The death of Tubby Hayes in June 1973 brought to a close one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of British jazz. Tubby's multi-talented abilities as a saxophonist, vibraphonist, flautist, composer, arranger and bandleader had been central to the trajectory of jazz in the United Kingdom for close to twenty years. As more than one musician associated with Hayes noted at the time, his death left an almost improbably large gap within a jazz scene which, if robust enough to carry on without him by the early 1970s, was still nevertheless relatively contained. Only a few years before, the very notion of British jazzmen holding their own at an international level would have been all but risible; yet by the close of the 1960s the news that guitarist John McLaughlin and bassist Dave Holland were being headhunted by Miles Davis was greeted not by surprise, but with a certain amount of jingoistic pride. No one musician had done more to raise the game of the local performers in the preceding decade than Tubby Hayes; his story was as much about the personal cost of his dedication to musical excellence as it was his overcoming the inertia of his surroundings; his story remains one of lasting impact.
Disc 1
1. Walkin' ShoesDisc 2
1. Treble GoldDisc 3
1. Big TopDisc 4
1. Message To The Messengers