I regret to announced that Grand Rapids jazz pianist Dave Hay lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday, December 29th. Dave was a versatile piano, bass player and composer and performed anything from pop and funk to classical and avant-gard jazz. We played together in the Cooper, Hay, Van Lente Group, (CHV), recorded a CD, Trio Musik and over the years, could always rely on Dave to know just about any tune and play it from memory. As a memberof CHV, Dave played both piano and left hand bass and didn’t need much encouragement to really “tear things up!” I’ll miss his sense of humor, his animated style of playing and of course, his creative musicianship. Dave, we’ll miss you. Upward and onward, brother.
Jim Cooper
Jan. 30, 2015