AOTW, 3rd Dec - 9th Dec.

[The Rep]

I have very fond memories of seeing Stan Tracey every saturday on the all night session at Ronnie Scotts club in the early sixties. He hunched over the piano and looked as if he still had the coat hanger in his jacket. This month Stan will be eighty and still playing regularly. His style has mellowed a little but his compositions are still pouring out of him. I made a short list of three albums to suggest as aotw but in the end I went for another and possibly his best known "Jazzsuite". or as some people call it, Under Milk Wood. This album shows Stan as both composer and pianist. Although recorded in 1965 it still has a nice fresh sound. The quartet is made up of the following musicians,

Stan Tracey - piano,

Bobby Wellins - tenor,

Jeff Clyne - bass,

Jackie Dougan - drums.

and the tracks are,

1, Cockle Row, 2, Starless And Bible Black, 3, I Lost My Step In Nantucket, 4, No Good Boyo, 5, Penpals, 6, Llareggub, 7, Under Milk Wood, 8, A M Mayhem.

In a recent interview these were some of Stans answers,

Q: You must be proud of it?

ST: I don’t know. Actually, I don’t do much in the proud area. I’m more mystified than proud. Mystified by the success it has had.

Q: When you were writing it, did you not feel it was something special?

ST: No, not particularly. It was something I had to do to make an album forty years ago. I can’t remember too much about it. I suppose I was pleased with what I wrote otherwise I wouldn’t have recorded it.

Q: But it does seem to have taken on a life of its own over the years.

ST: It surely has.

With the whistful sound of Bobby Wellins sax and the beautiful melodies (especially Starless And Bible Black) this work is almost a tone poem.

So happy birthday Stan and my AOTW Jazzsuite.

Edited December 3, 2006 by The Rep

[Alexander Hawkins]

Great choice. One of the great piano players - certainly in the top 4-5 this country has produced. People will doubtless here rehearse Rollins' (well deserved) praise for him.

'Starless and Bible Black' is (perhaps) the 'theme song' of British jazz.

p.s. Typical Stan answers in that interview excerpt...

[Alexander Hawkins]

I wonder if this album gets any attention outside the UK? Over here, it's thought of as one of the few 'stone' classics from this country (certainly in a relatively mainstream setting - a broader cast would surely catch some Harriott, Bailey, Parker, etc.)

What happened to Jackie Dougan? Certainly the other 3 are still playing. And Stan, at 80-odd, still pretty much at the peak of his powers.

Edited December 7, 2006 by Red

[sidewinder]

Great dark atmospheric sound that Columbia Lansdowne Studio captured on this session (was it Adrian Kerridge who was the recording engineer?)

I've heard that Stan was always suprised at the plaudits that this recording got (unusually, it was recognised as a classic over here at time of release) but it deserves its reputation IMO. The other Tracey LPs from this vintage ('With Love From Jazz' etc) are also great.

[mikeweil]

Is this still available on CD? - I remember a reissue.

I alsways wondered about this, but never got around to buying it; I love Dylan Thomas' writing, both the original and Erich Fried's splendid German translation, and have a cassette of the radio production, but this one is still missing in my collection.

Edited December 7, 2006 by mikeweil

[The Rep]

I was begining to think it had not been released any where but england, either that or I had brocken some forum rule. I don't know about Dougan but I have seen Bobby Wellins and Stan Tracey in the past year. Both were very good. I think Stan has made some very good albums through his recording career. I love Little Klunk, I really like the short but impressive solo on the track Fidel from Shake Keanes album Thats The Noise, although the rest of the album . Some of Stans albums that should be look at or should I say listened to,

Solo, Portraits Plus, Stan Tracey Plays Duke Ellington, I also like it when he puts a big band together and produces albums like Seven Ages Of Man also Genesis.

At the moment I am enjoying his 2006 release For All We Know, the trio here is Stan, Andrew Cleyndert Bass, And Stans son Clark Tracey drums. I saw Cleyndert with Junior Mance when he tour in the UK in 2004 I think it was and he impressed then. Thank you gentlemen for your thoughts.

[sidewinder]

My favourites are those 'Stan Tracey Big Brass' albums recorded for Lansdowne. This man can REALLY write for big bands !

[mikeweil]

Seems amazon can still deliver ..... but pricey!

[The Rep]

I use to have the vinyl with Donald Houston reading Under Milk Wood to the Jazzsuite.

[Alexander Hawkins]

The 2004 duo with Louis Moholo is stunning. Khumbula, on Ogun.

[The Rep]

Will look it out, thanks Red

[Alexander Hawkins]

It's certainly well worth it! I've only just got it myself, but Louis is a force of nature on this, and works absolutely great with Stan.

p.s. did anyone see the BBC programme recently where Julian Joseph interviewed Stan, Tippett, Kirk Lightsey, Huw Warren and Gwilym Simcock about the piano? Some great (and not so great...) stuff on there. Stan, Tippett and Lightsey were inspirational IMHO.

[The Rep]

I did not see that programe but I did see and recorded the bbc one about Stan. I gather he was not very enthussiastic about working with Tippett or the music he was produceing with Tippett.

[Alexander Hawkins]

That was my recollection of the programme as well, although I can't remember who I heard it from, but a few people have said that's a bit of a caricature - I think he might quite have cared for some of the music. And the way he plays with Louis - he's got serious affinity for the freer end of his stuff.

[Guest the mommy]

i seem to remember a quote from tracey about how he gave up on the free stuff because he was playing with a bunch of musicians having a long free-ish jam session at a club and he was just messing around (maybe playing god save the queen?) and no one even noticed or was paying attention. everyone was just going off in their own direction. maybe i am remembering wrong or have my musician wrong.

anyways-did anyone get the captain adventure double disc reissue from the tracey label? it is pretty good. tracey sounds very monk-ish-really pounding quirky rhythmic riff thingies. and art themen i guess sort of sounds rouse-ish. the whole thing is mischevious and playful sounding and in your face unsubtle but really swings nicely (brian spring post-nucleus or pre-nuclues ((close by either way)) on drums).

over on the aaj board i am always creeped out that one of the brit-jazz enthusiasts's handle is "stan tracey". seems to sometimes be causing confusion which he or she doesn't necessarily find unwelcome, i guess.

[Alexander Hawkins]

i seem to remember a quote from tracey about how he gave up on the free stuff because he was playing with a bunch of musicians having a long free-ish jam session at a club and he was just messing around (maybe playing god save the queen?) and no one even noticed or was paying attention. everyone was just going off in their own direction. maybe i am remembering wrong or have my musician wrong.

anyways-did anyone get the captain adventure double disc reissue from the tracey label? it is pretty good. tracey sounds very monk-ish-really pounding quirky rhythmic riff thingies. and art themen i guess sort of sounds rouse-ish. the whole thing is mischevious and playful sounding and in your face unsubtle but really swings nicely (brian spring post-nucleus or pre-nuclues ((close by either way)) on drums).

over on the aaj board i am always creeped out that one of the brit-jazz enthusiasts's handle is "stan tracey". seems to sometimes be causing confusion which he or she doesn't necessarily find unwelcome, i guess.

Yeah - they rehearsed that Tracey anecdote on a BBC radio documentary on Stan last week, and the tune apparently was God Save the Queen. He mentioned some of the players too...can't remember exactly, but off the top of my head, Osborne and John Stevens were mentioned...Surman? Can't recall.

[Chuck Nessa]

If you really want to promote the music/artist/recording, it might be smart to list these in the thread title.