Kevin Hays was born May 1, 1968, in New York City and grew up in Connecticut, the youngest of four children. His father was an amateur pianist, and Hays began classical piano lessons as a child, playing gigs in New York City while still in high school. He spent time in Nick Brignola's band and attended the Manhattan School of Music for a semester in 1986 before dropping out to focus on performing.

He has recorded more than twenty albums as leader or co-leader, including three each for SteepleChase and Blue Note Records, debuting as a leader in 1990 with El Matador on the Japanese label Jazz City. His Seventh Sense was praised by The New York Times and named one of the "Top 40 Jazz Releases of the Year" by Musician Magazine, and his 2006 album For Heaven's Sake, dedicated entirely to the Great American Songbook, received the French "Coup de Coeur" Prize and Best of the Year honors from The New Yorker.

Hays has performed and recorded with Sonny Rollins, John Scofield, whose own career is covered in full in his JazzProfiles.com profile, Benny Golson, Roy Haynes, Chris Potter, whose own career is covered in full in his JazzProfiles.com profile, Al Foster, whose own career is covered in full in his JazzProfiles.com profile, Joe Henderson, whose own career is covered in full in his JazzProfiles.com profile, Buster Williams, Art Farmer, and Joshua Redman. A Grammy Award-winning pianist, composer, and singer-songwriter, he has also worked closely with drummer Colin Stranahan, whose own career is covered in full in his JazzProfiles.com profile.

Hays's grounding in the Great American Songbook, sharpened across more than twenty leader albums and sideman work with figures spanning Sonny Rollins to Chris Potter, established him as one of the most consistently recorded pianists of his generation, equally comfortable with standards interpretation and original composition.