Tubby Hayes Quartet - The Complete Hopbine '69 (December 3, 2021 Jazz In Britain)

The Ron Mathewson Tapes Vol. 7

Previously only issued in fragmented form and long out of print, these recordings catch Hayes in transition. Less than a month after they were taped just before Christmas 1969, he was to collapse on a gig, signaling the beginning of the final phase of his tragically foreshortened career.

But on this night, buoyed and stimulated by his regular working quartet of pianist Mike Pyne, bassist Ron Mathewson and drummer Spike Wells, Hayes wasn't only on form he was on FIRE! Indeed, coming so close to the end of a decade in which his star had burned brighter than those of virtually any other figure on the UK jazz scene, it marks a fitting capstone to his most creatively fecund period.

Remastered direct from the original tapes, unearthed in Ron Mathewson's archive, and issued for the very first time in pristine audio and unedited, this sumptuous double-CD release is packaged with rare photographs and gig memorabilia and an extended booklet essay by Hayes' biographer, saxophonist Simon Spillett which includes the memories of the only surviving member of the Tubby Hayes Quartet, Spike Wells.

Yet another key piece in the jigsaw of understanding this most fabled of Brit-jazz legends legacy, 'Complete Hopbine '69' contains a powerful reminder of the brimming potency of Tubby Hayes' later music, all the more so for being recorded at a juncture in which the noisy fashions of fusion were fast taking hold. - Simon Spillett 

1. For Members Only

2. Off The Wagon

3. Where Am I Going?

4. What Is This Thing Called Love

5. Mainly For The Don

6. For Heaven's Sake

7. Vierd Blues

8. Walkin'

Tubby Hayes - tenor saxophone

Mick Pyne - piano

Ron Mathewson - bass

Spike Wells - drums

The Hopbine, North Wembley, Tuesday December 23rd 1969

From the Ron Mathewson tape archive

Tape Transfer by Matt Parker

Original recording by Ted Lyon

Liner notes by Simon Spillett

Executive producer - John Thurlow

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QOW TRIO - The Album (2021 Ubuntu Music)

Tradition ain’t what it used to be.

QOW TRIO’s debut release is not so much an album of standards as an infectiously joyful compendium of vintage tunes bursting from the heart of the music, like so many blood-red silk handkerchiefs gushing from the chest of a mime at the firing squad. Given that all of creation exists as a simultaneous roar of perfection, think of this sax-bass-drums trio not as old-fashioned but timeless: Sonny Rollins is still perched on the bridge, blowing long, cold lines into the wind and always will be, after all. Hear how Riley’s loquacious sax quips a nonchalant quote from Bird’s ‘Cool Blues’ about 90 seconds from the end of the hip, dancing ‘Cheryl.’ Dig Spike’s crisp snare ‘n’ cowbell funk and Eddie’s hump-backed bass drone opening up a power swing on their namesake tune, a crashing dive through Dewey Redman’s ‘Qow,’ with Riley growling up a real out moan.

Catch yourself sighing in beautiful melancholy for ‘God Bless The Child,’ with bells and cymbals shimmering like Frank O’Hara’s lost cigarette end in the great, black night. Right now, it’s about eight months since I last really heard any live music, the world shudders and groans. But these sounds are the real virus: always alive, always mutating, indestructible. Daniel Spicer

1. Slow Boat To China (F.Loesser) 06:06

2. Qow (D.Redman) 05:54

3. Serenity (J.Henderson) 05:06

4. Cheryl (C.Parker) 04:54

5. Qowfirmation (R. Stone-Lonergan) 04:54

6. God Bless The Child (B.Holliday/A.Herzog) 05:40

7. It's Alright With Me (C.Porter) 04:04

8. Pound For Prez (R.Stone-Lonergan) 07:15

9. You Do Something To Me (C.Porter) 06:07

10. Qow 05:54

Riley Stone-Lonergan - tenor sax

Eddie Myer - bass

Spike Wells - drums

Recorded by Ben Lamdin at Fish Market Studio

Produced by Ben Lamdin and Qow Trio

Executive Producer - Martin Hummel

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