TUBBY HAYES & THE DOWNBEAT BIG BAND - Blues at The Manor 1959-60
Acrobat ACMCD4385
Collective Personnel
Tubby Hayes - Tenor Saxophone, Victor Feldman - Drums, Jimmy Deuchar - Trumpet, Ronnie Scott - Tenor Saxophone, Eddie Blair - Trumpet, Alan Branscombe -Alto Saxophone, Keith Christie - Trombone, Jeff Clyne - Bass, Les Condon, Bobby Pratt - Trumpet, Terry Shannon- Piano, Hank Shaw - Trumpet, Johnny Scott - Tenor Saxophone, Phil Seamen - Drums, Jackie Sharpe - Baritone Saxophone, Hank Stampf - Trombone,Bass Trumpet
Recorded 14 November 1959 and 1 September 1960
People often lament the demise of the LP sleeve note. There is a remedy, get CDs with notes by Simon Spillett. The notes for the Downbeat Big Band CD should receive an award. If you have read Spillett’s biography of Tubby Hayes you will know what to expect: astute fluent writing, acute perception, detailed knowledge of the fifties and sixties and, above all, love for the music as a critical friend. Spillett’s description of Britain at the end of the fifties, to set the context, is penetrating and incisive: ‘it seemed hidebound by the past, a country of perpetual black and white eagerly watching the technicolour lights of America on the distant horizon, while its own Empire faded ingloriously into darkness.’
The cast of characters that contributed to the band is described with unsentimental affection: the talented but drug-doomed Branscombe; Deuchar almost exiled to Germany to find satisfying work; Victor Feldman returning from the States like a prodigal and Jack Sharpe driving a cab to support the band. Towering above all, the remarkable Tubby.
So what about the music? The Downbeat Band is featured in two settings: the first, and best, is from the Gerrard Street premises of Ronnie Scott’s in 1959; the second nine months later is a recording made for the BBC. The musicians earned their living playing the anodyne and unchallenging dance music and so the opportunity to play in a jazz group that was uncompromising brought out their zest and excitement; you can feel and hear that.
The relaxation on ‘Along Came Betty’ written by Benny Golson is partially the result of the easeful drumming from Phil Seamen who is present for all the music recorded at Scott’s. The trumpet soloist sounds like Eddie Blair.
‘East of the Sun’ is arranged by Jimmy Deuchar and features trumpeter Hank Shaw who was one of the many lucid trumpeters around at that time. Alan Branscombe on alto has some space to show his considerable gifts.
‘Southern Horizons’ written by pianist Harry South is a good stepping off point for Tubby and Hank Shaw. The brass section flares and blazes on the arrangement. It is a reminder of how rich the UK scene was at that time with creative and talented brass players.
This band had real power. There were times, however, for restraint. ‘Blues At The Manor’ has the kind of pure relaxed swing that is hard to achieve; the music almost seems as if it is playing itself. Phil Seaman, unobtrusive, moves the music forward securely. You can imagine the patrons of the club nodding sagely to this tempo as pianist Terry Shannon noodles through his solo. Probably the best track on the Ronnie Scott half of the CD.
Jimmy Deuchar joins the trumpets for the BBC section of the album. It opens with ‘Ah Bah Chu’ by Deuchar. Alan Branscombe shows that he is the equal of any local alto player with a solo of invention and fluidity. Drums on this part of the album are played by US based Victor Feldman who was on holiday in London. It is interesting to compare Seamen and Feldman.
My favourite track is the final one of the album ‘Sister Sadie’. Simon Spillett in his notes worries that the British musicians do not have the authentic feel for such a piece. Not sure if he is right. It is a brilliant theme and the band hits it squarely. The arrangement is good and the solos by Hayes, Scott, Blair, Shannon and Christie light up the piece. The final section of the arrangement with its call and response is difficult to bring off and it works beautifully.
It is an album that is both exhilarating and full of a jazz melancholy when you consider what is lost.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Acrobat ACMCD4385
Collective Personnel
Tubby Hayes - Tenor Saxophone, Victor Feldman - Drums, Jimmy Deuchar - Trumpet, Ronnie Scott - Tenor Saxophone, Eddie Blair - Trumpet, Alan Branscombe -Alto Saxophone, Keith Christie - Trombone, Jeff Clyne - Bass, Les Condon, Bobby Pratt - Trumpet, Terry Shannon- Piano, Hank Shaw - Trumpet, Johnny Scott - Tenor Saxophone, Phil Seamen - Drums, Jackie Sharpe - Baritone Saxophone, Hank Stampf - Trombone,Bass Trumpet
Recorded 14 November 1959 and 1 September 1960
People often lament the demise of the LP sleeve note. There is a remedy, get CDs with notes by Simon Spillett. The notes for the Downbeat Big Band CD should receive an award. If you have read Spillett’s biography of Tubby Hayes you will know what to expect: astute fluent writing, acute perception, detailed knowledge of the fifties and sixties and, above all, love for the music as a critical friend. Spillett’s description of Britain at the end of the fifties, to set the context, is penetrating and incisive: ‘it seemed hidebound by the past, a country of perpetual black and white eagerly watching the technicolour lights of America on the distant horizon, while its own Empire faded ingloriously into darkness.’
The cast of characters that contributed to the band is described with unsentimental affection: the talented but drug-doomed Branscombe; Deuchar almost exiled to Germany to find satisfying work; Victor Feldman returning from the States like a prodigal and Jack Sharpe driving a cab to support the band. Towering above all, the remarkable Tubby.
So what about the music? The Downbeat Band is featured in two settings: the first, and best, is from the Gerrard Street premises of Ronnie Scott’s in 1959; the second nine months later is a recording made for the BBC. The musicians earned their living playing the anodyne and unchallenging dance music and so the opportunity to play in a jazz group that was uncompromising brought out their zest and excitement; you can feel and hear that.
The relaxation on ‘Along Came Betty’ written by Benny Golson is partially the result of the easeful drumming from Phil Seamen who is present for all the music recorded at Scott’s. The trumpet soloist sounds like Eddie Blair.
‘East of the Sun’ is arranged by Jimmy Deuchar and features trumpeter Hank Shaw who was one of the many lucid trumpeters around at that time. Alan Branscombe on alto has some space to show his considerable gifts.
‘Southern Horizons’ written by pianist Harry South is a good stepping off point for Tubby and Hank Shaw. The brass section flares and blazes on the arrangement. It is a reminder of how rich the UK scene was at that time with creative and talented brass players.
This band had real power. There were times, however, for restraint. ‘Blues At The Manor’ has the kind of pure relaxed swing that is hard to achieve; the music almost seems as if it is playing itself. Phil Seaman, unobtrusive, moves the music forward securely. You can imagine the patrons of the club nodding sagely to this tempo as pianist Terry Shannon noodles through his solo. Probably the best track on the Ronnie Scott half of the CD.
Jimmy Deuchar joins the trumpets for the BBC section of the album. It opens with ‘Ah Bah Chu’ by Deuchar. Alan Branscombe shows that he is the equal of any local alto player with a solo of invention and fluidity. Drums on this part of the album are played by US based Victor Feldman who was on holiday in London. It is interesting to compare Seamen and Feldman.
My favourite track is the final one of the album ‘Sister Sadie’. Simon Spillett in his notes worries that the British musicians do not have the authentic feel for such a piece. Not sure if he is right. It is a brilliant theme and the band hits it squarely. The arrangement is good and the solos by Hayes, Scott, Blair, Shannon and Christie light up the piece. The final section of the arrangement with its call and response is difficult to bring off and it works beautifully.
It is an album that is both exhilarating and full of a jazz melancholy when you consider what is lost.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
