A particularly fine album, “Lover to You” by alto saxophonist Hayes Greenfield and double bassist Dean Johnson… Greenfield is a great composer and he has an extremely catchy sound in his saxophone playing, … “I can't make you love me like I wish I could” is one of the highlights on this album with its wonderful swing. Dean and Hayes rock out, great. The title track “Lover to you” closes the album in a brilliant way, an emotional ballad that hits the listener straight to the heart! In short, this album is a big surprise. 

Jan van Leersum - Rootstime.BE

Ancient Victories Newsletter

Thank goodness for this CD. The duo work of Hayes Greenfield, alto sax and Dean Johnson, bass, was long overdue for this kind of aural documentation. They mesh, they soar, they anticipate and egg-on one another…What struck me most is the CD did not get stale and that these are great lyrical artists. They are both very much like skilled vocalists who take a song and make it their own with nuances of phrasing and inflection. This is what you will hear throughout.

Jon Block

New York City Jazz Record

Greenfield’s “The music Never Dies” is a solid opener, the saxophonist utilizing the full scope of his horn; Johnson’s creative accompaniment and brilliant solo suggest milt Hinton’s humor and percussive effects. The extended exploration of Thelonious monk’s “Ask me Now” makes great use of space, and the musicians take the tune into unexpected places. “Secret Love”, a song long part of their live repertoire, is thoroughly reworked beginning with a staccato introduction and continuing with creative solos, the performance has a sassiness rarely present in interpretations of this standard. Their playful setting of Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” showcases the duo’s humor: Greenfield’s veiled song quotes elicit whimsical responses from Johnson. The saxophonist’s “I Can’t make You Love me Like I Wish I Could” has a tongue-in-cheek air, while his bittersweet ballad “Lover to You” conveys heartbreak without a lyric.

Ken Dryden

Independent Jazz Writers

Hi Hayes,
Yes, I did receive it. Thanks! You and Dean have a lovely chemistry together. I dug your intimate interpretations of those Monk and Fats tunes. Very sweet!

Bill Milkowski

Hi Hayes, I'm listening to Lover to You on Bandcamp, and want to commend you and Dean on a very enjoyable duet recording. You both sound completely at ease, and you are fluid, full of playfulness, mostly buoyant (occasionally plaintive) with virtuosically juicy full tone. The originals' melodies make an impression, without strain. An album of jazz that's right for anybody-everybody. Fun and cool. thanks for it!

Howard Mandel