Stan Tracey - Wisdom in the Wings: Free an' One / The Seven Ages of Man (2021)

The first cd was originally titled ‘free an’ one’, a quartet with the late peter king on alto and stan’s trio of dave green on bass and bryan spring on drums. the second cd was originally released as ‘the seven ages of man’ and features stan’s big band. these two recordings, which were deleted almost immediately on their first release fifty years ago, have since become rarities in british jazz collectors’ wishlists. now lovingly restored, we can once again appreciate the mastery of stan tracey’s piano playing, along with his compositional, arranging and band leading skills from this pivotal period in his life, having just left his tenure as house pianist at ronnie scott’s club. stan tracey quartet - free an’ one: stan tracey (piano), peter king (alto saxophone), dave green (double bass), bryan spring (drums) recorded september 10th 1969. stan tracey big band - the seven ages of man: stan tracey (piano, arranger), derek watkins, tony fisher, greg bowen, hank shaw (trumpet), keith christie, chris pyne, mike gibbs (trombone), peter king, dennis walton (alto saxophone), tony coe (clarinet, tenor saxophone), alan skidmore (tenor saxophone), ronnie ross (baritone saxophone), dave green (double bass), bryan spring (drums), frank ricotti (vibraphone) recorded october 8th 1969.