CLARK TRACEY - The Writing Of The Godfather Of British Jazz
Stan Tracey©William Ellis
On December 6th, 2013 British Jazz lost one of it's most important and influential figures.
In a career spanning seven decades, Stan Tracey was crucial in placing British jazz on the international stage, proving that musicians on this side of the pond could be just as intuitive, innovative and original as their US counterparts. Indeed it was during his lengthy stint as house pianist at Ronnie Scott's Club in the Sixties, supporting visiting American musicians, that led Sonny Rollins to ask if "anyone knows just how good he is?".
Throughout his long career Tracey was never one to stand still musically, from the success of his masterpiece, Under Milk Wood, through to the marvellous small groups he led and the big band arrangements of Ellington, not forgetting of course his own original big band scores, Stan devoted himself to the music he believed in so passionately.
In a career spanning seven decades, Stan Tracey was crucial in placing British jazz on the international stage, proving that musicians on this side of the pond could be just as intuitive, innovative and original as their US counterparts. Indeed it was during his lengthy stint as house pianist at Ronnie Scott's Club in the Sixties, supporting visiting American musicians, that led Sonny Rollins to ask if "anyone knows just how good he is?".
Throughout his long career Tracey was never one to stand still musically, from the success of his masterpiece, Under Milk Wood, through to the marvellous small groups he led and the big band arrangements of Ellington, not forgetting of course his own original big band scores, Stan devoted himself to the music he believed in so passionately.
Surely then, a book on the maestro was long overdue, but who should write it? The answer came after Stan's passing when news broke that Clark Tracey was to be the one to write about Stan's life and achievements in music. So what finally prompted him to put pen to paper and write this book about the great man? "Not long after Stan died, my wife (Sylvia) and I took a 2 week break from it all and I began looking up interviews he'd given and started to make notes of his earliest memories", says Clark. "I was later contacted by Alyn Shipton who proposed I wrote a book on Stan for Equinox Publishers, so having made a basic start, I was incentivised to dig much deeper. Stan had been putting off writing an autobiography for years, despite family pressure. He wasn't a man for reminiscences. In his last year however, he finally agreed to an interview with Simon Spillett but it wasn't possible in the end."
So I ask Clark, having now begun such an undertaking, it must have seemed somewhat daunting with such a long career and huge body of work to long back over? "It was indeed daunting to begin with, made more so by the fact that practically all of his contemporaries had already died", he explains. "I was able to glean more information than I expected of his early years from the internet, which threw up some wonderful knowledge I was quite unaware of. I chose not to interview those people he had worked with, rather use the occasional reference they might have made in print at that particular time. Again, it was about Stan's life and his thoughts, not especially how we all remembered him. But yes, a career that spanned 70 years is not to be sniffed at. There were eras to contend with, not just moments. His time at Ronnie Scott's Club spilled over 2 chapters but could easily warrant a book of its own."
So I ask Clark, having now begun such an undertaking, it must have seemed somewhat daunting with such a long career and huge body of work to long back over? "It was indeed daunting to begin with, made more so by the fact that practically all of his contemporaries had already died", he explains. "I was able to glean more information than I expected of his early years from the internet, which threw up some wonderful knowledge I was quite unaware of. I chose not to interview those people he had worked with, rather use the occasional reference they might have made in print at that particular time. Again, it was about Stan's life and his thoughts, not especially how we all remembered him. But yes, a career that spanned 70 years is not to be sniffed at. There were eras to contend with, not just moments. His time at Ronnie Scott's Club spilled over 2 chapters but could easily warrant a book of its own."
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Compiling all the information about Stan's musical life over such a long period of time could have been an arduous task, but Clark did have an ace up his sleeve. "Stan kept diaries from his first gig at the age of sixteen, two days after his birthday actually. This made it simple to keep track of him chronologically. Obviously for the first few years he writes with a naughty schoolboy attitude to life which appeared to extend seamlessly into his adulthood day by day" laughs Clark. "The overwhelming theme is that he barely stopped working until the 1970s after leaving his residency at Ronnie Scott's. Over the years though, they remained work diaries rather than his youthful anecdotal asides. It's amazing he found the time to write anything. By the time he was playing every night at Ronnie's, a month with Ben Webster, for example, would simply say 'Ben' on the first day. Worth remembering that he, along with most other jazz musicians, was also performing elsewhere on many of those days in addition to his residency."
One of the pitfalls about writing about someone you were so close to is that the writing can easily turn into recollections and a trip down memory lane, taking the the original concept of the book along a completely different path. This thought was also very much in Clark's mind saying "I purposely avoided an account that was too personal from me. The book is after all about the great man and not about my feelings towards him. I figured if I was going to write about Stan as his son then it would be in my own autobiography. It was only decided upon by the publishers at a late stage that I would refer to myself in the book in the first person in fact. Admittedly, my own emotions were given a jolt at various times throughout the book, but only on reflection. Writing it was somewhat easier. Much of it was after a lot of detective work, which was a lot of fun!"
One of the pitfalls about writing about someone you were so close to is that the writing can easily turn into recollections and a trip down memory lane, taking the the original concept of the book along a completely different path. This thought was also very much in Clark's mind saying "I purposely avoided an account that was too personal from me. The book is after all about the great man and not about my feelings towards him. I figured if I was going to write about Stan as his son then it would be in my own autobiography. It was only decided upon by the publishers at a late stage that I would refer to myself in the book in the first person in fact. Admittedly, my own emotions were given a jolt at various times throughout the book, but only on reflection. Writing it was somewhat easier. Much of it was after a lot of detective work, which was a lot of fun!"
Continuing, he adds, "Having enjoyed 35 years on the road with him, it was made easier to recollect some of the things that only I was aware of, alongside the wealth of interviews he had given on TV, film, radio and in print. Stan certainly hadn't kept it all but I managed to transcribe what I had and I also discovered much from the internet again. As I said previously, I was more concerned with putting his own thoughts into print rather than my interpretation or somebody else's. He famously didn't generally give much away in interviews but I've pieced many of them together when a particular subject is mentioned, to give a fuller version where appropriate, and associate with events in his diary. Obviously this method took some time but the outcome was satisfying."
One surprising aspect of the book is how scarce work could be in terms of paid gigs for Stan, despite the various accolades and commissions. This must have been a constant source of frustration for the pianist with the situation seemingly deteriorating further over time. As his stature increased, so the work apparently seemed to decrease. "Stan had become acutely aware that in reality the accolades meant very little and he kept very few of them," confirms Clark. "On receiving an award once from Lord Sainsbury, Stan asked if he could exchange it for a free shopping spree at Sainsbury's instead! After leaving Ronnie Scott's Club, in the 70s he had to go on social security and visit courts about unpaid bills, this after 10 years of consistently winning the Melody Maker polls for best pianist, composer, small group etc, so the frustration could become tangible in our household. From his diaries you can see from the few gigs he had how low the wages were at that time but my mum with some friends helped organise events and get things going again."
The book is full of insights, snippets of information and anecdotes, but the most important thing is of course the music, and the book concludes with a comprehensive discography. "When my wife,Sylvia and I began Resteamed Records, it was our intention to reissue his entire catalogue over the years from his own company, Steam Records, as well as releasing some private unissued material and more prominently his latest material" says Clark. "We make sure the current catalogue is always available and look forward to eventually releasing something unissued in the near future, as well as some of his superb albums from the 60s and 70s."
One surprising aspect of the book is how scarce work could be in terms of paid gigs for Stan, despite the various accolades and commissions. This must have been a constant source of frustration for the pianist with the situation seemingly deteriorating further over time. As his stature increased, so the work apparently seemed to decrease. "Stan had become acutely aware that in reality the accolades meant very little and he kept very few of them," confirms Clark. "On receiving an award once from Lord Sainsbury, Stan asked if he could exchange it for a free shopping spree at Sainsbury's instead! After leaving Ronnie Scott's Club, in the 70s he had to go on social security and visit courts about unpaid bills, this after 10 years of consistently winning the Melody Maker polls for best pianist, composer, small group etc, so the frustration could become tangible in our household. From his diaries you can see from the few gigs he had how low the wages were at that time but my mum with some friends helped organise events and get things going again."
The book is full of insights, snippets of information and anecdotes, but the most important thing is of course the music, and the book concludes with a comprehensive discography. "When my wife,Sylvia and I began Resteamed Records, it was our intention to reissue his entire catalogue over the years from his own company, Steam Records, as well as releasing some private unissued material and more prominently his latest material" says Clark. "We make sure the current catalogue is always available and look forward to eventually releasing something unissued in the near future, as well as some of his superb albums from the 60s and 70s."
