| Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1965 | |||
| Recorded | March 14, 1965 | |||
| Studio | Lansdowne Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 40:46 | |||
| Label | Columbia, Steam, Blue Note Records, Jazzizit, ReSteamed | |||
| Stan Tracey chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 2010 reissue on ReSteamed Records | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| BBC Music Magazine |  [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [2] |
| Tom Hull | A[3] |
Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood" is an album by the English pianistStan Tracey and his quartet, that was released by theColumbia subsidiary of EMI in 1965. The music was written in response to the 1953BBC radio playUnder Milk Wood, by the Welsh poetDylan Thomas. It has often been cited as one of the best jazz recordings made in the United Kingdom.[4]
In a review of the album forBBC Music Magazine, Chris Parker wrote: "Tracey’s startlingly percussive, eccentric piano style and his close rapport with tenorman Bobby Wellins do bring Thelonious Monk and Charlie Rouse to mind, but the cogent pungency of the compositions (in catchy mid-tempo tunes or in haunting ballads like ‘Starless and Bible Black’ and the title-track) is all his own".[1]
In a series of articles forThe Guardian newspaper titled "50 great moments in jazz",John Fordham wrote of the album: "Under Milk Wood was an evocative collection of sparky themes inspired by the Dylan Thomas radio play (it's sometimes performed with a narrator reading the parts). And thanks to Tracey's sparing piano and Wellins's softly hooting sax, the rippling tone-poem 'Starless and Bible Black' is widely acclaimed as one of the great jazz performances".[5]
Since the original 1965 mono LP on Columbia, the album has been released on a number of labels, includingBlue Note. It was first reissued in 1976 on Tracey's own Steam label. The album was later reissued in 2010 on his son,Clark Tracey's ReSteamed Records label,[6] as "Under Milk Wood: Jazz Suite". A live version was recorded in 1976 on RCA records, which included a voice narration from the Welsh actor,Donald Houston.
All compositions by Stan Tracey.