06/09/2026
Simon Spillett - Celebrating Tubby Hayes
Tuesday 15th September - £20 entry
Doors Open - 6.30pm
Music Starts - 7.30pm
Simon Spillett - Tenor Sax
Will Butterworth - Piano
Jim Rintoul - Bass
Ronnie Jones - Drums
"Straight-ahead, high energy jazz is his line and he does it with aplomb" The Guardian
Arguably the legendary figure of post-war British jazz, and an integral part of the story of Ronnie Scott’s jazz club, Hayes died tragically in 1973, but has left a rich legacy of recordings, compositions and arrangements which continue to inspire.
None has been more inspired by Hayes than Simon Spillett. Multi-award-winning tenor saxophonist and author of the definitive Tubby biography, The Long Shadow of The Little Giant, who together with his quartet, featuring fellow British jazz heavyweights has put together this celebration of the genius of Tubbs, featuring compositions and arrangements from Hayes albums The Jazz Couriers In Concert, Tubbs in New York and Mexican Green, together with standards and ballads associated with the great man.
2026 marks a milestone anniversary for tenor saxophonist and bandleader Simon Spillett; 30 years on the UK jazz scene. Since his debut in the 1990s he has risen to become one of Britain’s most prominent jazz figures. An instrumentalist with a powerful, straight-ahead style, drawing on the best of the jazz tradition and in particular the inspiration of an illustrious forebear, the late great Tubby Hayes, he is highly popular attraction playing sold out gigs at the best jazz clubs (Ronnie Scott’s) and at virtually every festival of consequence (including the EFG London Jazz Festival) with both his regular quartet and his star-studded big band.
As a recording artists he had released five well-regarded albums, with his big band debut CD ‘Dear Tubby H.’ (2023) garnering a much deserved five star award in ‘Jazzwise’ magazine.
He’s also picked up a clutch of awards; BBC Rising Star (2007), Album of the Year (‘Jazz Journal’ 2008), Top Tenor Saxophone (British Jazz Awards 2011) and ‘Services to British Jazz’ (2016).
A charismatic performer, gifted with a dry observational wit, he’s never lost sight of the fact that jazz is entertainment as much as art and whether playing, writing or articulately holding forth on his favourite subject – UK jazz history – he’s an infectiously passionate communicator.
Indeed, between playing, he has found time to pen a widely-praised biography of Tubby Hayes (‘The Long Shadow of The Little Giant’), write sleeve notes to over 150 albums, contribute articles to magazines including ‘Jazzwise’ and ‘Record Collector’ and act as an anchor interviewee on documentaries for the BBC and Jazz FM.
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