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

Tubby Hayes

Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest British jazz instrumentalists.- Early life :Hayes was born...

 and Ronnie Scott

Ronnie Scott

Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...

 on tenor saxophones, with Terry Shannon (piano), Malcolm Cecil

Malcolm Cecil

Malcolm Cecil is a British jazz bassist and Grammy Award-winning record producer.A founding member of the UK's leading jazz quintet of the late 1950s, The Jazz Couriers, he went on to join a number of British jazz combos led by Dick Morrissey, Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott in the late 50s and...

 (bass) and Bill Eyden

Bill Eyden

Bill Eyden was a renowned English jazz drummer....

 (drums) and made their debut on the opening night at the new Flamingo Club

Flamingo Club (London)

The Flamingo Club was a nightclub that operated in Soho, London, between 1952 and the late 1960s. It was located at 33-37 Wardour Street from 1957 onwards, and played an important role in the development of British rhythm and blues and jazz....

 in Wardour Street, Soho. They shared the gig with Tony Kinsey

Tony Kinsey

Cyril Anthony 'Tony' Kinsey is an English jazz drummer and composer.Kinsey held jobs on trans-Atlantic ships while young, studying while at port with Bill West in New York City and with local musician Tommy Webster in Birmingham. He had a close association with Ronnie Ball early in his life; the...

's Quintet featuring Joe Harriott

Joe Harriott

Joseph Arthurlin 'Joe' Harriott was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone....

.

Cecil had been replaced by Phil Bates

Phil Bates (jazz musician)

Philip Francis Bates, born Brixton, London, 19 June 1931, is an English jazz double bassist.After playing regular gigs at London’s 51 Club with Harry Klein and Vic Ash throughout 1956, he joined The Jazz Couriers with Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott...

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

Jimmy Deuchar

James "Jimmy" Deuchar was a jazz trumpeter and big band arranger, born in Dundee, Scotland. He found fame as a performer and arranger in the 1950s and 1960s...

 on trumpet.

By August 1958, Bates had been replaced by Jeff Clyne

Jeff Clyne

Jeffrey Ovid 'Jeff' Clyne was a British jazz bassist .-Biography:...

, who would in turn be replaced by Spike Heatley

Spike Heatley

Spike Heatley, born North London, February 17, 1933, is a British jazz bassist.Heatley was with Vic Ash's sextet in 1958, together with Ian Hamer , Johnny Scott , and Alan Branscombe and had then joined The Jazz Couriers some weeks before they disbanded...

. The band disbanded in August 1959, shortly before Scott opened his own club, Ronnie Scott's, just around the corner in Gerrard Street, in October that year.

They recorded four albums and appeared on some BBC radio broadcasts.