KEVIN HAYS & JORGE ROSSY

The Hays & Rossy duo features Kevin Hays on piano and vocals and Jorge Rossy on vibraphone and marimba. The musical collaboration between Kevin and Jorge features a dialogue between two well-known musical personalities from the generation of jazz musicians that emerged in New York in the 1990s. They have played together in different formations over the years, but this is the first time that they are playing together in duo.? The duo of vibraphone and piano is a relatively unusual combination in jazz which offers Kevin and Jorge a lot of uncharted musical territory. They delight in exploring the nuances of their instruments and in really going deep into the tunes to discover new worlds of sound, storytelling and color. The trust and intimacy born of their aesthetic affinity and long history of friendship allow them to fully enjoy the space and freedom offered by the duo setting.? Kevin and Jorge?s repertoire consists of compositions by both musicians along with interpretations of standards. Their musical palette covers a wide aesthetic range, including evocative musical landscapes, intriguing experimental improvisations, lyrical melodies, and rich soulful harmonies. Kevin and Jorge?s playing also showcases the sense of humor, infectious rhythmic counterpoint and unpretentious playfulness that are essential elements of the jazz tradition. Line- Up: Kevin Hays, piano, voice Jorge Rossy, vibes, marimba PRESS QUOTES: About Kevin Hays: "Heralded for his melodic and harmonic ingenuity, Kevin Hays also has an inherent dance in his piano playing.?? Downbeat ?There are plenty of talented pianists??but few have hays??melodic charms and sense of style.?? The New Yorker 'Best of the Year??list ?The five tracks that follow continue to speak to Hays' creativity, both as a composer, interpreter, and conceptualist.??All About Jazz? "He?s a jolt of joy?? New York Times "He?s all encompassing. Phenomenally so!?? John Scofield "Kevin is a true original. Everything he plays has a deep intelligence and swing!"? Brad Mehldau About Jorge Rossy: ?[Rossy] surprises as a vibraphonist and marimba player. He wants to focus more on storytelling, and that works better with the mallets. In doing so, he establishes a completely new narrative style that is completely independent of the Gary Burton school that has dominated for half a century. He exploits the potential of every single note to the full, delights in the spaces in between and listens to his partners??Jorge Rossy obviously has a lot of sunshine in his heart, which he transfers one-to-one into his music.?? Wolf Kampmann,?Eclipsed? ?The fact that he...finds a completely new way of approaching the instrument is...more than amazing. Rossy sees himself as a storyteller, and his stories need time and space. The Spaniard gives them plenty of both. He unfolds a poetry on the vibraphone that has never been heard before.?? WK?Stereoplay ?...Rossy shows himself to be a highly sensitive vibraphonist and marimba player... He shapes the sounds, makes them vibrate and shimmer, gives them space and airy coloratura. Rossy develops his lines with care, the shimmering show-off is not his thing.?? Pirmin Bossart,?Jazz?n?More? "Playing his instruments in much the same way B.B. King played the guitar, he hits only the right notes at the right time, which gives the arrangements an airy, open feel. ?In a jazz firmament in which vibes are represented by such head-turners as Bobby Hutcherson, Lionel Hampton and Stefon Harris, Rossy confidently, almost casually, defines his own section of the jazz vibraphone universe."? Big Takeover ??[Rossy] plays on both vibraphone and marimba with the kind of finesse, percussive lyricism and group sensitivity as he has demonstrated in his work behind the kit.? Selwyn Harris, Jazzwise ?Rossy plays his vibraphone with a great sense of space and pauses, moves rather deliberately as a soloist, but at the same time swings in a way that is no longer necessarily the order of the day in today's jazz. It has been jazz wisdom since Count Basie that swing arises from reduction, and Rossy obviously knows this.? Georg Spindler,?Mannheimer Morgen? "As he did when playing drums, his contributions unfold in elegant waves, made up of minimal phrases all chosen with care.?? Simon Adams,?Jazz Journal