R.I.P. British jazz great Mike Westbrook OBE, 1936-2026

Sadly, composer, pianist and bandleader Mike Westbrook has passed away at 90. He'll be greatly missed. 

LINKS

Mike Westbrook site: https://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/
The Guardian Mike Westbrook obituary

Remembering Shake Keane & Michael Garrick on their birthday

Raising a glass to Shake Keane and Michael Garrick who share a birthday and made some memorable music together. 

Dollar Bin Delights: Changing The Jazz At Buckingham Palace

What might appear to be some awful British military tattoo recording is actually swingin' UK modern jazz cut in 1956.

As many of you know, when quickly flipping through records in well-packed discount bins you'll often only catch the top half of the sleeve before you're on to the next. Seeing the generic UK postcard-style image used as the sleeve art for Changing The Jazz At Buckingham Palace LP, I must've passed by it at least three times over the course of a month thinking it was either some corny Kenny Ball-style English dixieland revival business or a ghastly British military tattoo record which haunts discount bins all over the world. 

Upon my fourth pass some weeks later, I finally picked up the record out of curiosity to see what sort of "jazz" this might be and nearly keeled over when I noticed the smaller print at the bottom listing Jamaica-born trumpet titan Dizzy Reece and British saxophone boss Tubby Hayes. Obviously, this wasn't more boring UK trad jazz foolishness but a sample of the much-more exciting modern stuff coming out of London clubs during the mid-50s. 

From the line-ups and track listing it was immediately clear that this was a collection of music recorded in England for Tempo – the two tracks "Nicole" and "Hall Hears The Blues" by the Tubby Hayes Quintet (with Harry South, Dick Hawdon, Pete Elderfield and Bill Eyden) were lifted from the 1956 After Lights Out LP while the four Dizzy Reece tunes "Blue Bird," "Yardbird Suite," "How Deep Is The Ocean" and "Bluebird Number Two" (recorded as a tribute to the then recently departed Charlie Parker with Terry Shannon, Lennie Bush and Phil Seamen) came from the rarely seen Top Trumpets split LP with Jimmy Deuchar – compiled by Savoy for the U.S. market  as a sort of introduction to the current state of British jazz as it was in 1956. Why the Savoy braintrust decided to go with a hokey postcard image provided by the British Travel Association on the cover instead of a couple of cool shots of rising UK stars Tubby Hayes and Dizzy Reese when they were looking their youthful best is still baffling all these years later. I'm sure if they'd heard what Savoy were planning, Tubby and Dizzy would've popped for a proper photoshoot themselves.   

Tubby Hayes is mistakenly referred to as "Tubby Hall"

Whatever money that Savoy Records boss Herman Lubinsky thought he was saving in slapping the stock image on the sleeve he lost in sales to jazz buyers flipping by the odd looking 'palace guard' record in the bins. And having the woefully uniformed H. Alan Stein pen the accompanying sleeve essay just added insult to injury. Savoy label house liner notes writer Stein, who provided the notes for just about every Savoy label album release during the 50s whatever the genre – admits he's out of his depth with contemporary British jazz. He confesses upfront, "this writer had not the opportunity of being present at recording time, nor has ever been to, or met any of the musicians here..." and then goes on to embarrassingly refer to Tubby Hayes as "Tubby Hall" throughout. It seems like he mixed up Hayes with session producer and Record Mirror columnist Tony Hall from whose "After Lights Out" album notes he was cribbing for his own essay. Even if Lubinsky wasn't interested in hiring someone familiar the artists to write the essay, he should've had the sense to keep a proofreader on the payroll who would've known something was amiss when the name on the front cover and label didn't match Stein's notes.  

On the upside, you get to hear a young Tubby Hayes just starting to hit his stride as a bandleader getting loose in a relaxed mode over two lengthy jams as well as an early glimpse of 25-year-old Dizzy Reece's brilliance in the spotlight just prior to being paired with Tubby by producer Tony Hall for his Blue Note debut Blues In Trinity which followed in 1958 and then his classic, Star Bright with Hank Mobley the year after. Check out a few tracks from Changing The Jazz At Buckingham Palace below. 

The original Tempo tapes were remastered for this 1957 Savoy release Changing The Jazz At Buckingham Palace by the legendary sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder with the runout groove bearing  his familiar "RVG" stamp of quality. What's important to consider about Tempo label recordings is that many believe that the original Tempo master tapes held by Decca UK were destroyed back in the 70s. If that's true, it would call into question the source material for the numerous CD reissues of Tempo recordings, including Jasmine's 1982 vinyl repress of After Lights Out which sounds better than you might expect for a release thought to be a vinyl master. 

Since this unique Savoy label Tubby Hayes/Dizzy Reece split configuration has never been reissued on vinyl, this 1957 pressing will become more sought-after as entry-level collectors of classic British modern jazz become aware of its superior sound quality and relative rarity. Generally speaking, overseas jazz wasn't such a hot commodity in North America during the latter 50s and neither Tubby Hayes nor Dizzy Reece were household names at time time, so it should come as no great surprise that Changing The Jazz At Buckingham Palace album wasn't a big seller for Savoy. Few copies would've been manufactured and a scant number sold without a second pressing so consequently there aren't many in circulation today, 67 years later.  Admittedly, it's not the top-dollar best work of Tubby or Dizzy but this is still an enjoyable listen for fans of small combo British jazz of the mid-50s. And it's certainly not the sort of thing that typical turns up in dollar bins but it sometimes pays to take a closer look at those corny looking sleeves.

LINKS

London Jazz Collector Tempo & UK Vogue labels

London Jazz Collector Tubby Hayes "After Lights Out" (1956)

Richard Morton Jack publishes Labyrinth, the definitive guide to 60s British jazz

Labyrinth: British Jazz On Record, 1960-75 comes packed with reviews of 300 UK jazz gems penned by Richard Morton Jack

Here's the scoop...

Labyrinth is a massive hardback book, 375 pages in length, printed on high-quality art paper, with an embossed cover and cloth quarter-binding, written by Richard Morton Jack (Psychedelia: 101 Iconic Underground Rock Albums, Nick Drake: The Life, The Sunbeam Guide To Led Zeppelin). This limited edition record guide is the most comprehensive overview of the subject ever published. It celebrates over three hundred albums, offering detailed background info about each, alongside excerpts from original reviews and masses of high-quality images that reproduce their fabulous artwork and labels at near-full size. It also features a fascinating introduction by Tony Reeves (Mike Taylor Quartet, New Jazz Orchestra, Colosseum etc). 

Covering abstract jazz, avant-garde jazz, serial jazz, free jazz, Indo-jazz, jazz-rock and more, it tells a story Britain should be proud of: open-minded and creative musicians pushing the boundaries of their art in the face of penury and indifference, and welcoming influences from a range of other cultures via immigrant musicians such as Joe Harriott (Jamaica), Amancio D’Silva (India), Guy Warren (Ghana) and Harry Beckett (Barbados). Get a copy via Soundohm right here. Check out Ritchie Unterberger's interview with Richard Morton Jack right here. 

Simon Spillett Big Band pays tribute to British jazz icon Tubby Hayes

Simon Spillett Big Band's salute to the late British jazz great Tubby Hayes, Dear Tubby H, is available now on vinyl and CD. 

Here's the scoop...

Recorded in early April 2023 this A team British big band presents roughly an hour of killer big band charts composed by or associated with Tubby Hayes. All of these charts have been painstakingly re edited by Mark Nightingale and none of them were ever recorded on any of Tubby Hayes’s commercially released albums. Available from www.petecater.org/store and www.petecater1.bandcamp.com 

Simon Spillett Big Band – Dear Tubby H

1)      Dear Johnny B 6:25 (Tubby Hayes) Sammy Mayne (alto sax) Steve Fishwick (trumpet)

2)      As Close As You Are 5:42 (Tubby Hayes) Simon Spillett (tenor sax) Freddie Gavita (trumpet) Alec Dankworth (bass)

3)      Take Your Partners For The Blues 5:43 (Tubby Hayes) Alan Barnes (baritone sax) Ian Bateman (trombone) Steve Fishwick (trumpet) George Hogg (trumpet) Alex Garnett (tenor sax) Simon Allen (tenor sax)

4)      Fish Soup 6:20 (Ian Hamer) Simon Allen (tenor sax) Freddie Gavita (trumpet) Rob Barron (piano)

5)      Star Eyes 4:06  (Don Raye/ Gene DePaul arr Tubby Hayes) Mark Nightingale (trombone)

6)      Soft and Supple 4:55 (Tubby Hayes) Alan Barnes (baritone sax) Freddie Gavita (trumpet) Simon Allen (tenor sax)

7)      Rumpus 6:46 (Tubby Hayes) Alex Garnett (tenor sax) Freddie Gavita (trumpet)

8)      Peace 5:15 (Horace Silver arr Hayes) Steve Fishwick (trumpet)

9)      Seven Steps to Heaven 5:20 (Victor Feldman arr Hayes) Freddie Gavita (trumpet) Pete Cater (drums) Alex Garnett (tenor sax) Rob Barron (piano)

10)   Solweig 3:32 (Hayes) Simon Spillett (tenor sax) Rob Barron (piano)

11)   Blues for Pipkins 6:30 (Hayes) Steve Fishwick (trumpet) Mark Nightingale (trombone) Rob Barron (piano)

12)   She Insulted Me in Marrakech 7:17  (Hayes) Pete Long (alto sax) Freddie Gavita (trumpet)

Personnel:

Saxophones: Sammy Mayne, Pete Long, Alex Garnett, Simon Allen, Alan Barnes

Trumpets: Nathan Bray, George Hogg, Freddie Gavita, Steve Fishwick

Trombones: Jon Stokes, Mark Nightingale, Ian Bateman, Pete North

Piano: Rob Barron

Bass: Alec Dankworth

Drums: Pete Cater

Musical director, tenor sax solos and all-round project mastermind: Simon Spillett

NOTES BY SIMON SPILLETT

The idea of this album - and this band - have been in my mind for thirty-odd years, since my late teens when, having begun to delve into the fascinating culture of 'bootleg' radio broadcasts, passed covertly between veteran jazz collectors, I discovered that there was so much more to the Tubby Hayes Big Band than the sixteen arrangements heard on their classic studio-recorded albums 'Tubbs' Tours' (1964) and '100% Proof' (1966).

Although it existed sporadically over its thirteen or so year lifespan, Tubby's big band was a working outfit with a pad full of compositions and arrangements used on its live, radio and television performances. Many of these were heard only in person or luckily survive on tape owing to the efforts of enthusiastic home-tapers, including Tubby himself.

Over the years since my life-changing discovery of Tubby's music (around twelve years of age) I often wondered what had become of these 'lost' pieces. Then, as I began to meet and work with musicians who had known and played with Tubby - and, of course, research his life for my biography of him - all sorts of interesting things began to emerge from the archival woodwork. Indeed, by 2010 I had accumulated, via the generosity of people like trumpeter Ian Hamer, and pianist Johnny Patrick, a veritable working pad of Hayes-associated material.

So what to do with it? Over the next few years I occasionally played these charts as a guest soloist with various big bands across the UK, but what I really dreamed of was hearing it played by my own choice of players; a who's who of British jazz who, like Tubby's original band, would comprise a genuine 'jazz orchestra', full to the brim of improvising soloists, many respected bandleaders in their own right.

...and here it is, at last. Formed in 2020 but really coming until its own two years later with sold out gigs at jazz festivals and clubs up and down the country, this is a band of genuine world class ranking, one I'm incredibly proud to present in public and now, finally, on record playing music that I've long felt deserved a more appropriate fate than obscurity.

In making this album happen I'm particularly indebted to several musicians; first to Pete Cater, who as well as drumming to perfection, shares my vision for the preservation and promotion of this music. I'd also like to thank Alan Barnes and Pete Long for their invaluable practical advice on many aspects of leading a band of this size. Similarly, a huge debt of gratitude is due  to Mark Nightingale, a musician with ears like radar who painstakingly recopied Tubby's faded scores, added missing parts and more generally transformed music well-loved if not well cared for into the playable pristine pad it is today, a game-changer for all of us associated with this project.

Simon Spillett, April 2023

More Tubby Hayes archival recordings being excavated

Previously unheard tapes from three sessions recorded in 1965 promise to present other sides of British jazz great Tubby Hayes.  

Here's the scoop from Simon Spillett...

As part of this autumn's concerted campaign to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Tubby Hayes pioneering New York debut (a series of quartet and big band gigs, a screening of Mark Baxter and Lee Cogswell's documentary 'Tubby Hayes: A Man In A Hurry', two new archive CD releases on the Jazz in Britain label and a cover feature in 'Jazzwise') I'm currently working on a further issue of previously unheard Hayes recordings, this time from slightly later in his career, the year 1965.

This was a pivotal time for Tubby, both professionally and personally, one in which much of his 'old' world began to crumble while paradoxically he set in place the foundations of the next phase of his eventful existence. It was a story of suicide attempts and sackings as well as international bookings and globally acclaimed saxophone artistry. Indeed no year in Hayes' short life quite matches its balance of triumph and tragedy.

One critic writing of Hayes that year observed that he was 'capable of coming to terms with aspects of the "new thing"', the fashionable term for the avant garde.

Another conversely believed he had 'reached his peak some years ago.'

Singer Joy Marshall makes an appearance

These newly unearthed recordings from 1965 tell a somewhat more nuanced tale, one in which the saxophonist's appetite for new challenges resulted in music at once vivid, energised and ambitious. 

These tapes offer live versions of several Hayes set-pieces of the day, as well as the notable first appearance of his soon-to-be-legendary self-penned big band and tenor concerto '100% Proof' but what is perhaps even more impressive is how they reveal Hayes to have remained, a decade into his career as a bandleader in his own right, a central catalyst, one around whom all manner of British jazzmen, both established and neophyte, would gather.

Those featuring on this forthcoming release include the expected (Terry Shannon, Jeff Clyne, Ronnie Stephenson), the enigmatic (drummer Benny Goodman) and the iconic (Bobby Wellins, Kenny Wheeler). There is even room for players who are rarely thought of as Hayes associates, such as West Indian trumpeter Shake Keane. Hayes' then girlfriend, the American vocalist Joy Marshall is also showcased.

Across three separate sessions, heard on tenor, flute and vibraphone, Hayes once again carves his legend, offering music as passionately driven as anything familiar from his studio-taped albums. And, as was always the case with this most engaging of live performers, the presence of an enthusiastic audience further fuels his fire.

Once again, I'm thrilled to be working on a project aimed at bringing still more of the work of this singular genius to new listeners. Although there have been plenty of archive British jazz issues of late, all of them valuable and worthy of deeper study, this new Hayes one promises to be something very special indeed.   – Simon Spillett, author of The Long Shadow of the Little Giant: The Life, Work and Legacy of Tubby Hayes (Equinox)

NOTE: Simon Spillett's newly-formed Big Band will be performing recently-rediscovered arrangements of classics by UK jazz legend Tubby Hayes on Sunday, October 17 as part of the Herts Jazz Festival 2021. This 17-piece band features many of the top UK jazz players and makes this an unmissable experience. https://southmillarts.ticketsolve.com/shows/873624814

Watch Tubby Hayes and crew blast through "The Killers of W1" on the BBC in 1965 below. 

Sons of Kemet preview new Black To The Future album with "Hustle"

You can pre-order Sons Of Kemet's new album right here. Watch the clip for "Hustle" and BBC's doc on the Brit jazz explosion. 

 

Happy Birthday Stan Tracey!

Remembering legendary British jazz pianist and bandleader Stan Tracey on his birthday with a couple of stellar performances. 

Happy Birthday Joe Harriott!

Remembering the great Joe Harriott with his performance of "In A Sentimental Mood" and an audio documentary. 

New British jazz anthology documents Soho Scene '59-'60

Soho Scene '59-'60: Jazz Goes Mod
This 4CD set (w/ 24 page booklet) pits Britain's finest jazz tracks of 1959-1960 up against the very best music coming out of the States at the same time, showing that British modernists could at last stand tall among jazz music's giants. Out November 30 on CD with vinyl version slated for 2019. Check out Wilton "Bogey" Gaynair's "Wilton's Mood," Joe Harriott's version of "Señor Blues" and The Jazz Couriers' swingin' "In Salah" below.





Track listing: 
Disc 1: British Jazz 1959
Wilton Gaynair - Wilton's Mood, Eddie Thompson Trio - Mine Still, London Jazz Quartet - London Lament, Jack Parnell & His Orchestra - The Golden Striker, Tommy Watt Quartet - Embargo On Escargot, Joe Harriott Quintet - Señor Blues, Vic Lewis & His All Stars - Beaulieu Blues, The Jazzmakers - The Real Funky Blues, Tommy Whittle Quintet - New Horizons, Dizzy Reece & The Jazz Couriers - Blues In Trinity, Pete Pitterson Quintet - The Willow, Stan Tracey - We'll Call You, Johnny Dankworth Orchestra - Dauphine Blues, Jazz Inc - Jamba, Vic Ash Quintet - Cobwebs, The Jazz Couriers - In Salah, Tubby Hayes Quartet - Blue Hayes, Kenny Baker - Too Cool For The Blues, The M.J.6 - Tracy's Theme…
Disc 2: Jazz USA 1959
Art Blakey & The Afro Cuban Boys - No Hay Problema, Harold Land All Stars - Blowin' The Blues, Barney Kessel - Night Cry, The Mastersounds - Golden Earrings, Charlie Mingus - Boogie Stop Shuffle, Horace Silver - Sister Sadie, Jimmy Smith - The Sermon, Bobby Timmons - This Here, Ray Bryant Combo - Little Susie (Pt. 2 & Pt. 4), Mr. Billy Paul - Go To Hell, Gerry Mulligan - As Catch Can, John Coltrane - Naima, Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Grand Central, Bill Doggett - Backwards, Oscar Brown Jr - Three Squares & A Bunk, Googie Rene - Caesar's Pad, Bo Rhambo - Two For The Blues, Herbie Alpert & His Quartet - Viper's Blues, Harvey Anderson - Monday Night At 8pm, Mr. Lee - Mr. Lee's Plea….
Disc 3: British Jazz 1960
Harry South Big Band - Southern Horizons, Tony Crombie Orchestra - Samba De Janeiro, Ernest Ranglin Trio - One For Picka, Dill Jones Trio - Threesome, The New Jazzmakers - I'm Gonna Go Fishin', John Dankworth Orchestra - Treasure Drive, Vic Lewis & His All Stars - Little Darlin', London Jazz Quartet - Mirage, Joe Harriott Quintet - Tuesday Morning Swing, The Jazz Five - Still Life, Victor Feldman Quintet - All Blue, Wilton Gaynair/Shake Keane Quintet - Kingston by Pass, Dizzy Reece - The Rebound, The Jazz Couriers - Too Close For Comfort, The Jazzmakers - The Moonbather, Tubby Hayes Quartet - St. Vitus Dance, Little John Anthony - Midnite Jump, Big Doll - Swingin Preacher, Ken Jones & His Orchestra - Bluesville…
Disc 4: Jazz USA 1960
Oscar Brown Jr. - But I Was Cool, Lenny McBrowne - Saudi, Helyne Stewart & Teddy Edwards Septet - Why Don't You Do Right, Nat Adderley, Wes Montgomery - Sack of Woe, Quincy Jones - G'wan Train, International All Stars - African Dance, Larry 'Wild' Wrice - Husky, Maxcine Dixon & Dorothy Ashby Trio - Double Talkin', Armando Peraza Trio - Triste, Lee Morgan - Terrible "T", Billy Higgins - Me and My Lover, Sunny Harris & The Three Orbits - Sad Sacks, Lionel Hampton - Wailin', Rune Overman Trio - Funky Festival, Herman Foster - Herman's Blues, Larry Young - Young Blues, Jimmy Smith - Back At The Chicken Shack, Ram Ramirez - Twist This, Ernie Andrews - West Coast Blues, Willis Jackson - Cool Grits

Whaddya mean you don't know The Jazz Stars

The Jazz Stars were UK greats Joe Harriott, Tubby Hayes, Ronnie Scott, Don Rendell, Ronnie Ross, Allan Ganley, Terry Shannon & Lennie Bush.