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Tubby Hayes

Tubby (Edward Brian) Hayes was one of Britain's finest tenor sax players, Jazz musicians and composers. He co-led the successful Jazz Couriers with Ronnie Scott from 1957 to 1959. He led several distinguished quartets and was the first British contemporary to appear at regular intervals in the USA. One of his most distinguished quartets came in the late 1950's, a group which included Terry Shannon, Jeff Clyne, Phil Seaman or Bill Eyden. Another in the 1960's included Ron Mathewson, Tony Levin and Mike Pyne.

Hayes who was arguably the most prodigiously talented jazz multi-instrumentalist the British Isles has ever produced. He played vibes, flute, soprano, alto and baritone sax, piano, clarinet, bass clarinet and tympani, but was best known for his coruscating tenor saxophone work. He was also a talented composer and arranger.

He started playing professionally at the age of fifteen joining the bands of Kenny Baker, Vic Lewis, Ambrose and Jack Parnell. He then led the reknowned Jazz Couriers with fellow tenor player and jazz legend Ronnie Scott between 1957 and 1959. Apart from leading his own small and big bands he played with many international jazz stars including Roland Kirk, Clark Terry, James Moody and Charles Mingus. In the UK he recorded with, amongst many others, John Dankworth and Cleo Laine.

Ian Carr has described Tubby Hayes as "...one of the most robust talents Britain has ever produced, and one of her most famous musicians..."

Tubbs on the Big Screen was actually tasked with writing the whole score for Dr Terrors House of Horrors but after an audition before a panel consisting of the heads of production his efforts were confined to the one story in which he appears. Allan Ganley recalled the situation; the quintet set up at one end of a long room whilst the producers lined up behind a table at the other. They were not impressed. "After all, we were a modern jazz quintet. What did they expect?" he remembered.

Hayes played with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland big band in Venice 1969. The band was featured at the Second Venice Jazz Festival. Tubby was depping for Ronnie Scott. Hayes later had this to say about the CBBB;

"A great band full of wonderful musicians.Boland is a first class arranger and composer, but I've felt at times that the strength of the sections and the individual musicians have made the scores sound more inspired than they actually are, and from a big band writing point of view, I've preferred some of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis things. Don't get me wrong though. It's still a fantastic orchestra". ("Reaction with Tubby Hayes" The Melody Maker April 10th 1971).

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Radio & Podcasts

New Releases Including A Rare Live Recording Of Tubby Hayes From 1965

Read "New Releases Including A Rare Live Recording Of Tubby Hayes From 1965" reviewed by Bob Osborne


On this show music from Federico Solomiewicz, Dan Kurfirst, Glen Whitehead, Phil Venable, Barbara Thompson, Judge Schreber and Her Magic Band, Kaisa's Machine (Kaisa Mäensivu), Perforto, Nicky Schrire, Leandro Garcia, and the release of a new complete edition of a 1965 recording by Tubby Hayes.Playlist Show Intro 0:00 Federico Solomiewicz “Desde el sur" from Desde el sur (Numeral) 00:47 Dan Kurfirst “Birth Beats 2" from Arkinetics (Neuma Records) 07:25 Glen Whitehead “Pale Blue" from Pale Blue (Neuma Records) ...

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Album Review

Tubby Hayes: No Blues: The Complete Hopbine '65

Read "No Blues: The Complete Hopbine '65" reviewed by Chris May


"Who the fuck are you?" said Tubby Hayes, encountering Ron Mathewson on the bandstand of London's Hopbine club an hour or so before the start of the gig which this album chronicles. “I'm the bassist," said just turned twenty-one year old Mathewson, who had been booked to deputise for the Hopbine's regular bassist that night. “Well, we'll see about that, won't we?" said Hayes. So began a relationship in which Mathewson ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Tubby Hayes At The Hopbine And More

Read "Tubby Hayes At The Hopbine And More" reviewed by Bob Osborne


The featured album is a classic recording of Tubby Hayes, in blistering form, live at the Hopbine in London in 1969. Alongside this there are new releases from across the jazz world from Samuel Mosching, Chris Morrisey, Mario Laginha, Martin Freiberg, Jazz Station Big Band, John Hébert, Roddy Elias, Julieta Eugenio, and Bernie Senensky. Stunning improvisation comes from Paul Pignon, Camila Nebbia, Axel Filip, and Carmel Kleykens, and similarly, there are new explorations from Cooper-Moore and Stephen Gauci, plus an ...

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Album Review

Tubby Hayes Quartet: The Complete Hopbine '69

Read "The Complete Hopbine '69" reviewed by Chris May


Of all the many talented jazz musicians who blazed trails in Britain in the late 1950s and 1960s, tenor saxophonist Tubby Hayes in 2022 stands among the tallest. Hayes, too, is one of a handful of British musicians of his generation who have been practically deified by some of the emergent young players who are currently invigorating the British scene. Hayes died tragically young, aged thirty-eight, in 1973, from heart disease exacerbated by heroin use. So his ...

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Album Review

Splinters: Inclusivity

Read "Inclusivity" reviewed by Chris May


Archive label Jazz In Britain comes up with another winner. Inclusivity is a 3 x CD collection of the complete performances of Splinters, an all-star 1972 septet comprising three hard boppers, two radical experimentalists and two in-betweeners. They were tenor saxophonist and flautist Tubby Hayes, alto saxophonist Trevor Watts, trumpeter and flugelhornist Kenny Wheeler, pianist Stan Tracey, bassist Jeff Clyne and drummers Phil Seamen and John Stevens. The band assembled for just two London gigs five months apart. It made ...

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Album Review

Tubby Hayes: Free Flight

Read "Free Flight" reviewed by Chris May


Tenor saxophonist, flautist, vibraphonist and composer Tubby Hayes, who died at the unconscionably young age of thirty-eight in 1973, was that rare thing among the first generation of British jazz musicians in the 1960s—a player who was taken seriously by the hippest American musicians and audiences. He visited New York in 1961 and 1964 for well-received seasons at the Half Note, and went to Los Angeles in 1965 for a run at Shelley's Manne-Hole. An uplifting player, a gifted composer ...

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Album Review

Tubby Hayes: Split Kick - Live In Sweden 1972

Read "Split Kick - Live In Sweden 1972" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay


The hits, as various unimaginative DJs keep reminding us, just keep on coming. So, too--or so it appears--do new albums of material from the late Tubby Hayes. Some of these Hayes albums are re-releases, some are “special editions" and some present us with previously unreleased tracks. Split Kick -Live In Sweden, 1972 is an example of the latter: six tunes which Hayes recorded for broadcast by Sveriges Radio. No hits in a “pop music" sense, but the tunes and Hayes' ...

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Recording

Soho Scene '57: Jazz Goes Mod

Soho Scene '57: Jazz Goes Mod

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

The Soho Scene series from Britain's Rhythm and Blues label has been pure joy for me. On these double-CD packages, the smartly curated discs zoom in on a specific year and feature terrific modern jazz from London on one disc and the recordings of American artists British artists were likely listening to on the other. In past posts, I've covered Soho Scene '58, Soho Scene '61, Soho Scene '62, Soho Scene '63, Soho Scene '64 and '65 and Soho Scene ...

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Recording

The Untold Story of Tubby Hayes: 1965

The Untold Story of Tubby Hayes: 1965

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Tubby Hayes (above) was a jazz giant whose talent and superb taste have not been fully appreciated by U.S. jazz fans. That's largely because he was British. A multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute and vibes, Hayes began his professional career at age 16 in 1951. His skill and reputation in the U.K. took off and he soon became one of the most towering and exciting jazz figures in the country. He could turn on the heat on up-tempo pieces ...

Video / DVD

Tubby Hayes: Lost Fontana Tapes

Tubby Hayes: Lost Fontana Tapes

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Tubby Hayes was busy in 1969. In addition to touring and being recorded on the road, the tenor saxophonist turned out several studio albums and BBC performances. His playing was uniformly excellent across the dates. His live and studio recordings in 1969 were Rumpus with his big band (live at London's Torrington Pub on May 8), The Orchestra (a Fontana studio date on May 28), an appearance as a sideman on a track with the Harry South Big Band (on ...

Video / DVD

Tubby Hayes: Back in Town

Tubby Hayes: Back in Town

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

While performing in New York in June 1962, British tenor saxophonist Tubby Hayes had an opportunity to record for Smash, Mercury's newly formed jazz subsidiary. Smash was run by Shelby Singleton, a Mercury executive with pop sensibilities. What was remarkable about the resulting album, Tubby's Back in Town, are the musicians selected for the recording session. The album features Tubby Hayes (ts and vib), James Moody (ts and fl), Rahsaan Roland Kirk (ts, nose-fl, cl, manzellon and stritch), Walter Bishop, ...

Recording

Tubby Hayes + Paul Gonsalves

Tubby Hayes + Paul Gonsalves

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Today I want to share with you two albums that are so rare they'll likely come as a surprise to even the most knowledgeable jazz fans. The albums—Just Friends and Change of Setting— paired British saxophonist Tubby Hayes with Ellington saxophonist Paul Gonsalves. Just Friends was recorded in 1964, while Change of Setting was recorded a year later but not released until 1967. They are superb and grow on you with each listen. How did Hayes and Gonsalves wind up ...

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Recording

Tubby Hayes: Split Kick

Tubby Hayes: Split Kick

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

The year 1972 was the beginning of the end for Tubby Hayes. The British multi-instrumentalist, who was most often featured on the tenor saxophone, was a jazz giant, despite coming up in the '50s without the benefit of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles woodshedding. Something of a cross between Stan Getz and Hank Mobely on the tenor sax, with Zoot Sims's knack for delivering long ribbons of engaging improvisation, Hayes was tireless. On flute, Hayes was unmistakably beautiful, akin ...

Video / DVD

Tubby Hayes in 1964 and '65

Tubby Hayes in 1964 and '65

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers


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Recording

Tubby Hayes: Tubby the Tenor

Tubby Hayes: Tubby the Tenor

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Few English saxophonists could out-swing Tubby Hayes. In fact, many American jazz reed players of the '50s and '60s struggled to keep up. Listening to Hayes' recordings today without knowing who was playing would likely leave you guessing for hours. One of his most exciting albums (and there are many) is Tubby the Tenor, which was recorded on October 4th and 5th in 1961 in New York for Epic, Columbia's jazz and pop subsidiary. Hayes was accompanied on the dates ...

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Recording

Tubby Hayes Quartet-"Commonwealth Blues" CD - 1965 BBC Transcription Disc Recordings

Tubby Hayes Quartet-"Commonwealth Blues" CD - 1965 BBC Transcription Disc Recordings

Source: All About Jazz

Tubby Hayes Quartet-"Commonwealth Blues" Art of Life Records AL1016-2 CD Featuring Gordon Beck, Johnny Butts and Jeff Clyne. The complete unedited and previously unreleased 1965 BBC transcription recordings. Now available for ordering via our web site's secure server!! Recorded in the summer of 1965 at Kensington Studios in London, England by the BBC and subsequently sent to Spanish radio stations as Radio Transcription discs to be broadcast only on Spanish radio in the late 1960's. These previously unreleased studio recordings ...

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Recording

Tubby Hayes Quartet-Commonwealth Blues CD available now

Tubby Hayes Quartet-Commonwealth Blues CD available now

Source: All About Jazz

The Tubby Hayes Quartet “Commonwealth Blues" (Art of Life AL1016-2 CD) Tubby Hayes: Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Vibes Gordon Beck: Piano Johnny Butts: Drums Jeff Clyne: Acoustic Bass The complete unedited and previously unreleased 1965 BBC transcription recordings. Recorded in the summer of 1965 at Kensington Studios in London, England by the BBC ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

No Blues: The...

Jazz In Britain
2023

buy

Soho Scene '57: Jazz...

Rhythm & Blues Records
2023

buy

The Complete Hopbine...

Jazz In Britain
2022

buy

Inclusivity

Jazz In Britain
2021

buy

Hip! The Untold Story...

Rhythm And Blues Records
2021

buy

Free Flight

Jazz In Britain
2020

buy

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