Stan Tracey: Godfather of British Jazz

This documentary celebrates the "Godfather of British jazz", Stan Tracey. Using archive footage, rare performances and a wealth of musical compositions, it recreates the times and changes of post-war British jazz. Stan tells his own story in the film which follows his 60-year career epitomized by Under Milk Wood Suite, the masterpiece that single-handedly defined British jazz on the international scene. The self-taught star of the post-World War II London jazz scene, Tracey sailed to New York in the 1950s on the Queen Mary to catch the Bebop Revolution in full swing. His seven-year stint as bandleader at Ronnie Scott's in the 1960s brought him fame and success alongside jazz greats Roland Kirk, Stan Getz and Sonny Rollins. Always forward looking, Tracey went on to embrace the turbulent era of 70s improvisation and free jazz. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, his triumphant career as an interpreter, arranger and composer earned him the affectionate title of The English Ellington. Contributors to the program include jazz greats such as Dame Cleo Laine and John Dankworth, musical collaborators Bobby Wellins and Keith Tippett, friends and colleagues Bob Monkhouse, Humphrey Lyttelton and Michael Horovitz and commentators John Fordham and Val Wilmer. The latest generation to be inspired by Stan Tracey's music legacy such as Courtney Pine, Julian Joseph and son, Clark Tracey, bring the story up to the present day.