Little-known in America but a jazz force in the U.K., Stan Tracey was a British pianist who was highly influenced by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's keyboard attack was stormy, percussive and deeply felt, but he also could play straight-ahead jazz and worked and recorded with Ted Heath for years. He also was the house pianist at Ronnie Scott's behind touring artists. Perhaps his most important albums are Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood" (1965) and Alice in Jazz Land (1966), a big band album. He died in 2013.
Here's Stan Tracey and Jazz, a moving 2003 BBC documentary that will give you a feel for how exceptional and fascinating Tracey was...
