About Me
I first saw the name Tubby Hayes on a record sleeve, namely 'Jazz Cub Number 2', put together by legendary DJ Paul Murphy in 1985. The Tubby song featured was A Pint Of Bitter, and straight away it caught my 'ear'. When I read the blurb on the back of the LP, it told me that Tubby came from the UK!
I was intrigued and started digging for more info. on the man and his music. Now, I should say straight away, I'm far from being a Tubby Hayes expert, I just love his music and his story. You won't find on here endless words from me about the man, I just want you to know a little about him, and if intriqued enough, go out Young Man (or Woman) and discover him and his sound.
To get you started here's some biog. about the great man from a website put together by a fella called David Taylor, who has gathered together a feast of info. on the British Be Boppers.Born in 1935 Tubby Hayes was playing professionally at the age of 16. A virtuoso musician he played tenor, soprano, alto and baritone saxes, vibraphone and flute and was a fine composer and arranger.
Started professionally in 1951 with Kenny Baker' Sextet and then worked in the big bands of Ambrose, Vic Lewis and Jack Parnell before forming his own octet in 1954 when he was twenty years old. He toured with the group 1955 to 1956 and although a musical success it could not pay its way and he went on to form the "Jazz Couriers" with Ronnie Scott, probably the most successful of British modern jazz groups. The Couriers existed from 1957 to 1959 and would probably have continued for longer, but Scott and Hayes both wanted to do other things and the band folded.
Hayes was at his peak in the early 1960s, and it was during this time that he enjoyed some of his greatest triumphs; in 1961 he became the first visiting English jazz soloist to play a residency at the 'Half Note' club in New York attracting audiences that included Miles Davis. He also visited Boston and Los Angeles as well as recording in America with trumpeter Clark Terry. In London he led his own big band for which he did most of the writing, and had his own TV series 1961 to 1962 and 1963. He consistently won musical awards often in several categories including Best Tenor Saxophonist, Best Small Band and Jazzman of the Year. By the early 1960s he was the best known jazz musician that England had produced and through the 1960s he appeared in films, played the major festivals and had his own recording sessions in New York. His early death in 1973 from complications while undergoing heart surgery was a major loss to the jazz world, not just in the UK.Ronnie Scott on his mate Tubby...Ronnie Scott: On Friday 31st October, 1959 came the moment which I had been anticipating, off and on, since that night on 52nd Street in 1947 when I'd seen the Charlie Ventura Bop For The People Band in full cry and marvelled at the electric atmosphere of the club. We launched Ronnie Scott's Club with a stentorian fanfare of publicity and a positive fusillade of advertising - a four inch single column spot in the classified section of Melody Maker .
That was the first of a series of none-too-serious weekly advertisements which we hoped would grab a bit more attention than the usual kind of ad.
The opening night went well and I couldn't have chosen two better groups to inaugurate the Club than those of Tubby Hayes and Eddie Thompson.
Tubby was to play many more tunes at the Club and also to figure in several UK-US band exchanges. He could hold his own with the best players in jazz and his death in 1973 was a great personal blow and a tragic loss for our music.I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
