Stan Tracey Quartet: Jazz Suite Inspired By Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood

Pianist and composer Stan Tracey's Under Milk Wood, released in 1966, was among the first albums to prove that British jazz could, on a good day, stand as tall as its American parent. Over a decade would pass, however, before that fact was widely accepted by jazz lovers in either America or Britain. Indeed, it is only now, in 2023, following the international breakthrough of London-based stylists such as Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings, that British jazz has taken its rightful, unchallenged place at the top table.

Remarkably, this reissue on Re-Steamed, the label run by Stan Tracey's son, the drummer Clark Tracey, is the album's first vinyl rerelease since 1976 and is being made available in a one-off limited edition of 1,000 copies. Remastered by Clark Tracey and Tristan Powell, with lacquers cut by Casper Sutton-Jones of London audiophile label Gearbox, the sound puts previous CD editions in the shade.

Tracey recorded the album towards the end of a seven-year stint as the house pianist at London's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, where he was responsible for accompanying a stream of visiting American stars. During one of his visits, Sonny Rollins famously asked the audience, "Does anyone here know how good he is?" Most of Rollins' peers did, but not all. On one occasion, Stan Getz, somewhat the worse for wear, started putting Tracey and the house band down on stage. Tracey slammed his piano lid shut, shouted "Bollocks!" and left the stage. Getz is said to have been as good as gold for the rest of the week.

Tracey always maintained that the success of Under Milk Wood was due to tenor saxophonist Bobby Wellins' unique sound and interpretation of the music. And yes, Wellins did the suite proud. His solo on "Starless And Bible Black" is among jazz music's magic moments (check the YouTube clip below). But Tracey's evocation of Dylan Thomas' play, as composer and pianist, was altogether pure gold—and gold never tarnishes.

Postscript: While many people regard Under Milk Wood as Tracey's chef d'oeuvre, he recorded other albums of similar stature. Among these are: With Love From Jazz (Columbia, 1968), another quartet date with Wellins; For Heaven's Sake (Cadillac, 1996), with a quartet including trumpeter Gerard Presencer and Clark Tracey; and Just You, Just Me (Avid, 2005), a duo set with tenor player Danny Moss. In addition to the vinyl reissue of Under Milk Wood, Re-Steamed has another dozen Tracey albums on catalogue, including: Under Milk Wood In Hamburg, a studio recording from 1966 which has the original quartet augmented by trumpeter and flugelhornist Kenny Wheeler; Alice In Jazzland, another suite, recorded in 1966 with a big band, showcasing Tracey's composing and arranging talents on a bigger canvas; and Tracey Wellins Play Monk, recorded in 2006 with Bobby Wellins, Clark Tracey and bassist Andy Cleyndert.

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