Mr ACKER BILK
and
THE STAN TRACEY BIG BRASS

Saxophone

‘BLUE ACKER’

PERSONNEL
Acker Bilk(cl); Kenny Wheeler, Ian Hamer, Derek Watkins, Eddie Blair, Les Gordon (tpt); Ian Car (flug); Keith Christie, Don Lusher,
Chris Pyne, Bobby Lamb, Chris Smith (tmb); Tony Coe (tenor); Stan Tracey (pno); Dave Green (bs);
Barry Morgan (drms); Frank Rolotti or Alan Branscombe (marimba t.3)

TRACKS
Royal Garden Blues * Stranger On The Shore * Festival Junction * Blues For Last Year * Tin Roof Blues * Baby Blue * Blues For This Year * Mood Indigo * Creole Love Call * I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart * Blues With A Feeling *I’m Beginning To See The Light * Lay-By *
We Love You Madly

Tracks 1 – 8 were originally issued on vinyl and were recorded over the 2nd and 3rd of May 1968
Tracks 9 – 14 were recorded 20th and 21st August 1968 add Don Rendell and Joe Harriot (sax); Lenny Bush (bs); and Kenny Baker & Paul Tongay replacing Kenny Wheeler and Ian Hamer (tpt)
Acker Bilk is featured on Tracks 1 – 8 and Tracks 9 & 11
Compact Disc Issued By Lake Records LACD 218

* * * * * * *
On finding this CD my first reaction at the coupling of Acker Bilk and Stan Tracey was one of surprise, and I wondered if perhaps it should have been labelled 'Bridging the Gap'. Further apprehension crossed my mind when I discovered the line-up on the first eight tracks indicated what seemed to be somewhat of an imbalance - Acker Bilk, plus an eleven piece brass section comprising of five trumpets five trombones and a lone flugelhorn player, all top flight well established musicians, a solitary tenor sax player namely Tony Coe, and a basic three rhythm section.
But then how could a rhythm section with mega pianist Stan Tracey, the youthful and spirited Dave Green on bass along with
drummer Barry Morgan ever be described as basic ?

On the second recording session Kenny Baker is included in the brass section and Lennie Bush takes over on double bass replacing Dave Green with Don Rendell and Joe Harriot linking up with the lonely Tony Coe. A glance over all the names of all the musicians present a certain bias towards modernism as was prevalent forty years ago.

Indeed a unique and intriguing combination, which proves beyond doubt to be a successful and surprisingly well adjusted team.

Both Acker Bilk and Stan Tracey are self-taught musicians and came from austere backgrounds. In Stan’s case his first gig was as a seventeen year old playing the piano accordion as part of an ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) concert for wartime factory workers.

Following his service in the RAF, he by that time had switched to playing the piano and by 1948 was associated with saxophonist
Ronnie Scott, and thus commenced his meanderings along the virtuous path of jazz.
Saxophone Saxophone
Acker Bilk, christened Bernard Stanley, was born in Somerset in 1929. He shunned his parent’s attempts to coach him at the piano and much preferred outdoor activates, only to lose two front teeth in a school punch-up and part of a finger in a sledging accident. It was during his Army service in Egypt he took to playing the clarinet whilst serving time in the ‘glasshouse’ (the Army’s term for detention). He obviously developed well and by 1950 he was in the Ken Colyer Band prior to forming his own Paramount Jazz Band.

By 1968, the year this recording was made both gentlemen had progressed tremendously. Stan Tracey epitomised the phrase of being ‘a musician’s musician, his composing and arranging skills were outstanding and he was also in constant demand as a jazz pianist.

During 1961 Acker Bilk recorded Stranger On The Shore which reached unparalleled instrumental success topping the charts both in the
United Kingdom and America. He was to become a universal celebrity and noted for his bowler hat / fancy waistcoat fashion mode. Not too dissimilar to the American clarinettist / bandleader Ted Lewis who chose to wear the unconventional top hat and tails for his stage appearances.

This affinity was the only similarity the two gentlemen shared.

From the outset Blue Acker offers a host of unusual surprises not least Stan Tracey’s inimitable arrangements; they never appear to be pretentious or over complex yet rhythmic and dynamic throughout. Royal Garden Blues is the perfect opener taken at a very relaxed yet swinging pace.

Acker excels showing he is capable and confident despite the challenging and formidable task ahead.

Tin Roof Blues and Mood Indigo are played in similar vein, old standards given a new identity and an engaging sophistication, which is a joy
to listen to. Duke Ellington would certainly approve of the Tracey treatment of his Mood Indigo and the other Ellingtonia included
in this remarkable album.

Creole Love Call offers a superb opportunity for Acker’s haunting clarinet to weave a closely knit tapestry within the ensemble framework, whilst Dave Green’s sympathetic bass is evident throughout.

Baby Blue is a Stan Tracey original, a first-rate showcase for the two masters to give it their best and this is exactly what they do.

Stranger On The Shore - this big band treatment of Acker’s classic hit tune combines his artistic rendition alongside the muted brass and
spells perfection, all this plus a superb rhythmic backing and Tony Coe on tenor sax adds that touch of tenderness.
Originally this number was given the title of ‘Jenny’ and accredited to Acker’s daughter, but the change of name
came about when the number was selected as a theme tune for a TV series.

Blues For This Year - this is another gem from the Tracey library showing Acker’s improvisational skills in which,
the brass section credit themselves expertly.

Festival Junction - an upbeat Ellington / Strayhorn composition which again clearly illustrates the versatility of Acker Bilk, the trumpet solos
are in the hands of Kenny Wheeler and Ian Hamer.

I’m Beginning To See The Light - We Love You Madly - Lay-By, and I Let a Song Go Out Of My Heart are the four tracks which feature
the band only and present scope for the various soloists to outrival each other in friendly combat.

Whilst this "BLUE ACKER" CD can well be summed up in four words ‘This Album Has Everything’, the important thing is that Acker Bilk can be heard in a completely different environment and thus warrants the acclaim and kudos he so rightly deserves. Perhaps after listening to this CD some of us will be taking a second hearing of the many other presentations he has recorded over a sixty year lifetime in the music business. Of course, without doubt, exactly the same applies to his partner Stan Tracey who also has also devoted his life to jazz music in its various disciplines.

This Review is by
Bert Booth
Aspen Lodge,
Finzean by Banchory,
Aberdeenshire, Scotland AB31 6NU

* * * * * * *

Denis Preston – Record Supervision Ltd – emerged on the jazz scene in the 40s and became involved in the BBC’s Radio Rhythm Club - in the 50s, he was one of the few independent record producers. He died in 1979, and according to the Sunday Times, he was probably the most important
figure then on the British Jazz scene.

Acker Bilk had recorded for LAKE Records on four CDs including “Together Again” with Ken Colyer before this one.

Stan Tracey wrote a number of Suites for big bands, notably “Alice in Jazzland” 1966, Seven Ages of Men” 1969 and Genesis 1987, and
in 1968 he arranged Ellington’s composition of “We Love You Madly” the last tune on this album

Kings Jazz Review
September 2008

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