The Long Shadow of the Little Giant
Subtitle The Life, Work and Legacy of Tubby Hayes
By Simon Spillett
Published by
Equinox Publishing Ltd
ISBN 9781781791738
Category Biography
Summer 2016
Synopsis
The world’s leading authority on British jazz legend Tubby Hayes outlines a career that alternated professional success and personal downfall. Using conversations with Hayes’s family, partners, friends and colleagues, unique access to Hayes’s tape, photographic and personal archives, and contemporary research material, Spillett has reconstructed subject’s life candidly and respectfully.
Author's Biography
Simon Spillett is a British jazz saxophonist who leads his own quartet. He has won several awards for his music, including the tenor saxophone category of the British Jazz Awards (2011), Jazz Journal magazine’s Critic’s Choice CD of the Year (2009) and Rising Star in the BBC Jazz Awards (2007).
Reviews
A fine work of jazz scholarship and a pleasure to read. BBC Music Magazine
Spillett tells the tale as a jazzman should, never missing a beat, relating stories drawn from Hayes's family, his fellow musicians and a vast array of archives. Mojo
Spillett has created THE definitive Tubby Hayes book which will be essential to any old and new Tubby’s fan! UK Vibe
One of the best biographies I’ve read in years. Jazz History Online
This is a beautifully written and exhaustively researched volume. thejazzbreakfast
[A] remarkable biography. Blue Light
Tells us a great deal about the man and his music, and about British modern jazz generally.. The Northern Review of Books
A strong contender for jazz book of the year. Jazz Journal
One of the finest jazz biographies of recent times. A big book in every way, it stands as a worthy tribute to a colossal talent. Jazzwise
This is a superlative biography and one that every jazz aficionado should read.
Soul and Jazz and Funk
With a sparkling turn of phrase.. Spillett makes Tubby walk again here. Record Collector
Vivid, richly detailed and based on a staggering amount of research. A real page-turner, eloquently and carefully written, and an essential read. The Jazz Rag
This is a great, rich book of jazz writing which will stand comparison with any jazz biographies from the past. Jazz Views
Very expertly written by another enormously gifted UK jazz tenor saxophonist. The finest piece of biographical writing I've come across in many a year. Clarinet & Saxophone
A superb and very well researched biography. LA Jazz Scene
Absorbingly relates Hayes's professional endeavours and also tells of his personal life.
The Beat
This is a superlative biography and one that every jazz aficionado should read.
Soul and Jazz and Funk
The ideal Christmas present. To say it is comprehensive is an understatement.
Sandy Brown Jazz
Markedly superior to the efforts most jazz biographers Spillett's measured yet persuasive account of Hayes' musicianship gives the uninitiated listener incentive to investigate the body of work of this undervalued jazzman. All About Jazz
Spillett is himself an admired exponent of the tenor horn and his intense musical insight, combined with a scholar’s commitment to detail, enables his protagonist and his musical world to come convincingly and movingly to life. The Morning Star
Price £25.00