Mexican Green

by Jason AnkenyMexican Green heralded the final creative milestone of Tubby Hayes' brilliant but all-too-brief career, signaling the maturation of his compositional skills as well as his entrance into the free jazz stratosphere. A quartet session recorded in collaboration with bassist Ron Matthewson, pianist Mike Pyne, and drummer Tony Levin, the album's seven titles are all Hayes' originals, and stretch out in a series of directions spanning from ballads to blues. Hayes' tenor sax crackles with startling energy and power, achieving maximum velocity on the scalding opener "Dear Johnny B," written in honor of late drummer Johnny Butts. Most remarkable of all is the title cut, which forces Hayes outside his modernist comfort zone to embrace the improvisational spirit.