PERFORMER
• Performances at Ronnie Scott's, Wembley Stadium, Bestival, Lords, the National Gallery & jazz festivals across Europe
• Five albums of original jazz music as well as contributions to many others as a sideman
• Afro-Peruvian music for the Paris-Dakar Rally held in the middle of the Peruvian desert
• Blues performance in Clarksdale, Mississippi - site of the crossroads of blues legend

COMPOSER
• Winner of the 2022 Lilburn Trust composition prize for The View From Above (post-spectralist work for Pierrot ensemble)
• Five albums of original jazz music
• Soundscape commission – Earthquake exhibition, Lima, Peru 2013

ARRANGER
• String arrangements for Bic Runga's hit albums Drive and Beautiful Collision
• Orchestral commission, arrangement of Madness' Our House
• Arrangements for official Wellington City millennium celebration 2000
• Arrangements for Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra performed at Symphony Under the Stars 1997
• Arrangements for the musical Te Odio Amor Mío, dir. Alberto Issola, Peru 2012

TEACHER
• Mastering the Practice of Music published 2018
• 25 years of experience teaching privately, in schools, conservatories and universities in NZ, UK and Peru.

BIOGRAPHY

Winner of the National Secondary School Chamber Music Competition performing the Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, Duncan completed a jazz piano performance degree at Massey University. He also worked with Bic Runga on the multi-platinum selling albums Drive and Beautiful Collision. A 20 year musical odyssey overseas saw him collaborate with a wide range of top musicians in genres as varied as salsa, rock, blues and avant-garde jazz. He has performed at iconic venues such as Ronnie Scotts, Wembley Stadium and Lords, and at jazz festivals in Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Ireland, and at the legendary Bestival on the Isle of Wight. After 8 years in London Duncan spent 4 years in Peru where he performed with world-class artists Susana Baca, Eva Ayllon and Andres Prado, as well as teaching at university, writing a book on practising music, and founding and directing a youth orchestra. After moving to Paris in 2014 he established the first iteration of Cuarteto Imaginario. Since returning to NZ in late 2020 he has completed a critically acclaimed South Island tour, founded the Directions in Jazz project to bring improvised music to a wider community, completed an Honours degree in classical composition (winning the 2022 Lilburn Trust prize for composition), and has recently finished a Masters degree in ethnomusicology.

CRITICS' COMMENTS

A vital first set demonstrated seemingly effortless mastery on the part of Haynes. They weren’t just warmed up, they were on fire! The band received a thoroughly well deserved standing ovation from the audience at the end of the second set, perhaps the first that I can recall this happening at any gig in Dunedin. I genuinely do not think I’ve felt such a buzz around live New Zealand jazz in Dunedin in a very very long time (if at all).
ALEX WOLKEN wolkenwords.wordpress.com

What a fabulous occasion it was. The audience was enthralled from the opening original piece. The success of the evening’s performance was demonstrated by an enthusiastic standing ovation and many requests for a return performance. The Duncan Haynes Trio exceeded all expectations.
CATHERINE BROSNAHAN Fairfield House, Nelson

There is a fleetness of touch in the musicians' performances that makes the music seem to take flight. The result is a mysteriously beautiful composition that I never wanted to end. That Mitchell and Haynes make it sound so easy, so suffused with consummate musicianship is a credit to their promising talent and impeccable taste.
CHRISTIAN CAREY Splendid ezine

The consistently fabulous Leo label continues to unearth creative music form spirits known and often unknown. Intricate ideas, majestic and melodic, melancholy and elegant.
DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY New York

The set concludes on a piece with gospel inflections, a perfect summary of the duo's chemistry and deep understanding. There is no denying its artistry, creativity and understated charm.
FRANCOIS COUTURE AllMusic.com

There's not a dull moment on this dynamically performed, well-crafted set of compositions [by Gerald Clark]. The impressive pianist Duncan Haynes and the young and highly rated rhythm section are fired up and play great.
SELWYN HARRIS Jazzwise, UK

Listen and buy here on Bandcamp.

ALBUMS AS LEADER

BIATHANATOS
With Matthew Mitchell (guitar). Recorded in Hódmezővásárhely and Szeged, 2004.
Original compositions and improvisations. 

THE URBAN CHOREOGRAPHIC
With Matthew Mitchell (guitar). Recorded in London, 2006.
Original compositions and improvisations. 

TRIM-TRIMPO
With Gonçalo Almeida (bass) and Luis Candeias (drums). Recorded in Rotterdam, 2007.
Improvisations.

THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY
With Jules Jackson (bass) and Simon Pearson (drums). Recorded in London, 2009.
Original compositions and arrangements of jazz standards in the piano trio tradition.

ANIMA
With Cleia Luna (vocals) and Andrés Prado (guitar). Recorded in Lima, 2013.
Original compositions and arrangements that blend song form, improvisation and latino influences.

KEY ALBUMS AS SIDEMAN

STORMY
Sarah Weller, 2008
Piano

NAKBA
Gerald Clark, 2013
Piano

AFRODELICO
Jorge Pardo, 2014
Piano

DRIVE
Bic Runga, 1999
String arrangements 

TOUCHWOOD
Gitbox Rebellion, 1994
Cello