TUBBY HAYES - New Edition: Rare Radio Recordings 1958 -62
Acrobat Records: ADDCD3097
Tubby Hayes (tenor, soprano sax, flute & vibes) in radio recordings with various ensembles.
This two disc set surveys broadcast performances by Tubby Hayes in various combos settings taken, with the exception of one track, from the BBC jazz programming of the time, namely `Jazz Club` and `Jazz Saturday`. As you would expect of radio broadcasts of this vintage they aren’t state of the art Hi-Fi but such is the power of Tubby’s playing that aural limitations are overwhelmed and rendered insignificant. His seemingly limitless invention and energetic technique simply pours like a torrent from the speakers making these recordings far too valuable to be relegated to some archive or completists only category. Hopefully they will be heard widely confirming, if such confirmation were needed, the world class status of a musician whose reputation as our greatest jazz performer remains unsurpassed some 42 years after his tragically early death
The first disc is largely devoted to studio sessions by `The Jazz Couriers` one of which includes an appearance by Dizzy Reece reprising his triple time blues which had been the title track of his earlier Blue Note Records debut `Blues in Trinity`; a session in which Tubby had featured as a guest performer. The `Jazz Couriers` material is followed by a single track in which Tubby performs in a live version of `Cherokee` by the Johnny Dankworth orchestra introduced by the bandleader himself and the disc finishes with five tracks by Tubby’s quartet, again performed before an audience, in which he gives an eloquent account of `Wonderful, Wonderful`, a tune associated with Sonny Rollins, and plays vibes in a jaunty version Bobby Timmons’s `Dat Dere`.
The second disc contains even greater delights most of which are live recordings with one exception, a fascinating set by Hayes’ `New Edition` quintet in which he tries out some new ideas reflecting wider musical interests that were beginning to pre-occupy musicians in the early sixties. We hear Tubby on soprano and the addition of a harpist on one tune imparts a third stream folksy element that is not unappealing. Trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar features prominently in this disc leading his `Plus Ten` ensemble providing us with an opportunity to hear Tubby on vibes in Dizzy Gillespie’s blues , `Sumphin` and on flute in a Deuchar original, `Heather Mist`. Notable too, are appearances by Ronnie Ross on baritone and Stan Tracey at the piano but , for me, the piece de resistance of the entire album comes in a session from May 1961 with Tubby performing consecutively with Tracey and Victor Feldman , just prior to the latter’s re-location to the U.S.A. The first of the two pieces is an incandescent performance of Coltrane’s `Moment’s Notice` which Tubby dominates to the extent that Stan Tracey is left groping for ideas, comping a few bars before surrendering and returning the action to the tenor. Simon Spillett, in his customarily excellent and informative notes, cites this as being amongst the best of all the tenorist’s recorded pieces.
The disc ends with the one track not attributed to BBC sources, a live performance taken The First International Jazz Festival in 1962 in Washington, Tubby being one the two British acts invited to take part. He appears in a version of `Oleo` performed with the Walter Bishop trio. Though the recording isn’t ideal being taken second hand from a Voice of America broadcast it is clear that Tubby gave a good account of himself, equal to anything happening stateside.
One of the peripheral pleasures of this album is being able to hear some brief conversational exchanges between Tubby and various announcers amongst whom are Alan Dell, David Jacobs, Dill Jones and John Dankworth. The dialogue often quaint in an old fashioned BBC sort of style but it doesn’t date the music which is simply timeless.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Acrobat Records: ADDCD3097
Tubby Hayes (tenor, soprano sax, flute & vibes) in radio recordings with various ensembles.
This two disc set surveys broadcast performances by Tubby Hayes in various combos settings taken, with the exception of one track, from the BBC jazz programming of the time, namely `Jazz Club` and `Jazz Saturday`. As you would expect of radio broadcasts of this vintage they aren’t state of the art Hi-Fi but such is the power of Tubby’s playing that aural limitations are overwhelmed and rendered insignificant. His seemingly limitless invention and energetic technique simply pours like a torrent from the speakers making these recordings far too valuable to be relegated to some archive or completists only category. Hopefully they will be heard widely confirming, if such confirmation were needed, the world class status of a musician whose reputation as our greatest jazz performer remains unsurpassed some 42 years after his tragically early death
The first disc is largely devoted to studio sessions by `The Jazz Couriers` one of which includes an appearance by Dizzy Reece reprising his triple time blues which had been the title track of his earlier Blue Note Records debut `Blues in Trinity`; a session in which Tubby had featured as a guest performer. The `Jazz Couriers` material is followed by a single track in which Tubby performs in a live version of `Cherokee` by the Johnny Dankworth orchestra introduced by the bandleader himself and the disc finishes with five tracks by Tubby’s quartet, again performed before an audience, in which he gives an eloquent account of `Wonderful, Wonderful`, a tune associated with Sonny Rollins, and plays vibes in a jaunty version Bobby Timmons’s `Dat Dere`.
The second disc contains even greater delights most of which are live recordings with one exception, a fascinating set by Hayes’ `New Edition` quintet in which he tries out some new ideas reflecting wider musical interests that were beginning to pre-occupy musicians in the early sixties. We hear Tubby on soprano and the addition of a harpist on one tune imparts a third stream folksy element that is not unappealing. Trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar features prominently in this disc leading his `Plus Ten` ensemble providing us with an opportunity to hear Tubby on vibes in Dizzy Gillespie’s blues , `Sumphin` and on flute in a Deuchar original, `Heather Mist`. Notable too, are appearances by Ronnie Ross on baritone and Stan Tracey at the piano but , for me, the piece de resistance of the entire album comes in a session from May 1961 with Tubby performing consecutively with Tracey and Victor Feldman , just prior to the latter’s re-location to the U.S.A. The first of the two pieces is an incandescent performance of Coltrane’s `Moment’s Notice` which Tubby dominates to the extent that Stan Tracey is left groping for ideas, comping a few bars before surrendering and returning the action to the tenor. Simon Spillett, in his customarily excellent and informative notes, cites this as being amongst the best of all the tenorist’s recorded pieces.
The disc ends with the one track not attributed to BBC sources, a live performance taken The First International Jazz Festival in 1962 in Washington, Tubby being one the two British acts invited to take part. He appears in a version of `Oleo` performed with the Walter Bishop trio. Though the recording isn’t ideal being taken second hand from a Voice of America broadcast it is clear that Tubby gave a good account of himself, equal to anything happening stateside.
One of the peripheral pleasures of this album is being able to hear some brief conversational exchanges between Tubby and various announcers amongst whom are Alan Dell, David Jacobs, Dill Jones and John Dankworth. The dialogue often quaint in an old fashioned BBC sort of style but it doesn’t date the music which is simply timeless.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
