The Long Shadow of the Little Giant: The Life, Work and Legacy of Tubby Hayes(Popular Music History)

Forty years have elapsed since the death of the British jazz legend Tubby Hayes and yet his story still continues to captivate. Beginning as a precociously talented teenage saxophonist, he took first the local and then the international jazz scene by storm, displaying gifts equal to the finest American jazzmen. He appeared with none other than Duke Ellington and proved almost single-handedly that British jazz need not labour under an inferiority complex. Hayes' triumphs during the 1950's and 60's enabled still later generations of English musicians to take their music onto the world stage. However his story, distorted by the folklore surrounding his tragically early death, aged only 38, has rarely been accurately recorded. Much of what has been written, broadcast and recounted about Hayes has added only confusion to our understanding of his short but brilliant life.In this book, award-winning saxophonist and writer Simon Spillett, widely regarded as the world's leading authority on Hayes and his work, painstakingly outlines a career which alternated professional success and personal downfall.Using credible eye-witness recollection, drawn from conversations with Hayes' family, partners, friends and musical colleagues, unique access to Hayes own tape, photographicand personal archives, and extensive contemporary research material, Spillett has reconstructed the trajectory of his subject's life both candidly and respectfully. Hayes' meteoric musical rise from boy wonder to youthfully mature virtuoso, from saxophonist to multi-instrumentalist and composer is faithfully documented, as is his struggle for relevance as rock, pop and the avant-garde took over the musicallandscape in the 1960s. For the first time, the opaque world of his inconsistent and troubled personal life is recounted in full. His unsettled childhood, his battles with addiction and ill-health and his difficult personal relationships are all exposed, and the confused accounts of his final days are unravelled and made clear as never before.The Long Shadow of The Little Giant also traces Hayes' path through one of the most vibrant periods of history, beginning in the austerity of post-World War Two London, through the "never had it so good" 1950's, the "Swinging Sixties" and into the privations of the "State of Emergency" early Seventies, and outlines the cultural and musical developments of the times which underpinned the life of arguably theUK's finest ever jazz musician.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Preface 1. A Face not Built for Gloom (1935-1951) 2. Boy Wonder Terrorist (1951-1955) 3. '56 not '45 (1956-1958) 4. The End of the Old Order (1958-1959) 5. Now its Who have they Got? (1959-1961) 6. Down in the Village (1961-1962) 7. Tubby Hayes Loves you Madly (1963-1964) 8. The Best of Both Worlds (1964-1965) 9. Addictive Tendencies (1966-1967) 10. The Other Scene (1967-1968) 11. The Beginning of the End 91969-1972) 12. It'll be me Next (1972-1973) Afterword: The Lost Leader - The Legacy of Tubby Hayes Discography

About the Author :
Described by Jazzwise magazine as "the world's leading Tubby-ologist", Simon Spillett is an award-winning British jazz saxophonist and author. His performing accolades include winning the tenor saxophone category of the British Jazz Awards in 2011, scooping the Jazz Journal critic's choice award for best new release of 2008 for his album 'Sienna Red' and securing a victory as 'Rising Star' in the 2007 British Jazz Awards. Alongside his career as one of the busiest musicians on the UK jazz circuit, recording, broadcasting and featuring at many major festivals, Simon is also a writer of note. He has collaborated with veteran British jazz legend Vic Ash on his autobiography (I Blew It My Way - Northway Books, 2006) and regularly contributes articles to magazines including Jazz Journal, Jazz Rag and Record Collector. He has also provided sleeve notes for over sixty albums by artists ranging from Kenny Wheeler to Bobby Wellins, as well as working with a variety of record labels compiling material for reissue, including an award-winning boxed set by Tubby Hayes, The Little Giant (Proper Records). His main sphere of jazz interest is in the work of post-war British musicians and he has been praised for his "astuteness and expertise at marrying music and factual narrative" (BBC Music Magazine).

Review :
This magnum opus is a triumph and perfectly complements Simon Spillett's renowned musical homage to the master. I knew Tubby Hayes very well towards the end of his life on and off the bandstand and I can tell you Simon has done his subject more than justice. The writing is authentic, accurate, warm and very readable. A comprehensive biography is something the jazz world has been wanting for over 40 years. It must have been awaiting, and has at last clearly found, the ideal person to write it! -Spike Wells, drummer with Tubby Hayes 1968-1973;Sir John Dankworth described Tubby Hayes as a 'prime force' in the world of jazz saxophone playing, from the moment he appeared as a fifteen year old prodigy to the time of his premature death. Maybe the full value of his talent never came to be realised, but he was a tremendous musician on flute, saxophone and vibes, and we were privileged to work with him at the peak of his powers.-Dame Cleo Laine;During the brief power-walk of his life Tubby Hayes regularly re-asserted his rightful place at the artistic pinnacles of both the British and international jazz scenes - and (even more remarkably) set up powerful performing challenges to the greatest of his American counterparts. Fellow tenor-saxophonist Simon Spillett's monumental biography of Hayes combines needlepoint research with a musician's judgment, true affection - plus a grace of expression - that sets him securely in the pantheon of great jazz biographers. His work has ensured that Hayes' position in jazz history is comprehensively secured for the music's sake. -Digby Fairweather, jazz trumpeter