One ponders under whose bed these tapes have been gathering dust in an old shoebox? Back to reality. The five stars awarded here relates to the historical importance of the content and not always the audio quality, which occasionally can range from live muddy bootleg quality to sparkling professional studio/location recordings. That established, the overall appeal of this 3-CD package extends way beyond the growing legion of Tubbs' fans, to stand not just as a remarkable career overview but a revealing microcosm of some of the fast company he kept mainly during the 1950s and 60s. Whether playing in the back room of jazz pubs to major concert halls, Hayes invariably gave of his best as this revealing document affirms. He never lets up. Never sells himself short. Be it ad hoc line-ups, established combos (Jazz Couriers, Tubbs own quartets and the quintet that featured the great Jimmy Deuchar), a poignant ‘Here's That Rainy Day’ taped in Norway in 1973 with the Per Husby trio, an encounter with Tommy Whittle, a glorious high octane run through ‘Cherokee’ with The Kurt Edelhagen Orchestra, the 19-piece Commonwealth Big Band (‘100% Proof’) or The Daily Mail International Jazz Festival All-Stars which finds Our Man in the company of Shake Keane, Joe Harriott and John Dankworth on ‘Milestones’ and just Dankworth on a sublime ‘There Is No Greater Love’. All wonderful stuff while the accompanying 32-page booklet tells the full history. Finally, one's thoughts dwell on what else is still to be unearthed: the rumoured sessions recorded in the States at The Half Note and Shelly Manne's Manne-Hole maybe.