Roy Haynes, pioneering modern jazz drummer, has died at 99

By Noah Caldwell,

Eric Westervelt

Published November 12, 2024 at 4:47 PM EST

Roy Haynes. American jazz drummer and bandleader has died. Born in 1925 in Roxbury, Mass., he influenced generations of jazz drummers and helped change the direction of rhythmic improvisation.

Noah Caldwell

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Eric Westervelt

Eric Westervelt is a San Francisco-based correspondent for NPR's National Desk. He has reported on major events for the network from wars and revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa to historic wildfires and terrorist attacks in the U.S.

See stories by Eric Westervelt

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