Album: The Tubby Hayes Quartet, Lament (Savage Solweig)

Debut release for new label dedicated to archive recordings of tenor saxophonist Hayes (1935-1973), the UK's greatest-ever modern jazzman.

It's a 1967 date notable for the influence of Roland Kirk and Albert Ayler on Hayes' already Coltrane-fixate style. Of four longish tracks, two are killers: the opening "Lament", a JJ Johnson tune given a blues-march feel, and the closing "Mexican Green". The thunderous drums of a young Tony Levin, who begins a 70th birthday tour next month, are a highlight.