Eugene Haynes Jr., classical pianist, composer and author of the
autobiography To Soar with Eagles, died February 5 at Willowcreek Nursing Home & Rehabilitation in Belleville, Illinois. He was 80.
A native of East St. Louis, he was a child prodigy and, later, a classmate of
Miles Davis’ at both Lincoln Senior High School (in East St. Luis) and the Juilliard School of Music in New York. Following his NYC debut at Carnegie Hall, The International Who’s Who of Intellectuals called him “a widely acclaimed authority” on classical musical styles.
“Like Miles Davis, Eugene Haynes was the subject of daily conversation during my childhood years,” said Eugene B. Redmond, the poet and professor from East St. Louis.
“Astoundingly, both had been accepted to the Juilliard School of Music in 1944, meaning a first for East St. Louis’ black community, for East Saint Louis as a city and for any black community of our size in the country.”
Redmond said for several weeks leading up to his death, Haynes was on dialysis after having suffered heart attacks and strokes.
Haynes debuted at major concert halls in Denmark, France and Russia. New York critic Louis Biancolli called him “a musician to his fingertips.” Critic Isador Philipp called him “one of the greatest musical talents America has produced.” Locally, Haynes has performed in churches, schools and with the St. Louis Symphony.
Redmond said his last local performance was at Antioch Baptist Church in 2005, when he received several standing ovations and took several encores.
In his latter years, Redmond and Sherman Fowler took “Maestro,” as they called him, to brunch one Sunday a month.
“He was a remarkable, sensitive man, an ‘artiste,’ an ‘esthete,’ who spoke English with a Continental flavor, was fluent in Danish, French – you name it,” Redmond said.
“He was a delicate or ‘gentle’ man, but a very strong man.”