COMPOSERS: Stan Tracey
LABELS: TRIO
ALBUM TITLE: Stan Tracey Trio
WORKS: Let Them Crevulate
PERFORMER: Stan Tracey Trio; with Guy Barker (trumpet)
CATALOGUE NO: TR 573
Stan Tracey appears to be living his
life backwards in some respects. A
prophet without honour in his native
UK earlier in his career, his 80th year
sees him not only properly instated
as one of the most significant figures
in British jazz but releasing a great
deal of fine music on disc with an
impressive regularity that would no
doubt have bemused his younger
self. This nice mixture of originals,
standards and near-standards sees
the pianist’s trio augmented by
Guy Barker’s fine trumpet work.
As a guest frontman, Barker is a
significant choice in an era where
the smooth and the studied is
threatening to gum up the world of
jazz brass for good; Barker can do
either of these, but like Tracey he’s
also a highly articulate master of the
unpredictable. All fine stuff, full of
the usual angularity and sonically
impeccable as well. Roger Thoma