Unfortunately, I Was Right About Stan Tracey

I wish there would be some news in the jazz world other than the greats leaving us one-by-one. My premonition last July was correct in the case of Stan Tracey, as I went out of my way while in Scotland last summer to see him at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, only to be disappointed when he was a no-show at his own gig. I thought it perhaps my last chance to see the legendary house pianist from Ronnie Scott’s, and unfortunately I was right; Stan passed away this week. No more to be heard from the man for whom accompanying the likes of Dexter Gordon and Ben Webster every night for seven years was like "Christmas every day" (shades of Elmo). See his lengthy Guardian obit here.

Jim Hall left us this week as well. Most notable in my book for joining Sonny Rollins’ 1962 re-entry-from-outer-space album The Bridge, Jim played subtle guitar with virtually everybody in jazz, proving that you don’t have to be a million-note-a-minute twiddler to be a great player. If only more would listen and adopt his approach. From his New York Times obit: Mr. Hall never took his mastery of the guitar for granted. “The instrument keeps me humble…Sometimes I pick it up and it seems to say, ‘No, you can’t play today.’ I keep at it anyway, though.”

To think that someone whose mastery of the instrument appeared so effortless was actually still intimidated by it after playing for 73 years. I don't feel so bad now on those days when practice seems like work and I feel like a small child picking up my horn for the first time.

Saxophone Colossus

My tenor-playing compatriot Alan Breen, now located in Phnom Penh, sent me the link to this noteworthy article about Sonny Rollins. Rather lengthy in this short-attention-span world, but definitely worth the read.

One of the first jazz LPs I bought when I was a college student was Saxophone Colossus, and I remember playing it sparingly because it was so great I was worried about wearing it out. Sonny is just the best ever. Imagine jamming with Bird while still a teenager and keeping up, and now at age 82 still having the urge to practice every day – to get better. One of the only times Bird recorded on tenor was alongside young Sonny on Serpent's Tooth in 1953 (try to pick out who is who on that record). Sonny has produced just too much good music through the years to credibly say that one piece, or one era, or one band, or one album is his best. I particularly love the story about the classic Tenor Madness session with John Coltrane in 1956 where Trane reputedly grumbled that Sonny was just messing with him.

Reviews of Sonny’s 1960s RCA recordings – including the article in the link above – usually focus on his comeback album The Bridge, which is a jewel but ultra-conservative for 1962. I prefer the band from later that year with Don Cherry on trumpet, and the album from the following year alongside founding father Coleman Hawkins, which I find incredible. Sonny took some unique approaches during that session – some reviewers describe them as odd – merely to emphasize that he was not Hawk. Not long ago I came across some bootlegs from Ronnie Scott’s in the mid-60s that are undiscovered fun, where Sonny shares the stage with Ronnie himself (recently-discussed master Stan Tracey is on piano).

I've had the chance to see Sonny live twice through the years; once in 1981-82 in Philly in a club where I sat so close I could have shined his shoes. That night he was smokin’. In the mid-90’s I caught Sonny at Symphony Hall in Chicago. The venue was just wrong, the sound was bad, and the tickets were expensive. That gig was a disappointment, an off night.

2011’s Road Shows Vol. 2, where fellow octogenarians Sonny and Ornette Coleman have their first-ever meeting, is notable because Sonny mirrors Ornette’s style when they play together. Unbelievable that they never performed on the same stage before this.

There is a wonderful photo of Sonny on Ellery Eskelin’s blog from about a year ago where Ellery met Sonny sitting in the waiting lounge of Detroit airport. Here is the living link to every major jazz player since Coleman Hawkins and a player who is on absolutely everyone’s best-tenor-saxophonist-in-history list flying coach class and sitting on a hard seat in the public area. This man should be up in First Class and in the VIP Room. A sad commentary on the economics of a playing horn for a living, even at the top.

According to Mark Jacobson’s article, Sonny is suffering from a lung ailment and hasn't touched his Mark VI for a couple of months. Not good news at age 82. Here’s a prayer that he makes it back. We can’t do without him.

(Almost) Saw Legendary Pianist Stan Tracey in Concert

Brian Kellock (piano), Bobby Wellins (tenor sax), Clark Tracey (drums) in Edinburgh

I am currently in Glasgow, Scotland for a couple of weeks. Last Wednesday I brought my ailing Mark VI to nearby Edinburgh for overhaul by Bryce Ferguson, Scotland’s top woodwind tech. It has had a spring broken off in the Eb post since last September and was in general need of maintenance attention. Hope to have it back later this week. Bryce promises it will play amazing. If I thought it played well before...

Edinburgh positions itself as the world’s festival city and luckily this week is the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival. As such festivals go these days, it is large, well-produced, and well-marketed – but hardly any of the acts suit my taste in music. Wacka wacka.

Of all the acts on the bill over ten days, my choice was to see pianist Stan Tracey, legendary leader of the house rhythm section at Ronnie Scott’s club in London during the halcyon days of the 1960's. Stan has backed a virtual pantheon of saxophonists: Sonny Rollins, Ben Webster, Roland Kirk, Dexter Gordon, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Stan Getz, Don Byas, Lucky Thompson, and Ronnie Scott himself (quite a mean tenor player). Stan is 86 now and I figured I’d better see him now while I can. His regular quartet features tenor saxophonist Bobby Wellins, one of Britain’s finest and up in years himself.

I took the 50-minute train ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh after my business was done for the day and went straight to the venue at 3 Bristo Place, a church converted to performance space. When I arrived, the doorman informed me that Stan had cancelled due to illness and pianist Brian Kellock would substitute, leading Stan’s quartet for the evening’s show. Hmph. Not my day. I heard that the organizers actually knew Stan has been ill for the last month and were hoping he would get well in time for the festival gig. Not to put Brian down, since he is a fine musician, but I stayed anyway, having travelled to Edinburgh specifically for the gig. Unfortunately the box office sold me a ticket for the same £17.50 that I would have paid to see Stan himself.

Age Mates:
Bobby Wellins and his BA

The show started and ended with Monk – Monk’s Mood was the opener and Blue Monk the encore. The highlight of the first set was Lover Man done as a fast samba. Bobby Wellins sounded his best and got the best audience response when he played a couple of straight-ahead blues shuffles. Bobby and his Selmer Balanced Action look to be about the same age.

The music was nice but frankly a bit too conservatory-perfect for me – well done, professional, enjoyable, musically correct, but it didn't get me up out of my seat despite the fact that I have been starved for good live jazz for ages. Maybe a bit too perfect. 8 out of 10. Bobby didn't even break a sweat, perhaps a function of playing for such a sedate and well-mannered audience. I was one of the youngest people in the crowd. Kudos to the sound engineers – the sound was finely balanced and crystal clear. Bassist Andrew Cleyndert was a standout. Well done.