There was a time when the only representation of Hayes on record was to be found in secondhand vinyl shops and later, as expensive offerings on eBay. However, in recent years we have gone from famine to feast, with the superb box set Tubby Hayes: The Fontana Years 1961-1969 standing imperiously over a plethora of albums that have allowed a fuller picture of this remarkable musician to emerge. What is striking is the incredible consistency of Hayes and the musicians he surrounded himself with. Hayes settled on the quartet line-up heard on this album in the autumn of 1966, featuring on Mexican Green, among the finest ever British jazz albums. They were also documented live on For Members Only: '67 Live and A Little Workout, before Hayes sadly succumbed to addiction. He formed a new group in 1968, was hospitalised in 1970, returning to playing in early 1972, for what would be his final 18 months as a public performer.

By then his quartet had become a revolving cast of ‘A-list’ musicians that in October 1972 reunited ‘the’ Hayes quartet at Ronnie Scott's. Recorded on Matthewson's cassette recorder, this album, until something else surfaces, makes this Hayes' last hurrah on record. His tone is firm, his phrase lengths shorter; however the concision of his musical ideas shows a remarkably fertile and original musical mind; few instrumentalists in jazz choose ‘I've Got You Under My Skin’ as a vehicle for improvisation.

He is not coasting. Yes, he's more lyrical on this set than the gung ho technical wizard of '67, but there is enough evidence here to disprove those who claim he was in decline at the end of his short life. Sound is good as it can be given its source, and is a valuable addition to Hayes' ever-growing discography.