The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club falls on Friday 23rd January, and it’s a very special occasion, as it’s a Jazz Night which commemorates the 80th anniversary of the birth of Tubby Hayes, probably the greatest British jazz musician of all time, who died tragically young in 1973 when he was just 38. The gig features THE SIMON SPILLETT QUARTET – Simon is one of the UK’s very best tenor saxophonists, winning the British Jazz Award in 2011, and is recognised as the leading exponent of Tubby Hayes’ style of jazz within the genre – he was described by Jazzwise magazine as “the world’s leading Tubby-ologist”. Simon is also a noted writer and publishes hius biography of Tubby Hayes in a few months’ time.
He has acquired a reputation as one of the most distinctive, hard-swinging and exciting saxophonists on the current UK jazz scene, a regular at Ronnie Scott’s Club (he is appearing there the week after our gig) and performs at major festivals across the UK, as well as recording critically acclaimed albums and broadcasting on BBC Radio 3 with his own group.
His press reviews include high praise from leading jazz observers; “Formidable” (Humphrey Lyttelton, BBC Radio 2); Phenomenal” (Dave Gelly, The Observer) and “saxophone playing of the highest order” (Jazz Journal magazine), and The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings observed that “Spillett doesn’t shake you by the hand so much as grab you by the throat….”
Simon’s quartet features major names from the world of British jazz royalty; pianist John Critchinson was a member of Ronnie Scott’s band for eighteen years; bassist Alec Dankworth is the son of legendary bandleader John Dankworth, and has appeared at the Club with Tony Kinsey’s Quartet, and drummer Clark Tracey is the son of renowned jazz pianist Stan Tracey. There’s more info at www.simonspillett.com and there is plenty of video if you search his name at www.youtube.com
It will be an exhilarating evening of top class bebop jazz. Simon is a really exciting performer. and even if you are not a dyed-in-the-wool jazz aficionado, enjoyment of a really entertaining and electrifying show can be guaranteed. It really is a 'must see'.
