Simon Spillett Big Band

THE SIMON SPILLETT BIG BAND PLAYS TUBBY HAYES

“…the most swinging British big band since, well, time began.”

Bebop Spoken Here

Bursting onto the UK jazz scene in 2020, the Simon Spillett Big Band is that rarest of rare beasts – a genuine all-star jazz orchestra, in this instance uniting some of the most accomplished soloists and bandleaders of today, who’ve come together to celebrate to a colossal musical genius of yesteryear, the late, great saxophonist Tubby Hayes, arguably the nation’s best-loved jazz legend and a performer hard-wired into the history of Ronnie Scott’s club via his collaboration with Ronnie in the fabled Jazz Couriers.

Featuring a starry line-up of UK jazz greats under the direction of award-winning tenorist Simon Spillett, the band’s mission statement is simple; to bring back the heady excitement of the Tubby Hayes Big Band of the 1960s, an outfit which raised the roof whenever and wherever it performed. This band follows in the same spirit, creating an intoxicating atmosphere in which its music communicates on every level, the entire package tied together with the leader’s signature insightful wit.

Utilising a repertoire of Hayes’ own arrangements, many of which were never issued on record, as well as pieces by his contemporaries like trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar and pianist Harry South, the Simon Spillett Big Band has already proved hugely popular with those who’ve come to hear it, its London debut in October 2021, at the landmark venue the 100 Club, drew an overflowing crowd, eager to catch what one writer has already dubbed “the most hard-swinging big band in existence right now.”

Since then the band has appeared at many leading UK jazz festivals including the EFG London Jazz Festival and at legandary venues including the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London’s Soho.

The band’s debut album “Dear Tubby H.” was released in 2023 and received unanimous praise in the jazz press, Jazzwise magazine awarding it a coveted 5 star review.

The Simon Spillett Big Band recorded its second album (due for release soon) at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in summer 2025.

Simon Spillett (tenor sax) leads:

Nathan Bray, Mark Armstrong, Steve Fishwick, Bruce Adams (trumpets).

Mark Nightingale, Andy Flaxman, Ian Bateman, Pete North (trombones).

Pete Long, Tom Smith, Alex Garnett, Simon Allen, Alan Barnes (saxophones).

Pete Billington (piano), Alec Dankworth (bass), Pete Cater (drums).

Age guidance: 11+. Attendees under the age of 16 must attend with a ticket holding adult. Children under the age of 11 years will not be allowed into the performance for Health & Safety reasons.