More about Roy Haynes, a true living legend

Calvin Wilson asks the drummer Roy Haynes about the famous photo showing Haynes together with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus in the year 1953 ( Saint Louis Today ). The band was together just for that one engagement at New York's club Open Door, Haynes remembers. He had always been interested in percussion; as a child he used to beat on everything in the house. Wilson asks why he plays current numbers among the standards in his repertoire, and Haynes responds, "I'm old school - with a hip attitude." He had already checked out Pat Metheny when Pat was still studying in Boston, but was surprised to find that Metheny had checked him out as well. It feels pretty good to be able to play at his age and to know at the same time that he is probably one of the few living musicians who used to perform with Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker and Sarah Vaughan.