John Hicks is heard with his working trio on what is likely his final recording, made two months to the day prior to his unexpected death. With bassist Buster Williams and drummer Louis Hayes, also seasoned veterans and bandleaders themselves, the set list for this well-recorded studio session is a hard bop lover's feast, drawing from both familiar and less frequently heard repertoire. Hicks throws quite a few curves into Gigi Gryce's "Minority" by tossing in a few vamps then getting right to business with improvising rather than bothering to offer a chorus of its theme, with Williams' fleet bassline and Hayes' brushwork powering him in full flight. The leader's sole original is a salute to Cedar Walton, an upbeat piece called "As Birds Fly (Walton's Mountain)" in which the musicians easily scale its heights. The bassist contributed two originals, including the lush, somewhat moody "Strivers Jewels" and the delicate tribute to his then-young niece "Christina." Hayes is an asset throughout the recording, particularly standing out in the powerful interpretation of Dexter Gordon's "Cheesecake".

There aren’t many living and active drummers that can be labeled “legendary”, but Louis Hayes is definitely one of them, having played with Horace Silver, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley and Oscar Peterson just to name a few. This latest album from the 86 year old vet is comfort food for the jazz soul, with a team of Abraham Burton/ts, Steve Nelson/vib, David Hazeltine/p and Dezron Douglas/b mixing together jazz standards with a couple originals.
Of the former, Hayes’ own title tune is an upbeat charmer featuring Burton’s beefy tenor, while “Carmine’s Bridge” is an easy bopper with composer Hazeltine swinging with style. Hayes uses his mallets with the cymbals to lead into Nelson’s gentle vibes on “Is That SO” while his high hat pops on the bopping “Mellow D” and percolating “Ugetsu”…

True Blue is led in title under the auspices of Dexter Gordon as a welcome home party conducted by Don Schlitten for the expatriate tenor saxophonist in 1976. Essentially a jam session, this very talented septet features a two tenor-two trumpet front line, utilized to emphasize the soloing strength of the horns, not necessarily in joyous shouts or big-band like unison outbursts. The real star here is Barry Harris, and if you listen closely to his comping behind the soloist or his many colorful chords and single-line runs, you realize how brilliant he continued to be in his prime during this beyond-bebop time frame. The distinctly different, legato flavored sound of Al Cohn contrasts nicely to the broader range and richer tones of Gordon, while Blue Mitchell's warm West Coast trumpet phrasings also run aside but a little behind the animated and clipped brassy sounds of Sam Noto, a player deserving much wider recognition, and playing to the hilt on this recording. The session kicks off with the classic superimposed melodies of "Lady Bird" and "Half Nelson," with melodies split between the trumpet and tenor tandems.

In 1997, Blue Moon released Blues Bag/Louis Hayes, which contained two albums on one compact disc - Blues Bag, a 1965 disc originally released on Vee Jay by Buddy DeFranco), and Louis Hayes, a 1960 record also originally on Vee Jay) by Louis Hayes and his quintet.
Blues Bag (1965). For this unusual set clarinetist Buddy DeFranco is exclusively heard on bass clarinet while joined by drummer Art Blakey and an interesting group of players, some of who were with Blakey's Jazz Messengers at the time. DeFranco, Blakey, pianist Victor Feldman, and bassist Victor Sproles are featured as a quartet on four numbers while the other three songs add trombonist Curtis Fuller and either Lee Morgan or Freddie Hill on trumpet…