Stan Tracey: Two Masterful CDs

Back in January I wrote that Stan Tracey is one of the seminal jazz players in the U.K.  and discussed a few of his CDs, one of which was Ben Webster and Stan Tracey, "Soho Nights Volume 1" (Resteamed Records 2008).  At the time I said "This is one of many recordings at Ronnie Scott's and is just magnificent to hear, with the big round tones of Ben's tenor coupled with the smooth comping and soloing of Tracey." We are forunate to have another Tracey collaboration with Ben Webster, "Soho Nights Volume 2 (Resteamed Records 2012). 

Before talking about that recording, I want to talk about Tracey's "Under Milkwood: Jazz Suite" (Resteamed Records 2008), which was originally released in 1965 and is even considered today to be one ofTracey's crowning achievements. On that recording, Tracey is joined by Bobby Wellins on tenor saxophone, Jeff Clyne on bass, and Jackie Dougan on drums. It is the incredible interplay between Tracey's piano and the tenor saxophone of Bobby Wellins that really stands out on the recording, and many consider this to be Wellins' crowning achievement as well. Tracey's roots were in Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington, but he was beginning, with other U.K. players, to find his own voice, shifting from imitations of American bop and swing to original material. "Under Milkwood: Jazz Suite"  was really distinctive, writing by Tracey with its lean beauty and respect for the spirit of the play by Dylan Thomas. Wellins was often criticized at the time as a player slavishly copying the U.S. masters like Charley Parker, but in fact demonstrates here his originality and style to great effect. It is his restraint from over blowing, his lovely tone, his use of silences in his solos, and his ability to create variations of lightness and shade that distinguish him here. There are no endless streams of blowing, no rambling; the music is concise and demonstrates clearly the close relationship between Wellins and Tracey. 

"Cockle Row" opens the suite with a drum solo, a bouncing tenor line, and then the whole band playing a rather nice mid-tempo romp. Everyone solos, and everyone also supports each other when the entire group is playing. Wellins gets the opening lead, as he does for much of this CD, and demonstrates why he is still active and revered in the U.K. today as one of the pioneers of U.K. jazz. He demonstrate a light touch, round sound, and comfortable play. Tracey matches it with his solo and an equally nice touch and bounce. The drum set is omnipresent but not overbearing, and keeps everyone on tempo. Wellins is absolutely brilliant in his concept for "Starless and Black Bible" as his quiet tone floats above subdued piano chords to evoke the timelessness and atmosphere of Dylan Thomas' work.   This is the most restrained piece; otherwise, there are many solid boppish tunes worthy of any of the great combos, U.K. or U.S., of the time. There is a very nice opening piano line to "I Lost it in Nantucket", played in a lower octave and at first sounding like the start of the Adams family theme.  From there the song is Tracey's to play with, in an almost Monkish way, with simple touches, pauses, and openings for others to join in. "LLareggub" sees Wellins jumping into a nice uptempo song that is his feature until Tracy takes over midway with his own lively blues sound. "Under Milkwood" is a slow ballad for Tracey and Wellins to shine on with lovely long passages. It features lush playing, with nice restrained drum support tracing the tempo and adding little pops of coloring here and there. "A.M. Mayhem" has a lovely opening solo and then the entire group enters and takes a swinging approach to the song, with solid drum play and a moving bass line to give it its punch, its bounce. It is all Wellins to start, with Tracey comping nicely in support. Only after four minutes of swinging sax does Tracey takes over and then trades off to the drums and bass before the entire group takes it out.

Tracey's pianism varies in touch and tone with great virtuosity, and as with Wellins, he knows how to keep his solos short and concise even as he is creating great impressionistic swaths of sound. This is absolutely first rate, and should be a part of anyone's collection. It is not well-known to U.S. listeners so I hope those who are reading this will give it a try.

Recorded live at Ronnie Scott's in 1964, "Soho Nights Volume 2" (Resteamed Records 2008) is a second set from tenor giant Ben Webster's appearances at the club, backed by Stan Tracey's 'in-house' trio. The quality of the sound captures the atmosphere of the club nicely, and the introduction and good night from Ronnie Scott add to the live feeling of the set. This is Vol 2, but it was actually recorded three years earlier than Vol 1, in 1964. 

The set is great. "Night in Tunisia" shows the high spirits and hijinks of the group, with Webster's sound more wailing than usual to match the original swinging upbeat feel of the song. The drumming and bass lines are equally forceful and rapidly advance the tempo and maintain the high spirited romp. The band demonstrates its flexibility as it switches over to the next piece "Chelsea Bridge", which is played as tenderly and richly as one has ever heard it. Webster sounds lovely and the band is quietly supportive of his play. Rarely does one hear a more sensitive backing by the piano as Tracey supplies here. The two play like they have been together for years, not as if they had just met, as is the case. "Over the Rainbow" is similarly beautiful, with Webster's legendary sound putting the longing and romance into the song that matches the original from a young Judy Garland in the movie. The band goes back to cooking with "Cotton Tail" and "The Theme", and clearly leaves the crowd in an upbeat mood.

Volume 2 is an exhuberent outing full of great play and unrestrained joy. Webster demonstrates his unerring sense for concise but beautiful improvisations, Tracey and his trio are terrific accompanists, and the whole thing must have been an incredible night for the club's patrons. Another winning CD.

Tenor Sax and Piano: Two Recent Recordings

To my ears, the greatest tenor sax and piano duo was "People Time"by Stan Getz and Kenny Barron. Whether you purchase the two disc highlights or the entire box set of all of the performaces, this is a beautiful pairing of two expressive and sympatico masters at their most creative, even as this was Getz' last recording as he sadly died three months later.

In the past few months I have picked up and enjoyed two tenor sax and piano duos on CD, albeit with very different moods than the Getz/Barron pairing. The earlier of the two has been reviewed by many and was selected by some as one of 2011's outstanding discs. It is  Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo together on "Songs of Mirth and Melancholy" (Marsalis Music 2011). The two have been playing together since 1998, when Calderazzo replace the late Kenny Kirkland in Marsalis' band.  

The disc leans toward the melancholy, with haunting moods, lyrical lines and subdued play by both men, particularly Marsalis pulling back on his horns.  The melancholy is encapsulated  in Marsalis'  "The Bard of Lachrymose," with Marsalis on a haunting soprano sax. Calderazzo's "One Way," is one of the few peices expressing the mirth. It is a more swinging, bluesy piece than most, and the conversation between the two friends is upbeat and tied to the old  swing traditions of jazz.  Overall,  "Songs of Mirth and Melancholy" is surprisingly subdued, and while it is an exceptional partnership and expressive CD, the melacholy overwhelms the CD and leaves mirth well into the background. A nice listen and one I would recommend, but remember that it is more subdued than the title suggests.

The newer of the two CDs herin is "Smoke and Mirrors" (kwrecords 2012) by Bobby Wellins and Kate Williams, and this too is a subdued set played by two wonderfully expressive players.

I have written before about Wellins and Williams, as they are major jazz players on the U.K. scene with a long list of accomplishments between them. Wellins is the veteran here, born in Scotland in 1936 and still going strong at age 76. He is a tenorist who began his career with big bands, including the Tony Crombie Band, which also featured Stan Tracey, another seminal U.K. player. Though he began recording in 1950s, he is still very active today, and in 2012 was given the Parliamentary Jazz Award as the Jazz Musician of the Year in the U.K.

Kate Williams plays piano in the tradition of Brad Mehldau, Keith Jarrett, Bobo Stenson and others; that is, with creativity, great touch, and expressive writing. Her recording career began in 2002 and she has a half dozen recordings which include groupings from trio to septet. In past blog posts I have recommended a number of her recordings.

"Smoke and Mirrors" is a duo, as previously noted, but there are no smoke and mirrors in the music, just some simply wonderful accoustic pairings of two talents whose play is highly sympatico.  The two have worked together before in other formats and appear to know each other quite well.  

"Smoke And Mirrors", the title song,  is a collaborative piece by both composers/players and sets the mood for the recording, which is subtle, relaxed, and harmonious. The two work easily together trading leads and comping in an effortless way. standard: languid, relaxed interplay between tenor saxophone and piano that has the effortless ease that can only come from players in total command of their craft. Williams' does have a solo on her composition "What If..." and it is a stirring and emotional experience, but the  real fun is in hearing the duo, on either  their own pieces or on a couple of standards. The first of the two is an interpretation of  Jobims's "If You Never Come To Me," with Wellins' tenor warm and romantic; and the second is Gershwin's "The Man I Love", where Williams provides the swinging rhythm for Wellins simple and effective playing of the melody.

This is another example of two players understanding each other and the music, who do not over-embellish the melodies, play with restraint, and provide the listener with a wonderfully laid-back set. The two set the mood from the outset -- langourous and romantic -- and the music glows with their warmth and charm.

Highly recommended and available from jazzcds.co.uk.  

Seminal Jazz Players in the UK

Today, I want to begin with a nod to today's edition (Jan 3, 2012) of Marc Myers' JazzWax blog (http://jazzwax.com/) and its feature on  British Jazz.

In keeping with my mission statement in my first blog, I too am interested in bringing to light some of the outstanding players and recordings I have in my collection from the UK, both those of past masters as well as today's stars. I had begun a piece on some of the seminal figures in British jazz, particularly with an emphasis on those masters who are still active on the scene, thus teaching both by example as well as in the classroom.

American listeners have always heard and appreciated British players, for the most part concentrating on those who appeared frequently in the U.S. or are on major labels -- players like those noted in JazzWax, and other current notables like Norma Winstone, Kenny Wheeler, or John Taylor, to name just three who appear on more readily acessible labels like ECM and CamJazz. Some folks will also recognize the name Ronnie Scott, but perhaps as a club owner and location for some great live disks by Johnny Griffin, Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon, and other Americans, and not as a tenor saxophonist.

This blog highlights a few players and recordings of those who are not as well known, but have both the talent, discography, and gravitas to measure up as seminal figures to British artists, much as today in the U.S. we have our own octogenarians like Sonny Rollins or Roy Haynes.

Stan Tracey (born 1926) is perhaps the biggest name among those still active today. Tracey is a pianist who began recording in the 1950s and is still active today at age 85, having recorded a Child's Christmas Suite in 2011, a recording that made many of the British top 10 charts for the year. Not only an outstanding pianist, leader and composer, Tracey is also the father of Clark Tracey, a recognized drummer on the British scene, and a respected teacher to many fine young talents (who will be featured in subseqeunt blogs). The five outstanding recordings in my collection of Tracey's work include:

• Ben Webster and Stan Tracey, "Soho Nights Volume 1", 2008 Resteamed Records, recorded 1968 with Tony Crombie on drums and Dave Green on bass.  This is one of those recordings at Ronnie Scott's and is just magnificent to hear, with the big round tones of Ben's tenor coupled with the smooth comping and soloing of Tracey. Note too that Crombie is one of the long-standing names in British jazz and is a frequent contributor to many fine recordings over the decades.

• "Comme d"Habitude", Jazzizit 1999, is a Sinatra tribute, played with Bobby Wellins, another seminal figure discussed below, and also with another long-standing player still on the scene, bassist Andrew Cleyndert. Stan's son Clark Tracey is on drums. These are nice extended takes on some of Frank's best known songs, with a great deal of improvisation and tempo changes compared to the originals.
• "Senior Moment", 2009, Resteamed Records, is a personal favorite, a very subtle, relaxed trio in the groove.
• "Tracey and Wellins play Monk",  2007, Resteamed Records. These two have played together for over 40 years and it shows in the wonderful by-play between them. Granted Monk's tunes may be overplayed in tributes by now, but these two make you not care in the least.

Tubby Hayes (1935-1973) was a true original, a fast playing tenor sax player who unfortunately was here and gone too soon. His stylish melodies and intense improvisations helped introduce hard bop and its new direction to the UK. Here are a few of his outstanding recordings that demonstrate the best of this energetic, freewheeling, and passionate player:

• "Tubby's New Groove" 2011 Candid.  Recorded in 1959 but released last year, this disk features Tubby with a piano trio playing through some outstanding compositions. It was picked as the outstanding historic disk by many reviewers.
• "Commonwealth Blues", 2005, Art of Life Records, contains recordings from 1965 from BBC radio, with Hayes playing on all three of his instruments -- tenor, vibes, flute. It also features a very young Gordon Beck (see below).  
• "Live in London", Harkit Records, 2004. This disk has performances from 1964-65 at Ronnie Scott's.

Bobby Wellins (born 1936) is a Scottish tenorist who began his career with Big Bands, including the Tony Crombie Band, which also featured Stan Tracey, among others. Still active today, he began recording in the late 1950s, and on some recordings worked with a young Kenny Wheeler. His work as a leader began in the 1970's and continues today.

• "Time Gentlmen Please", 2011 Trio Records, was a personal favorite of the past year. Among his support is Andrew Cleyndert on bass. Listen to the soft, carressing tones of "In the Wee Small Hours" or the bluesy "St. Louis Blues" to feel the range and lovely tone of this master of the sax
• "Snapshot", 2008, Trio Records, is another outstanding mainstream effort by Wellins, backed by Cleyndert on bass, Spike Wells on drums, and Mark Edwards on piano.

Ronnie Scott (1927-1996) was a tenor saxophonist but is far better known as club owner and host of the club that still bears his name today. He too began with the Tony Crombie Band after World War II, played two years in the Jazz Couriers with Tubby Hayes, and in 1959 founded Ronnie Scott's, which he modelled after the Manhattan clubs in which he had played. Generally backed by the house band, Ronnie Scott's was a stop for any American playing in Europe -- Ben Webster, Zoot Sims, Dexter Gordon and others all have recordings from the club. Some selected recordings of Scott worth hearing:  

• "Boppin' With Scott", Proper Box, released 2007. These are recordings from 1946-56 on 4 disks with support from house and other  UK players.   
• "Ronnie Scott and His American Friends", Candid, 2010. This recording includes sessions with Donald Byrd, Sonny Stitt, and Stan Tracey among others, and is very well recorded.

Gordon Beck  (1936 - 2011) Sadly, Beck passed away this fall. His piano work in trios, with vocalists, or in other settings was lovely, with a light touch and expressive tunes and improvisations. His disks are readily available on Art of Life records, and are well worth listening to.

• "Experiments with Pops", 1968, Art of Life Records, was one of his earliest efforts and a fascinating one at that. All of the songs were from the pop favorites of the time, played within a jazz context. One of the fascinations is that this was the first recording of guitarist John McLaughlin. Listen to the fine work on Norwegian Wood and I Can See for Miles to get a sense of the music.  
• "Not the Last Waltz", 2004, Art of Life Records is a lovely piano trio disk with moods that range from upbeat bop to beautifully carressed ballads.
• "Seven Steps to Heaven", 2005. Another trio setting, but with the addition of French alto Pierrick Pedron on four of seven songs. Mainstream jazz in a modern setting, beautifully rendered. [Note: Pierrick Pedron's first disk, "Deep in a Dream" on Nocture, 2007, is a wonderful disk, with a supporting cast of Mulgrew Miller and Lewis Nash, among others]

I hope any readers out there will try to listen to some of these British founding fathers, and marvel at their skills and contributions to the jazz scene today. In future blogs, I want to highlight at least two players from the next generation -- Alan Barnes and Dave O'Higgins -- as well as the latest generation of players who have taken the music and run in multiple directions.