Fountain of Youth
Fountain of youth, indeed. The young musicians teaming with the great 79-year-old drummer Roy Haynes in his new quartet can only hope to impart the kind of energy, creative and physical, that he still beams from the bandstand. Haynes' albums of recent times haven't always succeeded in capturing his sly, explosive essence, but with spirited backing by the edgy saxophonist and bass clarinetistMarcus Strickland, pianist Martin Bejerano, and bassist John Sullivan, this live-at-Birdland offering takes its place among his most rewarding. The songs add up to a kind of partial career resume in noting some of the many geniuses he has accompanied: a biting "Green Chimneys" to recallThelonious Monk, an elegant Haynes arrangement of "Greensleeves" to channelJohn Coltrane, the rarely played "Butch and Butch" to commemorateOliver Nelson's landmarkBlues and the Abstract Truth. Signs of slowing down? Forget it. The only one trying to catch any breath is the listener. --Lloyd Sachs