Chasing the Masters: First Takes of a Modern Drumming Artist Hardcover – September 25, 2023

Phil Haynes’ 85+ albums on American and European record labels include collaborations with jazz greats Dave Liebman, Anthony Braxton, Paul Smoker, and Drew Gress. Critics have compared his drumming to masters Jack DeJohnette, Roy Haynes, and Elvin Jones, and his diverse compositions to Ellington, Ives, and Mingus.Here, Haynes offers up his reflections on a half-century of musical life: stories from onstage and backstage, letters, lyrics, poetry, reviews, thought-provoking quotes, illuminating audio tracks, and above all insights on what it means to live a life in the contemporary jazz tradition. Arrives complete with QR codes for hours of companion listening.Holiday gift perfection for all those who love the arts - jazzy, academic, or not.. . . Chasing The Masters does more than tell the life story of an adventurous and endlessly curious jazzdrummer; it details the struggles and exhilarations of a life in music, the eccentricities bred by the singulardemands of the arts and the road, the alchemical surprises (and occasional shocks) of a lifelongexperimentation in sound. The narrative swings from autobiography to exuberant musical analysis,anecdotes to poetry to illuminating life lessons. Like Haynes’ music, it’s a memoir that acknowledgestradition while finding its own form and path, a book that defies expectation."This Deeply personal book should be on the shelf at every school . . . " ~ Fritz Holznagel, BostonChasing The Masters is a fanfare from an uncommon man. Phil Haynes is a drummer and teacher, a composer and leader, a poet and a pioneer. This Deeply personal book should be on the shelf at every school where music is played and loved, and where young people seek a path to their own thing."Phil's artistry percolates beyond the rims of the glass [or of a drum], as all of the world becomes his canvas . . . remarkable is how he grew to be able to share this gift so completely."~ Nicholas Horner, Knoxville"May this improv of a book,a mosaic of amazing people, sounds, and ideas that shaped a community,inspire all who love the arts -- jazzy, academic, or not."~ Phil Haynes Read more