In 1961, he was a member of the Dave Bailey Quintet who recorded the albums Reaching Out, Bash!, and 2 Feet in the Gutter, which included the original version of the popular tune "Comin' Home Baby".
[2] He also recorded with Kenny Dorham, Les McCann, Walter Bishop, T-Bone Walker, Sonny Forriest, Grant Green and Randy Weston.
[1][3] Haynes recorded his own album, Frankly Speaking, with guitarist and songwriter Rudy Stevenson, but it was never released.
Suffering from both sickle cell disease and lung cancer, Haynes died at the age of 37 at NYC's Veterans Hospital.
A memorial service for Haynes was attended by John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins and others.