Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his virtuosic musicianship on tenor saxophone and for performing in jazz groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. He is widely considered to be one of the finest jazz saxophonists to have emerged from Britain.
Early life
Hayes was born in St Pancras, London, England, and grew up in Raynes Park, south-west London. His father was a BBC studio violinist who gave his son violin lessons from an early age. By the age of ten, Hayes was playing the piano, and started on the tenor sax at 11. Dizzy Gillespie was an early influence: I always used to listen to swing music in the early 'Forties and, in fact, I was just a kid at the time. I did not really intend becoming a tenor player, though I always liked tenor. I think maybe Dizzy influenced me more than Parker because he was sort of more accessible, he caught your attention more. As far as my influences over the years are concerned, Getz was it at one stage in the proceedings, and later Rollins, Coltrane, Hank Mobley and, to a lesser degree, even Zoot [Sims].
Hayes attended Rutlish School (1946-1951) in Merton Park. After a period spent playing with various semi-professional bands around London, Hayes left school and started playing professionally at the age of 16.
Career
1951–58
Hayes's youthful promise on tenor saxophone was recognised in 1951 when, aged 16, he joined Kenny Baker's sextet, and later for big-band leaders such as Ambrose, Terry Brown, Tito Burns, Roy Fox, Vic Lewis and Jack Parnell. With the assistance of music impresario Tito Burns, Hayes formed his own octet in 1955, known as Tubby Hayes & His Orchestra. The group toured the UK extensively and recorded several sessions for Tempo Records but disbanded in 1956 as Hayes pursued other musical opportunities, including his own quartet.
Hayes's voracious musical interests resulted in his learning the vibraphone in early 1957, after having tried Victor Feldman's instrument on a gig. Although the vibes became an occasional instrument on some of his recordings, Hayes eventually became frustrated at lacking "the technique to do half the things I can do on the saxophone" and recorded his final solo on the instrument in 1966. Instead, Hayes's interest remained focused on woodwind instruments; in 1958 Hayes began learning flute and made his recording debut on the instrument a year later. He continued to feature the flute alongside his saxophone performances to the end of his recording career.
Hayes's breakthrough came in 1957 when he joined fellow tenor saxophonist Ronnie Scott to co-lead the Jazz Couriers, whose East Coast jazz aesthetic was influential within the British jazz scene and beyond. Scott, who would later also become known as a noted raconteur, had originally met Hayes in 1950 and was immediately impressed by the "fat kid's" virtuosity. The encounter was a story Scott would relate frequently: "This little boy came up, not much bigger than his tenor sax. Rather patronisingly I suggested a number and off he went. He scared me to death". Considered one of the most successful British jazz groups of its era, the Jazz Couriers would record a series of highly regarded albums and would engage in a successful tour with the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
1959–67
By 1959, Hayes had reformed his quartet, resulting in the recording of Tubby's Groove. Released in the spring of 1960, Tubby's Groove was widely considered to be Hayes's best session to date, selling well and acquiring positive attention from the music press for its "maturity". It was during this time that Hayes attracted attention from Alfred Lion, co-founder of Blue Note Records. Through arrangement with Blue Note, Hayes's producer, Tony Hall, had successfully licensed a session by Dizzy Reece. This session was later issued by Blue Note in 1959 as Blues in Trinity and featured Reece and Hayes alongside Art Taylor and Donald Byrd. The appearance of both Reece and Hayes on a US jazz recording was considered as a "major coup" for British jazz and one that raised their profile such that both were "short-listed" by Art Blakey for membership in the Jazz Messengers, although neither worked with Blakey. Hall sought a similar arrangement with Blue Note for Hayes as Reece but instead of negotiating an arrangement for what was deemed to be Hayes's best LP, Tubby's Groove, Hall sent a separate collection of tracks gathered from the same session recordings. Lion had it sequenced into an album for future release, but never issued it. This un-issued session was later re-discovered in 2008 and issued as Tubby's New Groove.