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

By Chris May
May 9, 2023
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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

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Nubya Garcia and

Shabaka Hutchings

woodwinds

" data-original-title="" title="">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

drums
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">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

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">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

saxophone, tenor
1927 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">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

saxophone, tenor
1936 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">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

flugelhorn
b.1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerard Presencer and Clark Tracey; and Just You, Just Me (Avid, 2005), a duo set with tenor player

Danny Moss

saxophone
b.1927

" data-original-title="" title="">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

flugelhorn
1930 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">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

b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Andy Cleyndert.

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Track Listing

Cockle Row; Starless And Bible Black; I Lost My Sleep In Nantucket; No Good Boyo; Pen Pals; Llareggub; Under Milk Wood; A.M. Mayhem.

Personnel

Stan Tracey

piano

Bobby Wellins

saxophone, tenor

Jeff Clyne

bass, acoustic

Jackie Dougan

drums

Album information

Title: Jazz Suite Inspired By Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Re-Steamed

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