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

PREORDER

Splinters - Inclusivity (September 1, 2021 Jazz In Britain)

Newly mastered from Trevor Watt's original tapes. The complete recordings of the original Splinters lineup, including for the first time, the entire legendary 100 Club show and the previously unheard Grass Roots concert. The latter is believed to be the final recording of drummer Phil Seamen who died two weeks after this performance. Fully authorised.

If you are looking for a story which captures the mood of Great Britain in the early 1970s then what follows cannot be bettered. Indeed, all the folk memory leitmotifs of this period are contained within its sprawling narrative; polarised politics and protest; economic instability and wage concerns; unemployment; a very public tussle between old and new values; the forging of promising new alliances that, come the dawn, never quite delivered what they aimed to, their collective ideals crashing against the flinty realism of personal ambition, circumstantial change and individual discontent.

Then there is the cast list; a mix of moderates, mediators and extremists, all struggling to make sense of an arena in which uncertainty, novelty and hubris rub shoulder to shoulder. They even look the part, their riot of sideburns, outrageous hair, chocolate brown shirts, tank tops and leather jackets a reminder that, as far as sartorial fashion went, the 1970s was an all-time low for men of all ages. And if that were not enough, into this heady mix you can add the BBC, a rich source of anecdote and allegation that has become synonymous with the double-standards of the age, yielding both comedy gold dust and questionable personal mores in equal measure. Simon Spillett - May 2021 

1. The 100 Club: Phase 1

2. The 100 Club: Phase 2

3. The 100 Club: Phase 3

4. The 100 Club: Phase 4

5. The 100 Club: Phase 5

6. The 100 Club: Phase 6

7. The 100 Club: Phase 7

8. The 100 Club: Phase 8

9. The 100 Club: Encore

10. Grass Roots: Phase 1

11. Grass Roots: Phase 2

12. Grass Roots: Phase 3

13. Grass Roots: Phase 4

14. Grass Roots: Phase 5

15. Grass Roots: Phase 6

Tracks 1-9 recorded live at The 100 Club, London, on 22nd May 1972

Tracks 10-16 recorded at the Grass Roots club, London, on 12th September 1972

Phil Seamen - drums (left channel)

John Stevens - drums (right channel)

Tubby Hayes - tenor sax, flute

Trevor Watts - alto sax

Kenny Wheeler - trumpet, flugelhorn

Stan Tracey - piano (tracks 1-5, 10-16)

Jeff Clyne - bass

Recorded by Trevor Watts

Photography by Jak Kilby

Tape transfer by Matt Parker

Liner notes by Simon Spillett

Executive Producer John Thurlow

Produced and mastered by Matt Parker for Jazz In Britain Ltd.

© Jazz In Britain Ltd. 2021

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