* En anglais uniquement
The son of drummer
Roy Haynes,
Graham Haynes grew up around jazz musicians; his Hollis, Queens, neighborhood was also home to
Roy Eldridge,
Milt Jackson, and
Jaki Byard. The younger
Haynes played in the same high-school band as bassist
Marcus Miller. In 1982, he began an association with saxophonist
Steve Coleman; he played on the latter's 1985 debut recording, Motherland Pulse, an album that also featured a young
Geri Allen.
Haynes' work occasionally hints at an experimental nature, but too often he's apt to place his
Miles-ian cornet in static, synthesized funk-oriented contexts that do not enhance or augment the essential lyricism of his work.
Haynes is obviously attracted to various world music traditions on records like 1994's
The Griot's Footsteps. ~ Chris Kelsey