American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer, Roy Haynes, is dead. The drummer’s daughter, Leslie Haynes-Gilmore revealed that Haynes died on Tuesday after a brief illness in Nassau County, New York. He was 99 years old. Haynes was born in March 1925 and grew up in the Roxbury neighbourhood of Boston, Massachusetts.
He began his musical career in the 1940s and became a full-time professional drummer in 1945. In a career spanning over seven decades, Haynes played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, and avant-garde jazz. He also performed with saxophonist Lester Young and worked as part of Charlie Parker’s quintet from 1949 to 1952.
Haynes received several awards and accolades for his works. In 1988, he secured his first Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance for his work with Chick Corea.
The veteran also won two Grammy awards from his eight nominations. In 2012, the Grammys gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2019, the Jazz Foundation of America also honoured him with another Lifetime Achievement Award.
Haynes’ other awards included the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government in 1996, and honorary doctorates from both the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory.
Haynes was married to Jesse Lee Nevels Haynes who died in 1979, the union had three children.
