When he made Cymbalism in 1963, Roy Haynes was a 38-year-old veteran drummer who had played with an astonishing array of jazz artists. As a Boston teenager, he worked with swing stars like Pete Brown and Frankie Newton. He went on to engagements with Luis Russell and Lester Young. Then, as bebop was breaking out, he became a favorite drummer of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Bud Powell, Stan Getz, and Thelonious Monk, among many other leading musicians of the era. He brought to his role as leader the musical wisdom accumulated with those masters, a knack for management, and an ear for rising talent. The careers of pianist Ronnie Mathews, bassist Larry Ridley, and alto saxophonist Frank Strozier got big boosts when Haynes chose them for his quartet. The snap, crackle, and pop of Haynes's drumming informs Cymbalism throughout, always with swing as infectious in support as when he solos.

with Frank Strozier, Ronnie Mathews, Larry Ridley