythm section of McLean, Malcolm and Giovannini that chugs along comfortably and well within itself. this is supplemented by a battery of mysterious percussive implements, Haynes and company make me think of Fela Ransome-Kuti meeting Pharoa Sanders. "Rumba Para Senegal", with a melodic smoothness, that builds in waves allowing Haynes to construct a flowing solo while all around him the rhythm establishes a solid backdrop. However, so often Haynes sounds as if he is more concerned with the message than the music. As soon as the music is set, a combination of vocalists or narrators chip in to illustrate or disseminate the tenets of Yoruba. Consequently this own-label set contrives to be irritating and intriguing simultaneously. If you do not mind being preached at, this is quite pleasant.
August 2002
Kevin Haynes' second self-produced album with Grupo Elegua is a reflection of his spiritual as well as musical paths. Kevin Le Gendre's insert notes sketch out the background to the project, and explain that the title means 'acknowledgment of spiritual self' in the Yoruba language. The music is a powerful compound of Afro -Cuban rhythms and American jazz, with a strong flavor of Haynes Caribbean roots (his family were from Trinidad) as refracted through the diverse influences on the London scene. The title track and 'Oshun' feature spoken word narrations by Niles Hailstone and Yawande Ogunnakie respectively, while the first and last tracks incorporates vocal chants, and several cuts feature the distinctive sound of three bata drummers alongside the bass and drums of Nevil Malcolm and Davide Giovannini in an expanded rhythm section. the most ear catching instrumental contribution come fro Haynes' flowing, lyrical alto saxophone and Bennet McLean 's inventive pianism and vibrant percussive touch at the keyboard,
1 July 2002
A background in dance and percussion is never going to hurt when tackling the intricacies of traditional African rhythm, so it isn't surprising that Kevin Haynes -former dancer and Courtney Pine sideman turned alto saxophonist and Yoruba enthusiast- has produced a richly intriguing new album. Mixing words that reflects the myths and beliefs of the Nigerian Yoruba tribe with trickles of jazz piano and sax with the intense, insistent rhythm of the bata (a Yoruba drum), Grupo Elegua offers a vivacious, original take on Afro-Caribbean musical influences. Rumba para Senegal, with its Cubano feel, (Cuba is a Yoruba stronghold), is a particularly sophisticated blend of old, new and excitingly outlandish.
8 July 2002
Saxophonist Kevin Haynes's second album with Grupo Elegua is a reflection of his spiritual as well as musical paths. The title means "acknowledgment of the spiritual self" in the Yoruba language and the music is a powerful compound of Afro-Cuban rhythms and American jazz, with a strong flavor of Haynes' roots in the Caribbean and the influences he has absorbed growing up in London. Haynes's flowing alto saxophone and Bennet McLean's inventive pianism make the biggest impression.
The Information supplement 6-12 July
There is something folk-loric about Kevin Hayes and his band, Grupo Elegua. Combining Afro-Cuban rhythms with Coltrane-style jazz the saxophonist and his colleagues produced a series of arresting tunes on the album Ori Ire, out on Egbe Oduniyi. They launch it at Ocean on Wednesday.