Hubbry Logo
Stan TraceyStan TraceyMain
Open search
Stan Tracey
Community hub
Stan Tracey
logo
8 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Stan Tracey
Stan Tracey
from Wikipedia

Key Information

Stanley William Tracey CBE (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood", which is based on the BBC radio drama Under Milk Wood, by Dylan Thomas.

Early career

[edit]

The Second World War meant that Tracey had a disrupted formal education, and he became a professional musician at the age of sixteen as a member of an ENSA touring group playing the accordion, his first instrument. He joined Ralph Reader's Gang Shows at the age of nineteen, while in the RAF and formed a brief acquaintance with the comedian Tony Hancock. Later, in the early 1950s, he worked in groups on the transatlantic liners Queen Mary and Caronia and toured the UK in 1951 with Cab Calloway. By the mid-1950s, he had also taken up the vibraphone, but later ceased playing it. At this time he worked widely with leading British modernists, including drummer Tony Crombie, clarinettist Vic Ash, the saxophonist-arranger Kenny Graham and trumpeter Dizzy Reece.[1]

In February 1957, he toured the United States with Ronnie Scott's group, and became the pianist with Ted Heath's Orchestra in September for two years (1958–59), including a US tour with singer Carmen McRae. Although Tracey disliked Heath's music, he gained a regular income and was well featured as a soloist on both piano and vibes, and contributed compositions and arrangements that stayed in the Heath book for many years. The following year he recorded his first album as leader, Showcase, for English Decca (also Heath's label) and Little Klunk in 1959; he had first recorded in 1952 with the trumpeter Kenny Baker. At Decca Records, Tracey met his future wife, Jackie Buckland (3 April 1929 – 13 August 2009[2]); the couple had two children Clark and Sarah.[3]

At Ronnie's and the Under Milk Wood LP

[edit]

From March 1960[4] until about 1967 (some sources give 1968), Tracey was the house pianist at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho, London, and he had the opportunity to accompany many of the leading musicians from the US who visited the club.[1] Recordings of some of these performances appeared on LP, while others appeared on the Jazz House and Harkit labels, recorded by the journalist Les Tomkins, but with non-professional recording equipment. Which working at Scott's club, Tracey gained some high-profile admirers; Sonny Rollins asserted at one concert: "Does anyone here know how good he is?". It is Tracey on piano that film viewers hear behind Rollins on the soundtrack of the Michael Caine version of Alfie (1966).

However, the experience of working in Scott's club affected Tracey's health; the long hours led to him taking various illicit stimulants, and the low wages also meant that he had to take the workman's bus back home to Streatham at 3 am.

At the same time, he became active too in Michael Horovitz's New Departures project, mixing poetry performances with jazz, where the musicians interacted spontaneously with the words.[5] The New Departures group recorded an album in 1964 with saxophonist Bobby Wellins, a partnership that continued for several decades. Both men contributed original compositions to the album.[6]

Tracey's 1965 album (its full title is Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood") is one of the most celebrated jazz recordings made in the United Kingdom.[7] Tracey was inspired to compose the suite by hearing the original 1953 BBC broadcast on an LP his wife Jackie had acquired. The track "Starless and Bible Black", a quote from the opening monologue, is probably the best demonstration of Wellins' lyricism and the highlight of Tracey's whole career. Such is the affection with which these pieces are held that Tracey has re-recorded them on several occasions, something that is unusual for British jazz musicians to do. Under Milk Wood was followed by Alice in Jazzland, an album for big band, the next year featuring many of his former Ted Heath colleagues. Later in the decade, Tracey made the arrangements for an Acker Bilk record, Blue Acker, and his first album dedicated to Duke Ellington compositions (both recorded in 1968), in this case to commemorate Ellington's 70th birthday the following year.[8]

Experimentation and consolidation

[edit]

The early 1970s were a bleak time for Tracey.[1] Around 1970, he almost chose to retrain as a postman under pressure from the Unemployment Benefits' office – "I would have quite a good pension by now" he quips – but his wife, formerly involved in public relations, took a more direct role in the development of Tracey's career.[2]

He began to work with musicians of a later generation, who worked in a free or avant-garde style, including Mike Osborne, Keith Tippett and John Surman.[1] Tracey continued to work in this idiom with Evan Parker at the UK's Appleby Jazz Festival for several years, but this was always more of a sideline for Tracey, who said that he "took more out of free music into the mainstream than I did from mainstream into free".[9] Neil Ferber founder and organiser of the Appleby Jazz Festival built the festival around Stan Tracey and the musicians who worked with him, booking Stan to appear at every festival for the 18 years that it existed.

In the mid-1970s he formed his own record label, Steam,[1] and through it reissued Under Milk Wood (the major label that held the rights to it had allowed it to fall out of print). Over the next decade he also used the outlet to issue recordings of a number of commissioned suites. These included The Salisbury Suite (1978), The Crompton Suite (1981) and The Poets Suite (1984).

He led his own octet from 1976 to 1985 and formed a sextet in 1979 (later called Hexad),[1] touring widely in the Middle East and India. In this context he had a longstanding performance partnership from 1978 with saxophonist (and physician) Art Themen, and his own son, the drummer Clark Tracey.[10] He was able to share the billing with arranger Gil Evans in a 1978 concert at the Royal Festival Hall, such was Tracey's pre-eminence in the UK. In private, he played Ellington recordings for Evans that the latter had not previously heard. Tracey continued to record with American musicians on occasion as well, with dates taking place with Sal Nistico in 1985 and Monk associate, Charlie Rouse in 1987.

The Steam label ceased trading in the early 1990s, reportedly because of difficulties caused by the retail trade's need for its inventory to carry a barcode. However, in 1992 Tracey benefited from Blue Note's brief interest in UK musicians, leading to the Portraits Plus album and the commercial issue of the BBC's recording of the concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of Tracey's first professional gig, as well as Under Milk Wood′s debut on CD.

In 1995 his new quartet featuring Gerard Presencer recorded the For Heaven's Sake album and also performed gigs together. In 2003 Tracey was the subject of a BBC Television documentary Godfather of British Jazz, a rare accolade nowadays for any jazz musician, let alone one from Britain. Tracey's catalogue from the LP era is being reissued on ReSteamed Records.

Already an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.[11]

Tracey died of cancer on 6 December 2013; he was survived by his son, Clark Tracey, who has written a biography of his father, with a complete discography.[12] His daughter Sarah died in 2012.[13]

Discography

[edit]

As leader/co-leader

[edit]
  • Showcase (Vogue, 1958)
  • Little Klunk (Vogue, 1959)
  • The New Departures Quartet, The New Departures Quartet (Transalantic, 1964)
  • Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood" (Columbia, 1965) – soundtrack
  • Laughin' & Scratchin' (Jazz House, 1966)
  • Alice in Jazz Land (Columbia, 1966)
  • Die Jazz Werkstatt '66 (NDR, 1966) – 1 track, Tracey session with Kenny Wheeler and Bobby Wellins otherwise unissued
  • In Person (Columbia (EMI), 1966)
  • With Love from Jazz (Columbia (EMI), 1967)
  • We Love You Madly (Columbia (EMI), 1968)
  • The Latin American Caper (Columbia (EMI), 1969)
  • The Seven Ages of Man (Columbia (EMI), 1969)
  • Free an' One (Columbia (EMI), 1970) – retitled Wisdom In The Wings, Resteamed, 2021)
  • Perspectives (Columbia (EMI), 1970)
  • Alone at Wigmore Hall (Cadillac, 1974)
  • Captain Adventure (Steam, 1976) – live rec. 1975
  • Under Milk Wood (RCA, 1976)
  • The Bracknell Connection (Steam, 1976)
  • Hello Old Adversary! (Steam, 1979)
  • South East Assignment (Steam, 1980)
  • The Crompton Suite (Steam, 1981)
  • The Poets' Suite (Steam, 1984)
  • Now (Steam, 1985)
  • Live at Ronnie Scott's Hexad (Steam, 1985; Linn)
  • Stan Tracey Plays Duke Ellington (Mole, 1986; TAA, 2001)
  • Genesis and More (Steam, 1987)
  • We Still Love You Madly (Mole, 1988; TAA, 2001)
  • Portraits Plus (Blue Note, 1992)
  • Live at the QEH (Blue Note, 1993)
  • For Heaven's Sake (Cadillac, 1995)
  • Solo: Trio (Cadillac, 1997)
  • Comme D'Habitude (Jazzizit, 1998)
  • The Durham Connection (33 Jazz, 1998)
  • Stan Tracey Quartet with Phillip Madoc (2001)
  • Live at the Savage Club (SAVAjazz, 2001)
  • Zach's Dream (Trio, 2002)
  • Seventy Something (Trio, 2003)
  • The Last Time I Saw You with Peter King (Trio, 2004)
  • Just You, Just Me with Danny Moss (Avid, 2003)
  • Suspensions & Anticipations with Evan Parker (psi, 2003)
  • Live at the Appleby Jazz Festival (Trio, 2004)
  • For All We Know (Trio, 2005)
  • Crevulations with Evan Parker (psi, 2005)
  • Khumbula (Remember) with Louis Moholo-Moholo (Ogun, 2005)
  • Let Them Crevulate with Guy Barker (Trio, 2005)
  • Play Monk with Bobby Wellins (Resteamed, 2007) – rec. 2006
  • The London Session (Dox, 2006)
  • Senior Moment (Resteamed, 2008)
  • The Later Works (Resteamed, 2009)
  • Sound Check (Resteamed, 2010)
  • A Child's Christmas (Resteamed, 2011)
  • The Flying Pig (Resteamed, 2012)
  • UK Live 1967 Vol. 1 (Jazzhus Disk, 2012) – rec. 1967 at the Manchester Sports Guild, with Ben Webster
  • UK Live 1967 Vol. 2 (Jazzhus Disk, 2012) – rec. 1967 at the Manchester Sports Guild, with Ben Webster and Ronnie Scott
  • The 1959 Sessions (ReSteamed, 2022) – rec. 1959

As sideman

[edit]

Film soundtracks

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Stan Tracey was a British jazz pianist and composer known for his distinctive, idiosyncratic style blending the percussive angularity of Thelonious Monk with the robust lyricism of Duke Ellington, and for his influential role in shaping modern British jazz. Often called the "Godfather of British jazz," he maintained a creative career spanning more than seven decades, remaining active as a performer and composer into his eighties. Born Stanley William Tracey on 30 December 1926 in Denmark Hill, south-east London, he grew up in Tooting and was largely self-taught, beginning on the accordion before switching to piano in his teens. After early work in entertainment troupes during and after the Second World War, including ENSA and RAF Gang Show performances, he became a full-time jazz musician in the 1950s, playing with British bands and on transatlantic liners while absorbing American jazz influences firsthand in New York. His breakthrough came as resident pianist at Ronnie Scott’s Club from 1959 to 1966, where he accompanied visiting American masters including Sonny Rollins, Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, and Roland Kirk. Tracey’s most celebrated work is the 1965 Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, recorded with saxophonist Bobby Wellins, widely regarded as a landmark in European jazz for its evocative composition and improvisation. He also composed other notable suites such as Alice in Jazzland (1966), contributed to film soundtracks including Alfie (1966), and led various ensembles including quartets, octets, and big bands across the following decades. After a challenging period in the early 1970s, he revitalized his career through his own Steam Records label, collaborations with younger British musicians, and regular international touring. He received numerous honours for his contributions, including appointment as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1986, a lifetime achievement award from the BBC Jazz Awards in 2002, and multiple British Jazz Awards in categories such as Best Pianist and Best Composer. Tracey continued to perform and record until shortly before his death on 6 December 2013, leaving a legacy of originality, independence from commercial pressures, and enduring influence on British jazz through his playing, compositions, and mentorship of subsequent generations.

Early life

Birth and childhood

Stanley William Tracey was born on 30 December 1926 in Denmark Hill, South London, England. He was raised in Tooting, south London. His formal education was disrupted by World War II, and he left school at the age of 12. Tracey was a largely self-taught musician who learned the accordion first before taking up the piano.

Entry into professional music

Having taught himself the piano and accordion during childhood, Stan Tracey entered professional music at the age of 16 when he joined an ENSA touring group, where he played accordion to entertain troops and others during World War II. He later served in the RAF and joined Ralph Reader's Gang Shows at the age of 19. During his time with the Gang Shows, he briefly met Tony Hancock. In the early post-war years, Tracey worked in entertainment alongside figures such as Peter Sellers and Bob Monkhouse.

Early career

1940s–1950s bands and recordings

Stan Tracey gained his first professional experience in the 1940s as an accordionist with ENSA touring parties starting in 1943 and later as a pianist with the RAF Gang Show productions touring Egypt and Palestine after his 1945 enlistment. Following demobilization in 1948, he committed to jazz, performing on transatlantic liners including the Queen Mary as part of Geraldo's Navy in 1951, which took him to New York and exposed him to musicians like Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. In 1951, he toured the UK with Cab Calloway and made his debut recording with Eddie Thompson's Quintet. His early sideman work continued in 1952 with a handful of recordings alongside trumpeter Kenny Baker. Throughout the mid-1950s, Tracey worked and recorded with key figures in the British modern jazz scene, including Tony Crombie, Kenny Graham, and others. In 1957, he undertook a short US tour with Ronnie Scott's band. From 1957 to 1959, he joined the Ted Heath Orchestra as pianist and vibraphonist, contributing arrangements while touring extensively in the UK and abroad. Tracey made his debut as a leader in 1958 with the album Showcase, recorded in May and June for Vogue with his trio and quartet. He followed in 1959 with Little Klunk, a trio album for Vogue featuring his own compositions alongside standards, recorded in May.

Ronnie Scott's era

House pianist role and accompaniments

In March 1960, Stan Tracey took up the position of resident house pianist at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London, where he remained until around 1967 or 1968. This role required him to accompany a steady stream of visiting American jazz musicians, among them Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Ben Webster, and Dexter Gordon, providing the rhythmic and harmonic foundation for their performances night after night. During one engagement, Sonny Rollins publicly acknowledged Tracey's skill by turning to the audience and asking, “Does anyone here know how good he is?” a comment widely regarded as a testament to the British pianist's abilities among visiting American artists. Tracey also contributed to Sonny Rollins' soundtrack for the 1966 film Alfie, serving as the pianist on the recordings that blended hard bop with film scoring. The demands of the house pianist position involved extremely long hours, often playing multiple sets until the early morning, combined with relatively low pay that placed considerable strain on his health and personal life. Earlier, in 1957, he had toured with Ronnie Scott, providing a prelude to his later extended residency at the club.

Breakthrough and major compositions

Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood

Stan Tracey's Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood, recorded in 1965 with Scottish tenor saxophonist Bobby Wellins, is regarded as his most famous and celebrated recording. The work draws inspiration from Dylan Thomas's radio play Under Milk Wood, transforming its poetic imagery into an evocative collection of jazz themes that range from dancing to more sidelong and introspective in character. This suite marked the beginning of a long musical partnership between Tracey and Wellins, which stemmed directly from the project. The standout piece from the suite, "Starless and Bible Black," is widely considered a masterpiece and a career highlight for Tracey, featuring brooding, rippling tone-poetry delivered through a duet of Tracey's piano and Wellins's softly hooting saxophone. This track is often described as one of the all-time great jazz performances by the pair. The Under Milk Wood suite is regarded as one of the most important recordings in British jazz history. Its success brought Tracey a burst of new recording opportunities with both big bands and small groups during the 1960s. Tracey revisited the music multiple times later in his career, including a performance with the quartet for the Jazz Britannia television series in 2005, approximately 40 years after the original recording.

Other notable 1960s–1970s works

In 1966, following his breakthrough with the Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood, Tracey recorded Alice in Jazzland with his first big band, a work distinguished by its endlessly evolving ensemble subtleties and creative interplay between his piano and soloists including Bobby Wellins and Ronnie Scott. In the same period, he collaborated with poet Michael Horovitz on poetry-and-jazz performances through the New Departures project and the Jazz Poetry Septet, which featured musicians such as Bobby Wellins and performed at venues including Ronnie Scott's Club and the ICA. In 1968, Tracey provided arrangements for clarinetist Acker Bilk's album Blue Acker, leading the Stan Tracey Big Brass on a collection of blues and traditional pieces. That year he also released the Duke Ellington tribute We Love You Madly, commissioned for Ellington's 70th birthday and featuring his arrangements of seven Ellington and Strayhorn classics alongside an original title track, with solo contributions from leading British jazz figures such as Acker Bilk on clarinet, Joe Harriott on alto saxophone, and Ian Carr on flugelhorn. In 1969, Tracey recorded the big band suite The Seven Ages of Man. The early 1970s marked a difficult period for Tracey after leaving his long-term role at Ronnie Scott's Club, characterized by reduced musical activity and financial strain during which he applied to retrain as a postman.

Career revival and later years

Formation of Steam Records and own groups

In the mid-1970s, following a period of limited activity earlier in the decade, Stan Tracey formed his own independent record label, Steam Records, with substantial involvement from his wife Jackie Tracey, to serve as an outlet for his recordings featuring British jazz musicians. The label's inaugural release was a 1976 reissue of his influential 1965 album Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood. Tracey subsequently issued several commissioned suites on Steam, beginning with The Salisbury Suite (1978), performed by his octet with musicians including Art Themen, Don Weller, Harry Beckett, Malcolm Griffiths, Jeff Daly, Dave Green, and Bryan Spring. This was followed by The Crompton Suite (1981), recorded with a sextet lineup featuring Art Themen, Tony Coe, Alan Wakeman, Roy Babbington, and Clark Tracey, and The Poets Suite (1984), presented by a quartet including Art Themen, Roy Babbington, and Clark Tracey. Tracey led an octet from 1976 to 1985 and formed the sextet Hexad from 1979, with the latter documented in a notable 1985 live recording at Ronnie Scott's featuring Art Themen, Guy Barker, Jamie Talbot, Roy Babbington, and Clark Tracey. He maintained a long-standing partnership with saxophonist Art Themen, who became a regular collaborator in his groups from the late 1970s, and frequently worked with his son, drummer Clark Tracey, beginning in 1978. During this era, Tracey also collaborated with avant-garde musicians including Mike Osborne, Keith Tippett, John Surman, and Evan Parker.

1980s–2010s collaborations and recordings

In the 1980s, Tracey continued to expand his international profile through collaborations with visiting American musicians, including a 1985 quintet recording and tour with tenor saxophonist Sal Nistico that produced the album Live in London, followed by similar work with Charlie Rouse in 1987 resulting in Playin' in the Yard. These partnerships highlighted his enduring appeal to U.S. jazz figures while he maintained activity through his independent Steam Records label, which provided a foundation for much of his self-directed output during this era. The 1990s marked a period of significant recognition and diverse projects, including his transcription and performance of Duke Ellington's sacred music, premiered at Durham Cathedral in 1990 and later presented at venues such as St Paul's Cathedral. He recorded the acclaimed octet album Portraits Plus for Blue Note in 1992, followed by Live at the QEH, drawn from his 50th anniversary concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1993. In 1995, Tracey formed a new quartet featuring trumpeter Gerard Presencer, bassist Andrew Cleyndert, and his son Clark Tracey on drums, releasing For Heaven's Sake that year and establishing a long-term working relationship with Cleyndert and Clark that continued through subsequent decades. Into the 2000s, Tracey pursued exploratory duets with free improviser Evan Parker on Suspensions and Anticipations (released 2004) and the live-recorded Crevulations (released 2005). He reunited with longtime collaborator Bobby Wellins for the 2007 duo album Play Monk, focused on Thelonious Monk compositions. The Stan Tracey Quartet issued Senior Moment in 2009, featuring a retrospective of his compositions including the full Grandad Suite. Tracey sustained close musical partnerships with his son Clark Tracey on drums and bassist Andy Cleyndert across these projects and live performances. In his final years, Tracey released The Flying Pig with his quintet in 2013, recorded earlier that year and showcasing his ongoing creativity into his mid-80s.

Personal life

Family and career management

Stan Tracey married three times, with his third wife being Jackie Buckland, whom he met while she worked in the press office at Decca Records. They wed in 1960 and had two children: son Clark Tracey, born in 1961 and later a drummer and bandleader, and daughter Sarah Tracey, born in 1962. Jackie Tracey died suddenly on 13 August 2009, while Sarah passed away in 2012. From the early 1970s, Jackie actively managed her husband's career after a period of scarce work following his departure from Ronnie Scott's Club. Drawing on her public relations background and determined approach, she campaigned for his recognition, securing awards, commissions, and international festival bookings over nearly four decades. She co-founded the Grass Roots co-operative with Hazel Miller to provide performance opportunities and support for British jazz musicians. During his six-year tenure as house pianist at Ronnie Scott's in the 1960s, Tracey faced significant health struggles due to the intense schedule and long hours, leading to the use of illicit drugs including cocaine and heroin to cope. He described becoming a "total wreck" by the end, with Jackie ultimately taking him out of the club to aid his recovery. In the early 1970s, amid career difficulties and limited employment in jazz, Jackie intervened decisively when he considered a job as a postman, redirecting his focus to music.

Awards and recognition

Death and legacy

References

Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.