I'm Christopher Leiden, and this is open source, saluting one man's century in American music.

Roy Haynes was the jazz drummer from Boston who shaped the bebop sound in Harlem 80 years ago.

He got nicknamed Snap Crackle for his own crisp, lyrical, almost melodic touch.

Over the decades, he accompanied and energized scores of jazz stars,

Thelonious Monk, Sarah Vaughn, Bud Powell, Pat Mathini, among them.

Perhaps his deepest satisfaction was introducing himself, as he once did to me.

He said, I was Charlie Parker's favorite drummer.

Roy Haynes died two weeks ago, just four months before his 100th birthday.

We are remembering him in a Thanksgiving spirit with the historian and jazz biographer Robin Kelly at UCLA.

Robin, so glad to be doing this with you for many reasons.

Not least the timing.

Roy Haynes left the earth at what feels like a moment of

unraveling in the American story, culture as well as politics. I find myself wondering,

where did the glory go, but also being reminded by Roy Haynes' long life of the old heroic path.

Start Robin Kelly with the sort of question you like to ask, who was Roy Haynes to you?

Okay.

Well, first of all, Chris, I can't think of a better person to have this conversation with

because, you know, your deep connection, both to the Haynes family, into the music,

and to the place. So there are two things.

One, Roy Haynes was arguably the greatest ensemble drummer in the history of the music.

You know, definitely the 20th century. You know, he blended into any group, which is not the same

thing as adapting. In other words, no matter what the style, size of the group instrumentation,

...