The Jazz Couriers were a British jazz quintet formed in April 1957 and which disbanded in August 1959. The quintet's first line-up consisted of

Tubby Hayes Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was a British jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his virtuosic musicianship on tenor saxophone and for performing in jazz groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and trump ...

and

Ronnie Scott Ronnie Scott Order of the British Empire, OBE (born Ronald Schatt; 28 January 1927 – 23 December 1996) was a British jazz Tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner. He co-founded Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London's Soho district ...

on tenor saxophones,Ronnie Scott discography at David Taylor's British jazz web site
with Terry Shannon (piano),

Malcolm Cecil Malcolm Cecil (9 January 1937 – 28 March 2021) was a British jazz bassist, record producer, engineer, electronic musician and teacher. He was a founding member of a leading UK jazz quintet of the late 1950s, the Jazz Couriers,Bill Eyden William James Eyden (4 May 1930 – 15 October 2004) was an English jazz drummer. Biography The son of James Eyden and Ivy (née Tiller), his first professional gig was in 1952 with the Ivor and Basil Kirchin Band. He was soon working with Ra ...

(drums) and made their debut on the opening night at the new Flamingo Club in Wardour Street, Soho. They shared the gig with

Tony Kinsey Cyril Anthony Kinsey (11 October 1927 – 9 February 2025) was an English jazz drummer and composer. Early life Kinsey was born in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England on 11 October 1927. He held jobs on trans-Atlantic ships while young, stud ...

's Quintet featuring

Joe Harriott Joseph Arthurlin Harriott (15 July 1928 – 2 January 1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. According to George McKay in ''Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britai ...

.The Jazz Couriers at David Taylor's British jazz web site
The Jazz Couriers were chosen by the National Jazz Federation to play the opening sets when the

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

Quartet made their first tour of the UK in February 1958. Cecil had been replaced by

Phil Bates Philip Bates (born 30 March 1953) is an English musician who has been a member of many notable bands, including Trickster and Quill, and was the lead guitarist, songwriter and joint lead vocalist for ELO Part II from 1993 through to 1999 and t ...

on bass for their first recording, which also included two tracks with

Jimmy Deuchar James Deuchar (26 June 1930 – 9 September 1993) was a Scottish jazz trumpeter and big band arranger, born in Dundee, Scotland. He found fame as a performer and arranger in the 1950s and 1960s. Deuchar was taught trumpet by John Lynch, who lear ...

on trumpet. By August 1958, Bates had been replaced by

Jeff Clyne Jeffrey Ovid Clyne (29 January 1937 – 16 November 2009) was a British jazz bassist (playing both bass guitar and double bass). Clyne worked with Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott in their group the Jazz Couriers for a year from 1958, and was par ...

, who would in turn be replaced by

Spike Heatley Brian John Heatley (17 February 1933 – 10 November 2021), better known as Spike Heatley, was a British jazz double bassist. Early life Heatley was born in Muswell Hill, North London in February 1933. Career He appeared with Vic Ash's sextet ...

. The band disbanded in August 1959, shortly before Scott opened his own club,

Ronnie Scott's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sco ...

, just around the corner in Gerrard Street, in October that year. They recorded four albums and appeared on some BBC radio and TV broadcasts.

Original albums

* ''The Jazz Couriers'' (1957) * ''In Concert'' (1958) * ''The Last Word'' (US title ''The Message From Britain'') (1958) * ''The Couriers of Jazz'' (1959)

References

External links

* British jazz ensembles British musical quintets Musical groups established in the 1950s {{UK-jazz-musician-stub