Simon Spillett Big Band with Music of Tubby Hayes at Electric Theatre

Published on: 9 Aug, 2024
Updated on: 9 Aug, 2024

Hailed as “a living, breathing, positively fizzing jazz orchestra” (Jazz Rag) the Simon Spillett Big Band burst on to the UK jazz scene 2021 with the purpose of revisiting the repertoire of the legendary British jazz icon, saxophonist Tubby Hayes, playing music Hayes’ bands played during the 1960s and early 1970s, much of which hadn’t been heard publicly since his death in 1973.

The Simon Spillett Big Band.

They are playing at Guildford’s Electric Theatre on Friday, September 6, in a concert hosted by Ben’s Collectors Records’ shop in Guildford. Owner Ben Darnton is a big fan of the music of Tubby Hayes.

The band is a genuinely ‘all star’ unit, comprising a line-up of stellar UK jazz soloists, many bandleaders in their own right, led with wit, charisma and style by multi-award winning saxist Simon Spillett.

The band has headlined at many major UK jazz festivals (EFG London, Wigan, Scarborough, Herts, Southend, Swanage) and played sold out club dates at such legendary UK jazz venues as the 100 Club, the Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho and the Concorde Club.

The band recently released its first album, DEAR TUBBY H (Mister PC Records), which garnered a rare five star review in Jazzwise magazine who opined: “Fierce or fancy, they can do it all.”

Jazz Journal called the recording “a remarkable win for British jazz, which hands down plays as one of the most exciting big band recordings in recent years.”

To book tickets on the Electric Theatre’s website, click here.