Believe it or not, the World Cup isn’t the only game in town right now. For jazz fans, the best action next Tuesday and Wednesday won’t be at a watch party or on the pitch at Seattle Stadium. Instead, it will be at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, where legendary drummer Louis Hayes brings his quintet to town for a fast-moving, two-night stand.

Hayes stepped into the jazz spotlight at 18, holding down the groove on Horace Silver’s definitive 1956 album Six Pieces of Silver. He followed that debut with six years driving the Cannonball Adderley Quintet through its most celebrated period, eventually moving on to anchor Oscar Peterson’s trio before leading his own bands in the late 60s. 

If you flip through the “go-to” jazz records from the late fifties or sixties, Hayes’ name is probably on the back cover. He has some serious cred, sitting behind the drums for some of the biggest names in the business, including John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, and Wes Montgomery, just to name a few.

Seattle Return

For this Seattle run, Hayes brings with him the core group of musicians he has shared the stage with for more than a decade. Saxophonist Abraham Burton leads the frontline with a post-bop intensity, balanced by the relaxed vibe work of Steve Nelson. The rhythm section pairs pianist David Hazeltine with bassist Dezron Douglas.

This run marks a long-overdue return to the club, as Hayes hasn’t played Jazz Alley since a 2015 stint with his Cannonball Legacy Band. Hayes was originally on the books to play here in late 2023, but that holiday run was ultimately called off. It was that same year, 2023, that Hayes received the nation’s highest jazz honor: the NEA Jazz Master award. Appropriately, the tight lineup you’ll hear next week features the exact same musicians who performed live at his Kennedy Center induction ceremony.

Local music students will get a rare opportunity when Hayes stops by the Seattle Jazz Academy for a private afternoon drum masterclass. But if you’re not an SJA student or faculty member, your destination is Jazz Alley. Hayes and his band hit the stage next Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 PM, with doors opening at 6:00 PM.