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Track Listings
| 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. |
Product Description
Review
".....the masterly interplay between Tracey's piano and the tenor saxophone of Bobby Wellins. Wellins is one of the very few British jazzmen with originality and the aspect of his style which comes across to so great effect is his restraint, his use of silence in the solo, his ability to create light and shade instead of endless rambling streams which so many modern musicians indulge in..." --Benny Green, Broadcaster and journalist, 1965
"It is now 19 years since Stan Tracey first introduced his jazz suite Under Milk Wood. The record was an instant, if modest, success and one of the pieces on it, the haunting Starless and Bible Black remains probably the finest single recorded performance by a British jazz group. With the plaintive sound of Bobby Wellins tenor saxophone floating above the subdued piano chords, it evokes to perfection the atmosphere of a soft spring night... it was one of the most enjoyable concerts I have attended for ages... everyone writes suites these days... but none of them has lasted like this one..." --Dave Gelly, The Observer, 1984
Stan Tracey's 1965 recording of his "Jazz Suite inspired by Dylan Thomas" has attained the status of a classic disc - and rightly so. After more than 40 years, the album stands up as one of Stan's finest. A British jazz masterpiece? How often can you suggest such a thing? But in this case the answer is undoubtedly "Yes". --Tony Augarde, Music-Web International, 2007.
"It is now 19 years since Stan Tracey first introduced his jazz suite Under Milk Wood. The record was an instant, if modest, success and one of the pieces on it, the haunting Starless and Bible Black remains probably the finest single recorded performance by a British jazz group. With the plaintive sound of Bobby Wellins tenor saxophone floating above the subdued piano chords, it evokes to perfection the atmosphere of a soft spring night... it was one of the most enjoyable concerts I have attended for ages... everyone writes suites these days... but none of them has lasted like this one..." --Dave Gelly, The Observer, 1984
Stan Tracey's 1965 recording of his "Jazz Suite inspired by Dylan Thomas" has attained the status of a classic disc - and rightly so. After more than 40 years, the album stands up as one of Stan's finest. A British jazz masterpiece? How often can you suggest such a thing? But in this case the answer is undoubtedly "Yes". --Tony Augarde, Music-Web International, 2007.
CD Description
This reissue of the classic 1965 album by Stan Tracey is the first release on his own ReSteamed label. It features compositions inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood", including "Starless And Bible Black" with its acclaimed solo by tenor saxophonist Bobby Wellins. 'Under Milk Wood' is considered one of the finest British jazz albums ever made, an effortlessly iconic masterpiece that encapsulates the heady 60s jazz boom. It was awarded 69th place in Jazzwise magazine's recent 'The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World'. From which Duncan Heining wrote: 'Tracey is indispensable, a one-man mission statement. Here he showed how much could be achieved within the basic jazz quartet format. Reaction at the time seems to have been along the lines of where on earth did this come from? Coherent, vital and mind-stretching, Tracey's eight pieces provide a remarkable insight into Thomas' great work but also into the creative process itself and the myriad sources jazz could explore for inspiration. With its jaunty, picaresque tunes and assured playing that reflected Thomas' saucy, roguish book, the album is a wonderfully humorous work that extended the boundaries in a hugely subtle way. After this, there would always be more to jazz than just blowing.' (Jazzwise, Duncan Heining, August 2006) The ReSteamed label was formed in 2006 and it's exclusively dedicated to the recordings of Stan Tracey, cataloguing his past, present and future releases. Originally, Steam Records, owned by Stan and Jackie Tracey, recorded important groups led by Stan in the 1970s and 1980s but they were only ever issued on vinyl. ReSteamed will be making all of these sessions available again on CD, along with previously unissued sessions going back to the 1960s, as well as Stan's latest recordings.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
I had the original radio broadcast of the "Under Milk Wood" play (the one with Richard Burton dating from 1954) on double vinyl many years ago, and I have been trying to find a copy of Stan Tracey's jazz version, but without success - until now.
This must stand as one of the first original major works of the British jazz scene, and still sounds marvellous almost 47 years after it was first recorded. All I can say is that the music perfectly matches the characters and situations in the play. The quartet have done an excellent job, and the recording is outstanding.
I can only echo the sentiments of the other reviewers and urge anyone with an interest in British jazz to investigate this masterpiece.
This must stand as one of the first original major works of the British jazz scene, and still sounds marvellous almost 47 years after it was first recorded. All I can say is that the music perfectly matches the characters and situations in the play. The quartet have done an excellent job, and the recording is outstanding.
I can only echo the sentiments of the other reviewers and urge anyone with an interest in British jazz to investigate this masterpiece.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
I've had this album for quite a while now and it's one of the few from the British Jazz scene of the 60s, which has maintained its repuation as a classic - and deservedly so, as it still sounds great today.
Both Stan Tracey and Bobby Wellins are true stars of the UK Jazz scene, having had long careers and are still playing today at the highest level. Stan leads big bands and smaller ensembles, often with his son Clark on drums, while Bobby has also been a great teacher and mentor for the younger generation of British players.
At the time this was recorded, British Jazzers had to be content with forming the backing band at London clubs like Ronnie Scotts, for visting US Jazz legends - playing standards they all knew. So this was something really new in being a suite of compositions all written by Stan Tracey - in the Jazz tradition - but with a distinctly British flavour.
The British-ness is further enhanced by the fact he chose to base this on Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood. If you want to sample the mood of that - I would suggest starting with "Starless and Bible Black" - which is hugely atmospheric and really evokes the landscapes Thomas was describing - a real Jazz nocturne.
Other tracks are more like Jazz of the 60s and each has its own mood - lead by Tracey's quirky piano - influenced by Thelonious Monk - but slightly more through-composed in this case. All the tracks are relatively short by modern standards - but both pianist and saxophonist, are masters of the concise solo - they make a statement and don't belabour it.
It's great that we have a new version of this classic album as it deserves to be widely available and part of all British Jazz fans' collections.
Both Stan Tracey and Bobby Wellins are true stars of the UK Jazz scene, having had long careers and are still playing today at the highest level. Stan leads big bands and smaller ensembles, often with his son Clark on drums, while Bobby has also been a great teacher and mentor for the younger generation of British players.
At the time this was recorded, British Jazzers had to be content with forming the backing band at London clubs like Ronnie Scotts, for visting US Jazz legends - playing standards they all knew. So this was something really new in being a suite of compositions all written by Stan Tracey - in the Jazz tradition - but with a distinctly British flavour.
The British-ness is further enhanced by the fact he chose to base this on Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood. If you want to sample the mood of that - I would suggest starting with "Starless and Bible Black" - which is hugely atmospheric and really evokes the landscapes Thomas was describing - a real Jazz nocturne.
Other tracks are more like Jazz of the 60s and each has its own mood - lead by Tracey's quirky piano - influenced by Thelonious Monk - but slightly more through-composed in this case. All the tracks are relatively short by modern standards - but both pianist and saxophonist, are masters of the concise solo - they make a statement and don't belabour it.
It's great that we have a new version of this classic album as it deserves to be widely available and part of all British Jazz fans' collections.
Amazon Verified Purchase
This recording first appeared when I was about 9 years old and I've finally got around to hearing it for the first time. I figure that music that you're meant to hear will reach you eventually. After being a fan of the ECM genre for many years, I'm now steadily discovering the greats of British jazz from the late 50s and 60s.
This is great stuff and I think it truly merits the title of a suite in the sense that classical music would understand. The tunes each can stand on their own but somehow make more sense when played together. There's a real range here, from boppish tunes to the incomparable and quite spacy "Starless and Bible-Black". Come to think of it, the latter has more than a hint of the ECM style that was to follow it along in a few years. I guess Stan Tracey's name is pretty well-recognized but the wonderful tone of Bobby Wellins' sax really deserves greater recognition. I was interested to find the late Jeff Clyne on drums here - I've previously only come across him in fusion bands of the 70s and 80's - Isotope and Turning Point.
If you're following the same journey of discovery as me then you really need to check this out - one of those recordings that really deserves the description of an all-time classic.
This is great stuff and I think it truly merits the title of a suite in the sense that classical music would understand. The tunes each can stand on their own but somehow make more sense when played together. There's a real range here, from boppish tunes to the incomparable and quite spacy "Starless and Bible-Black". Come to think of it, the latter has more than a hint of the ECM style that was to follow it along in a few years. I guess Stan Tracey's name is pretty well-recognized but the wonderful tone of Bobby Wellins' sax really deserves greater recognition. I was interested to find the late Jeff Clyne on drums here - I've previously only come across him in fusion bands of the 70s and 80's - Isotope and Turning Point.
If you're following the same journey of discovery as me then you really need to check this out - one of those recordings that really deserves the description of an all-time classic.
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