". . . during Spillett's solo sax cadenza at the end
you could have heard the proverbial pin drop."
- The Jazz Mann
"Standing in front and subtly gesticulating and grooving to every note
and rhythmical thrust -
as if the entire ensemble was being channelled through his very being . . . Spillett and band does Tubbs . . . and how."
- London Jazz News
"Straight-ahead, high energy jazz is his line and he does it with aplomb. - The Guardian
". . . an extraordinary player, blisteringly fast and
roundly focused."
- The Jazz Breakfast
"Blues, ballads and bop anthems were unleashed with cyclonic power
and greeted with a
deluge of applause . . . Spillett's sustained
assault on mouthpiece,
keys and levers can
only be described
as incredible."
- Chris Welch
Sunday, 27th September
Simon Spillett
Quartet
Celebratimg Tubby Hayes
2026 marks a milestone anniversary for tenor saxophonist and bandleader Simon Spillett; 30 years on the UK jazz scene. Since his debut in the 1990s he has risen to become one of Britain’s most prominent jazz figures.
An instrumentalist with a powerful, straight-ahead style, drawing on the best of the jazz tradition and in particular the inspiration of an illustrious forebear, the late great Tubby Hayes, he is highly popular attraction playing sold out gigs at the best jazz clubs and at virtually every festival of consequence with both his regular quartet and his star-studded big band.
As a recording artists he has released five well-regarded albums, with his big band debut CD, Dear Tubby H. (2023), garnering a much deserved five stars in Jazzwise.
He’s also picked up a clutch of awards; BBC Rising Star (2007), Jazz Journal Album of the Year (2008), Top Tenor Saxophone, British Jazz Awards (2011), and ‘Services to British Jazz’ (2016).
A charismatic performer, gifted with a dry observational wit, he’s never lost sight of the fact that jazz is entertainment as much as art and whether playing, writing or articulately holding forth on his favourite subject – UK jazz history – he’s an infectiously passionate communicator.
Indeed, between playing, he has found time to pen a widely-praised biography of Tubby Hayes (The Long Shadow of The Little Giant), write sleeve notes to over 150 albums, contribute articles to magazines and act as an anchor interviewee on documentaries for the BBC and Jazz FM.
Simon Spillett (Tenor Saxophone) Pete Billington (Piano) Alec Dankworth (Double Bass) Pete Cater (Drums).
TUBBY HAYES
Brian Edward 'Tubby' Hayes was a true giant of British jazz and one of the most influential players of his generation. For 10 years, from the mid-50s to the mid-60s, he became a household name in Britain.
Tubby had his own shows on national television and played on some of the most iconic recordings of that era, including the soundtracks to Alfie and The Italian Job.
Apart from fronting his own groups, Tubby co-led the Jazz Couriers with Ronnie Scott, a quintet which unashamedly echoed the message of Art Blakey, Horace Silver, and the East Coast jazz aesthetic. He also performed with the Harry South Big Band and the Ian Hamer Sextet.
In 1961, Tubby made history when he became the first English jazz soloist to officially perform in an American club. Accompanied by the Walter Bishop Jr trio, his two-week residency at New York's Half Note drew fellow musicians Paul Desmond, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, and Donald Byrd. Sims pithily summing up their response by saying “send him right back home – he is the end!”
When Miles Davis turned up, there was even a hint of mutual admiration, the trumpeter having taken home a copy of Tubby’s Groove at the end of his British tour a year earlier.
Tubby's US debut forever banished the myth that British jazz was a second-rate substitute, a sea-change enabling the likes of Dave Holland and John McLaughlin to be hired by Miles.
Tubby's career was marked by illness, which led to his untimely death in 1973, aged just 38. Thankfully, he leaves a rich legacy via his recordings, and in Simon Spillett a musician dedicated to keeping his legacy alive.