The Tubby Hayes Quartet - Down in the Village

 © Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.

With the possible exception of the likes of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck, many other Jazz musicians were hardly household names even in the halcyon days of the music in 20th century America.

But it still takes me aback when someone who has known the music for a long time is “just discovering him,” or “didn’t know about him until I read your blog postings about him,” or “how do I find out more about him - just seeing his name for the first time.”

The “him” in question is Tubby Hayes [Edward Brian Hayes 1935 - 1973], the brilliant tenor saxophonist [and later vibraphonist and flutist] who reigned supreme on the British Jazz scene from the late 1950’s until his premature and tragic death in 1973 from an unsuccessful heart surgery.

And it still amazes me that anyone in the Jazz world is unfamiliar with Tubby’s brilliance as a multi-instrumentalist soloist, composer-arranger and leader of bands big and small.

For those who knew his work, the magnitude of the admiration for Tubby’s achievements was such that Simon Spillett, posits the question of “What would the British Jazz scene [... have been] like without him?”[The Long Shadow of the Little Giant: The Life Work and Legacy of Tubby Hayes [Equinox, 2nd Ed., 2017]

Fortunately, many of the recordings noted in the Select Discography of Simon’s bio are still available as individual CDs and Fontana recently put together a boxed set in both vinyl and CD formats of all the recordings that Tubbs made for that label from 1961 - 1969.

Among these, my favorite is The Tubby Hayes Quintet - Down in The Village [Fontana TL 5195] and reissued on CD by Redial/PolyGram [CD 558 184-2]

There’s so much to like about this 1962 recording made in performance at Ronnie Scott's in London, not the least of which is it’s blistering version of Rodgers and Hart's "Johnny One Note" as arranged by trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar, Tubby's front line mate on the date. The only way I've been able to stay with this blistering tempo is to count it in one.

Besides Tubby's accustomed brilliance on tenor [and now soprano and also vibes], you can't go wrong with a rhythm section made up of Gordon Beck on piano, Freddie Logan on bass and Alan Ganley, kicking everybody in the backside, on drums.

Each time this disc turns up on my player, it confirms that the prevailing stateside view of the time that "European rhythm sections" can't swing was nothing more than bull puckey.

To better familiarize you with Tubby Hayes and all aspects of this recording, I’ve posted excerpts from Simon Spillett’s biography of Tubbs, Ronnie Scott’s liner notes to the original vinyl LP and Richard Cook’s comments on the CD reissue.

In my opinion, if you are looking for a starting place to appreciate Tubby Hayes, The Tubby Hayes Quintet - Down in The Village is second to none.

Let’s begin with Simon Spillett, The Long Shadow of the Little Giant: The Life Work and Legacy of Tubby Hayes, pp. 160-161: 

“Eager to capitalize on the success of the quintet, in early May Fontana announced that the band were to record live at Ronnie Scott's club. Two evenings were set aside for the project, Thursday 17th and Friday 18th, a decision that yielded rich dividends. Live jazz recording was growing ever more commonplace in the early 1960s, and the previous year had seen the landmark albums recorded by Miles Davis (In Person: Friday and Saturday Night at The Blackhawk), John Coltrane (Live at The Village Vanguard) and Bill Evans (Sunday At The Village Vanguard), each an acknowledged classic of its kind. The addition of something similar to Hayes's canon made sense to everyone concerned, doubly so as several jazz critics had already noted that the clout of hearing the saxophonist live had never really conveyed itself on his studio sets. Released as Down In The Village and Late Spot At Scott's, the two albums taped at Gerrard Street that spring have since become two of the best known, and best loved, of all of Hayes's output and, five decades after they were first released, their impact is still immediate. Those lucky enough to have been in on the action as it happened were even more fortunate. Jazz writer Brian Davis remembered that there were high spirits both on and off the bandstand….

Both albums abound in great jazz, and, as with Miles Davis's Blackhawk sets, hearing one without the other is unimaginable. Down In The Village is the more varied in content, and therefore more indicative of Hayes at his diverse multi-instrumental best. Among the highlights is Jimmy Deuchar's opening tear-arse arrangement of Johnny One Note with the leader's tenor successfully contriving to marry mobility with a lustrous tone, something he again achieves on the fiendishly complex Deuchar original First Eleven which concludes the album. Between these two performances, there is a subtle vibraphone reading of But Beautiful, the waltzing The Most Beautiful Girl In The World with another sing-song lyrical improvisation from the leader, a reprise of the soprano saxophone vehicle In The Night, this time sounding more overtly Coltrane-like than the previous BBC recording, and the modal title track, containing, in its hard-hitting vibes solo and Allan Ganley's snapping rim shots, the dance-friendly elements that have ensured its continued popularity as one of Hayes's best-known recordings.”

Ronnie Scott’s text reproduced from original LP:

MY FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH TUBBY occurred some twelve years ago in a now defunct jazz club somewhere in South London - I forget the exact location. I was booked as a guest soloist and during the course of the evening, a chubby young man who appeared to be about twelve years old (he was, in fact 15) came on to the stand with a tenor saxophone only a couple of sizes smaller than himself and asked if he could "sit-in". With rather patronising amusement, I agreed.

He then proceeded to scare the daylights out of me.

The conception, the spirit and fire, the confidence in one so young and inexperienced was absolutely astounding. In the years that have elapsed since then I have been closely associated with Tubby both musically and socially. We have played together on countless jam sessions and for a period of about two years, we worked together as co-leaders of a two tenors and rhythm group - The Jazz Couriers. I have watched his youthful promise develop inexorably so that today, he is, at the age of 27, one of the finest jazz musicians this country has ever produced, and one of the very select band of British jazzmen who can be compared with the best in the world.

Tubby's musical capacity is almost without parallel - when he decided he'd like to play the vibraphone, it took him just about a year to become not only an accomplished soloist, but to my mind the best performer on this instrument in this country. Virtually the same applies to the flute, one of the most difficult instruments to play at all, let alone with the artistry that Tubby displays.

He has topped more polls than I can remember and of late has delved into the fields of arranging and composition, once again with the success one has come to expect of this phenomenal musician. But primarily he is a tenor saxophonist-possessed of a breathtaking ever improving technique and a forthright, no-nonsense conception that reflects the man's own personality and bubbling self-confidence. A measure of his skill as a jazz musician may be taken from his recent appearance at the "Half Note" club in New York, when he played with and for some of America's greatest musicians and was received with tremendous enthusiasm by all who heard him. Tubby would be fantastic even had he been born and bred in America, with all the opportunities that country can offer to the jazz musician. The fact is he is British and has been restricted to learning his art in the main from records and the occasional visit of an American artiste, makes his achievements almost unbelievable. Truly a musician of whom we can feel very proud.

He is, at present, leading a Quintet which is one of the most impressive groups I have ever heard, nationality notwithstanding. Its personnel includes some of the best jazz talent in the country including first and foremost, Jimmie Deuchar. Thirty-one years of age and Scottish born, Jimmie is unquestionably the nation's foremost jazz trumpet player. I have known him ever since he first came to London in 1950, to join the Johnny Dankworth Seven, and we have worked together in several groups including Jack Parnell's excellent band of some ten years ago, as well as in various combinations that I have led. Apart from being a wonderful arranger he is one of the truly natural musicians who plays jazz as easily as breathing, possessed of a warm full tone, and a beautiful sense of timing. When Jimmie's lip is "in", he is one of the most thrilling soloists in jazz.

Allan Ganley is another perennial poll-winner, and I doubt if there is another drummer in the country who could take Allan's place in the group. A rarity in a land notoriously short of good drummers, Allan has a meticulous technique and excellent timing, as well as the great virtue, lacking in so many drummers, of producing musical sounds from the drums. With Tubby's own definite feel for time, and his penchant for ultra-fast tempos, the importance of the drummer in this group cannot be overestimated. Allan fills the bill admirably.

There are two or three talented young pianists around at the moment, and Gordon Beck is surely one of the most promising. At 26, his professional experience apart from some jazz club appearances with pick-up groups, has been limited to a spell with Tony Crombie and more recently the now disbanded Vic Ash-Harry Klein Jazz Five. Gordon is a sensitive pianist, possessed of considerable originality, who has also contributed to the group's library of original compositions. The Quintet is completed by Freddy Logan on bass. Freddy was born in Amsterdam, and first came to England in 1956 after working extensively in jazz groups in Holland and Germany, and has since spent some time in Australia, leading his own trio. His big sound is commensurate with his size (he is 6 ft. 3 ins.) And with Allan Ganley and Gordon Beck, he completes one of the few rhythm sections in the country capable of generating good time at any tempo.

The Quintet spends much of its working time at my Club, and this album was recorded over a period of two nights when the group was appearing at the usual evening sessions. I'm not going to write at length about the music itself - to me jazz must always be largely a matter of personal taste, and I'm a little sick of sleeve notes that would have one believe that every release is a jazz classic. Listen for yourself-there is a great deal worth hearing.

For my own part, the best moments occur in the title track, Down in the Village - one of Tubby's most intriguing compositions, on which he plays two swinging choruses on vibes, and which also features Jimmie Deuchar in his best work on the record. Then there is Jimmie's own First Eleven, a harmonically intricate composition on which Tubby excels - not in the least fazed by the complicated changes. The two waltzes on the record include In the Night, a strangely pastoral-sounding work by Tubby, on which he displays his talents on the soprano saxophone and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World with Tubby at his big-toned roaring best.

There is a great deal more Gordon Beck on In the Night, the rhythm section, especially Allan, on Johnny One-Note, and Tubby's feelingful vibraphone ballad work on But Beautiful.

This album is representative of the very high standard of jazz music that this group is producing, and proves overwhelmingly that British jazz at its best is second only to the best from the U.S.A. and whilst the gap certainly exists, musicians like Tubby are demonstrating very definitely just how rapidly it is being closed.”

TUBBY HAYES 1935-1973 by Richard Cook [1998]

“Edward Brian Hayes has passed into British jazz legend, and 25 years after his untimely death, he seems to exist as a large, shadowy figure standing over a particular era of music-making - long gone, yet almost with us. His physical presence and boyish demeanour endure through photographs and memories, and the sound of his saxophone, spilling over with exuberance, makes him vivid and alive across the years. British jazz has never been short of characters, but it has managed to nurture very few strikingly individual performers. Tubby was preeminent among them.

Not that he was much nurtured by his surroundings. Precociously brilliant as a teenager, as Ronnie Scott's affectionate original note for Down In The Village recalls, he matured into an authoritative voice as a saxophonist and vibes player, composer and group-leader. His early records for Tempo, under his own name and with The Jazz Couriers, document an already formidable voice, but it is his Fontana albums that suggest how important a figure he could have been. The Sixties should have been his decade, but it was not the most successful period for jazz in Britain, and his later discography consists of a mere handful of records that have until now never made it to CD release. Like Joe Harriott or Harold McNair, his music has been more talked about than heard in recent times. To some degree he symbolizes a lost promise which jazz in Britain has sought to fulfill.

Down In The Village and Late Spot At Scott's document some of the music of a great man in full flow, as well as affording a valuable glimpse of some other fine individual voices: Jimmy Deuchar, Gordon Beck, Logan, Allan Ganley. 

Tubby's tenor is a marvel of sheer virtuosity at fast tempos, but listen also for his soprano sax - still a comparatively rare instrument in 1962 - and vibes, especially on the title track to Down In The Village. The music follows exactly the order of the original LPs which have since become among the most sought-after records of their kind. Their reissue is long overdue, and we are proud that we can start our Redial series of classic British jazz albums with these beautiful sessions. Luckily, there is still more Tubby to come.”