Opus de Funk
(Horace Silver)
Tubby Hayes Quartet: Tubby Hayes (tenor sax); Harry South (piano); Pete Elderfield (bass); Bill Eyden (drums)
Message to the Messengers
(Harry South)
Tubby Hayes Quintet: as quartet plus Dickie Howden (trumpet)
Cheek to Cheek
(Irving Berlin)
The Jazz Couriers: Tubby Hayes (tenor sax); Ronnie Scott (tenor sax); Terry Shannon (piano); Phil Bates (bass); Bill Eyden (drums).
The Serpent
(Tubby Hayes)
The Jazz Couriers
Round About Midnight
(Thelonius Monk; Cootie Williams; Bernard Hanighen)
Tubby Hayes Quartet
The Monk
(Tubby Hayes)
The Jazz Couriers
If This Isn’t Love
(Burton Lane and E.Y Harburg)
The Jazz Couriers
Tin Tin Deo
(Walter Fuller and Luciano Gonzalez)
Tubby Hayes Quartet
Cherokee
(Ray Noble)
Tubby Hayes (tenor sax); Bobby Pratt, Stan Roderick, Eddie Blair, Jimmy Deucher (trumpets); Keith Christie, Don Lusher, Jimmy Wilson, Ray Premru
(trombones); Alfie Rees (tuba); Johnny Scott (piccolo; Terry Shannon (piano), Jeff Cline (bass); Bill Eyden (drums)
Pint of Bitter
(Clark Terry)
Tubby Hayes (tenor sax); Clark Terry (trumpet); Edie Costa (vibes); Horace Parlan (piano); George Duvivier (bass)and Dave Bailey (drums)
Down In the Village
(Tubby Hayes)
Tubby Hayes Quintet : Tubby Hayes (vibes); Jimmy Deucher (trumpet); Gordon Beck (piano); Freddy Logan (bass) Allan Ganley (drums)
Stitt’s Tune
(Sonny Stitt)
Tubby Hayes and The All Stars
Tubby Hayes (tenor sax); Roland Kirk (tenor sax, manzello); James Moody (tenor sax); Walter Bishop Jnr. (piano); Sam Jones (bas); Louis Hayes (drums).
Recordings made mostly in Decca London Studios; or Philips studios or at Ronnie Scott’s Club or in New York from 1955-1962 [76.33]
Tubby Hayes (1935-73) was one of the giants of the British modern jazz scene. His formidable musicianship coupled with his larger-than-life, outgoing
personality has caused him to be remembered with tremendous affection. As Simon Spillett writes, “His music continues to sound as good today as it did
during its early 1960s heyday”
This album presents 12 tracks of the very best of the tenor sax sound of Tubby Hayes so good that it could be mentioned in the same breath as musicians
like Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, Johnny Griffin and Ronnie Scott.
The album kicks off with the spirited presto ‘Opus de Funk’ and it is a brilliant show of Hayes’s formidable virtuosity, the type that made Ronnie
Scott sit up. Much the same style and showmanship is evident in ‘Tin Tin Deo’ later on. ‘Message to the Messengers’ and ‘Round About Midnight’ are slower,
slinkier and sexy just made for close-to dancing with, for the former, a ravishing soulful solo from the Tubby Hates Quintet’s leader. Irving Berlin’s
‘Cheek to Cheek’ tune is followed closely but with lovely improvisation and striking close ensemble work. Tubby’s own ‘The Serpent’ shapes up to rival the
work of any American jazz ensemble and it features some interesting percussion touches and Latin inflections. Hayes’s homage to Thelonious, ‘The Monk’,
permits some pastiche with Perry Shannon playing celeste and Bill Eyden on timpani drums to emulate Monk’s style. ‘If This Isn’t Love’ is another example
of Hayes’s remarkable arrangement talent as he so easily, so neatly balances two different time signatures. ‘Cherokee’ impresses strongly here; it had
always been a vehicle for fast fingered tenorists and, in record time, Hayes’s account proved he could equal if not surpass the fastest. ‘Pint of Bitter’
is a celebration of drinking sessions in London pubs, Tubby is joined by trumpeter Clark Terry to make sweet music. ‘Down in the Village’ is a tough piece
of modal jazz featuring glittering vibe work from Hayes and muted trumpet playing from Jimmy Deuchar. The rendition was to become a dance-floor favourite.
Finally ‘Stitt’s Tune’ embraces an impressive three-saxophone line up that features blind multi-saxophonist Roland Kirk. Hayes is the first soloist sending
a serious competitive message to his partners.
A treasurable British modern jazz album.
Ian Lace
CD Reviews
ACROBAT MUSIC 
