British jazz multi-reed player (alto, baritone, tenor saxophone, flute) vibraphonist, and composer.
Born January 30, 1935 in St Pancras, London, UK.
Died June 8, 1973 in Hammersmith, London, UK (aged 38).
One of the most collected British jazz musicians of his era, Hayes began his professional career in his mid-teens, recording with
Ronnie Scott in
The Jazz Couriers (a group performing from 1957 to 1959), and leading a series of recordings for [l149875] and [l205]. Performed at the [l377602] in New York in 1961 and returned to the United States in 1962, 1964 and 1965. His health began to decline in the late-1960s and Hayes died from heart failure. A biography by
Simon Spillett, The Long Shadow of The Little Giant: The Life, Work and Legacy of Tubby Hayes was published in 2015.