Clark Tracey (born 5 February 1961) is a British jazz drummer, band leader, and composer.

Career

Tracey was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. He first played piano and vibraphone before switching to drums at age 13, studying under

Bryan Spring Bryan Spring (born 24 August 1945) is a British jazz drummer. He is sometimes credited as Brian Spring. He was born in London, England. Spring was self-taught, beginning at the age of six, though he later studied with Philly Joe Jones. He led and ...

. Tracey played in several ensembles with his father

Stan Tracey Stanley William Tracey (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album ''Jazz Suite Inspir ...

(1978–2013), including a quartet called Fathers and Sons with

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

and

Alec Dankworth Alexander William Tamba Dankworth (born 14 May 1960) is an English jazz bassist and composer. Biography Born in London, the son of John Dankworth and Cleo Laine, Alec Dankworth grew up in the villages of Aspley Guise and Wavendon, living a ...

in the 1990s. In addition to his extensive work with his father, which took him to the US, Australia, India, The Middle East, South America, Africa and Europe, Tracey has played with numerous visiting American musicians, notably

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thr ...

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

Red Rodney Robert Roland Chudnick (September 27, 1927 – May 27, 1994), known professionally as Red Rodney, was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he became a professional musician at 15, working in the mid-1940 ...

Sal Nistico Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to: Personal name * Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname Places * Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality * Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Ca ...

Conte Candoli Secondo "Conte" Candoli (July 12, 1927 – December 14, 2001) was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC O ...

Barney Kessell Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups as ...

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...

and

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of " sheets of sound", S ...

throughout his career. He also worked and recorded with

Buddy DeFranco Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and ...

and Martin Taylor (1984–86), then with

Charlie Rouse Charlie Rouse (April 6, 1924 – November 30, 1988) was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist. His career is marked by his collaboration with Thelonious Monk, which lasted for more than ten years. Biography Rouse was born in Was ...

(1988),

Alan Skidmore Alan Richard James Skidmore (born 21 April 1942) is an English jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore. Career He was born in London, England. Skidmore began his professional career in his teens, and early in his caree ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

(1989), Tommy Smith (1989), and Claire Martin (1991-2004). In 2011 he replaced

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since ...

in the

European Jazz Ensemble The European Jazz Ensemble is an ensemble of jazz musicians. History Formed in 1976. The original members comprised the quintet of Alan Skidmore, Leszek Zadlo, Gerd Dudek, Alfred "Ali" Haurand and Pierre Courbois. After 1982 three of the memb ...

and toured and recorded with them until 2017. He has led his own ensembles since the early 1980s; in these combos he has played with

Django Bates Django Bates (born Leon Bates, 2 October 1960) is a British jazz musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, band leader and educator. He plays the piano, keyboards and the tenor horn. Bates has been described as "one of the most talented musici ...

Iain Ballamy Iain Ballamy (born 20 February 1964) is a British composer and saxophonist. He is considered one of the greatest modern jazz saxophonists. Career Ballamy was born in Guildford, Surrey, and educated at George Abbot School, Guildford, from 197 ...

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

Jamie Talbot James Robert Talbot (born 23 April 1960 in London) is an English jazz alto saxophonist. Talbot played with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra and then with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. He attended the Royal College of Music during 1978� ...

Mark Nightingale Mark Daryl Nightingale (born 29 May 1967) is an English jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger. Career He began on trombone at age nine, and played in the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in his teens. He ...

Dave O'Higgins Dave O'Higgins (born 1 September 1964) is an English jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, educator and latterly recording engineer and producer. Born in Birmingham, O'Higgins first emerged on the British jazz scene in the 1980s. After playing ...

, Steve Melling,

Nigel Hitchcock Nigel Hitchcock (born 4 January 1971) is an English jazz saxophonist. Biography Hitchcock began to play alto sax at the age of eight. In 1982 he and his elder brother Clive joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. After one year Nigel took the ...

Gerard Presencer Gerard Presencer (born 12 September 1972) is an English jazz trumpeter. Biography Presencer showed his first interest in what was to become his chosen instrument, the trumpet, at nine. He attributes his early determination to become a trumpet ...

Mornington Lockett Mornington Edward Lockett (born 19 November 1961) is an English jazz saxophonist. Career Lockett began playing clarinet at the age of 14 while he was a student at Cowes High School, before switching to tenor saxophone. He studied at Dartington ...

Simon Allen Simon Allen (born 5 September 1983) is a New Zealand cricketer. He played six List A matches for Wellington between 2007 and 2009. He was also part of New Zealand's squad for the 2002 Under-19 Cricket World Cup The 2002 Under-19 Cricket World ...

Kit Downes Kit Downes is a BBC Jazz Award winning, Mercury Music Award nominated, solo recording artist for ECM Records. He has toured the world playing piano, church organ and harmonium with his own bands ('ENEMY', 'Troyka', 'Elt' and 'Vyamanikal') a ...

, Zoe Rahman and Alex Ridout. As a bandleader he has had two tours of the Far East, Yugoslavia, France, Gibraltar and Finland as well as many national UK tours. Now concentrating on promoting the music of his late father, his final group under his own name included Mark Armstrong, Tom Ridout, James Wade Sired, Gareth Williams and James Owston, undertaking a national tour in 2021. Clark has worked steadily as a freelance musician and regularly appears in the groups of Alan Barnes and Alex Clarke. He has been awarded "Best Drums" in the British Jazz Awards six times and in 2007 won "Best Drums" at the

Ronnie Scott's Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie ...

Awards and his quintet won the Best Performance Award for Birmingham Jazz in 2006. Tracey took over promotions for Herts Jazz in 2009 and ran a weekly jazz club in St Albans and an annual jazz festival up until the end of 2021. He owns two record labels, Tentoten Records and Resteamed Records, the latter dedicated to re-issues on CD of his father's recordings. Clark Tracey has been commissioned to write ''Exploring Jazz Drums'' for Schott Publishing, an instructional book, and ''The Godfather of British Jazz'' for Equinox Publishing, a biography of Stan Tracey. Previously a tutor at the

Purcell School of Music The Purcell School for Young Musicians is a specialist music school for children, located in the town of Bushey, south Hertfordshire, England, and is the oldest specialist music school in the UK. The school was awarded the UNESCO Mozart Meda ...

, he is currently a visiting tutor at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire of Music and was also asked to compose the Trinity College jazz drums grades for 2020–2024. In 2020 he was commissioned to compose and prepare the first drum grades syllabus in China. He has recently been invited as Musician in Residence at the Maltese Music Academy. Tracey was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

(BEM) in the

2019 Birthday Honours The 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as ...

for services to music and the promotion of jazz.

Stage and film

*'' The Talented Mr. Ripley'', directed by

Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella, (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He won the Academy Award for Best Directo ...

, film *''Lady Day'', starring

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

, West End play *''Lenny'', starring

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

, directed by Sir Peter Hall, West End play

Discography

As leader

* ''Suddenly Last Tuesday'' (

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed ...

, 1986) * ''Stiperstones'' (Steam, 1987) * ''We've Been Expecting You'' (33 Jazz, 1992) * ''Full Speed Sideways'' (33 Jazz, 1994) * ''Stability'' ( Linn, 2000) * ''The Calling'' (Tentoten, 2003) * ''British Standard Time'' (Tentoten, 2005) * ''The Mighty Sas'' (Tentoten, 2006) * ''Given Time'' (Tentoten, 2008) * ''Current Climate'' (Tentoten, 2008) * ''Special Septet'' with Steve Melling (Melljazz, 2011) * ''Meantime'' (Tentoten, 2014) * ''Bootleg Eric'' with

David Newton David Newton may refer to: * David Newton (artist) (1953–2011), American artist * David Newton (pianist) (born 1958), Scottish jazz pianist and composer * David Newton (guitarist), with the British band The Mighty Lemon Drops * David George New ...

(ASC, 2015) * ''Jubilation'' (Tentoten, 2016) * ''No Doubt'' (Tentoten, 2018) * ''The Legacy'' with Dominic Galea (Heritage, 2022)

As sideman

With

* ''South East Assignment'' (Steam, 1980) * ''The Crompton Suite'' (Steam, 1981) * ''Stan Tracey Now'' (Steam, 1983) * ''The Poets' Suite'' (Steam, 1984) * ''Live at Ronnie Scotts'' (Steam, 1986) * ''Genesis'' (Steam, 1987) * ''We Still Love You Madly'' (Mole, 1989) * ''Portraits Plus'' (Blue Note, 1992) * ''Live at the QEH'' (Blue Note, 1994) * ''For Heaven's Sake'' (Cadillac, 1996) * ''Solo: Trio'' (Cadillac, 1998) * ''Comme D'Habitude'' (Jazzizit, 1998) * ''The Durham Connection'' (33 Jazz, 1999) * ''Seventy Something'' (Trio, 2004) * ''Let Them Crevulate'' (Trio, 2006) * ''Live At Appleby'' (ReSteamed, 2007) * ''Play Monk'' with

Bobby Wellins Robert Coull Wellins (24 January 1936 – 27 October 2016) was a Scottish tenor saxophonist who collaborated with Stan Tracey on the album '' Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood"'' (1965). Biography Robert Coull Wellins was ...

(ReSteamed,2008) * ''Senior Moment'' (ReSteamed, 2009) * ''The Later Works'' (ReSteamed, 2010) * ''A Child's Christmas Jazz Suite'' (ReSteamed, 2011) * ''Sound Check'' (ReSteamed, 2011) * ''The Flying Pig'' (ReSteamed, 2013) With Steve Waterman * ''Stablemates'' (Mainstem, 2004) * ''Our Delight'' (Mainstem, 2006) * ''Night Lights'' (Mainstem, 2008) With Claire Martin * ''The Waiting Game'' (Linn, 1992) * ''Devil May Care'' (Linn, 1993) * ''Old Boyfriends'' (Linn, 1994) * ''Off Beat'' (Linn, 1995) * ''Take My Heart'' (Linn, 1999) * ''Too Darn Hot!'' (Linn, 2002) * ''Secret Love'' (Linn 2004) * ''He Never Mentioned Love'' (Linn, 2007) With

Colin Towns Colin William Towns (born 13 May 1948 in West Ham, London) is an English composer and keyboardist. He was noted for playing in bands formed by ex-Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan, and later worked extensively in composing soundtracks for film, telev ...

* ''Mask Orchestra'' (The Jazz Label 1993) * ''Nowhere & Heaven'' (Provocateur, 1996) * ''Bolt from the Blue'' (Provocateur, 1997) With

Tina May Daphne Christina May (30 March 1961 – 26 March 2022), known professionally as Tina May, was an English jazz vocalist. Early life and career The younger of two daughters born to Harry May and Daphne E. Walton,Dominic Alldis Dominic Alldis (born 1962) is a jazz pianist, orchestral conductor, and arranger. He is also a business speaker and founder of Music & Management. Early life Alldis was born into a family of classical musicians. His mother was a violinist and ...

, ''If Love Were All'' (Canzona, 2000) *

, ''Holly J.'' (Miles Music, 1989) *

, ''Guy Barker's Extravaganza - Isn't It?'' (Spotlite, 1993) * Alan Barnes, ''The Sherlock Holmes Suite'' (Woodville Records, 2003) * Alan Barnes, ''Seven Ages Of Jazz'' (Woodville Records, 2006) * Alan Barnes, ''A Jazz Christmas Carol'' (Woodville Records, 2015) *

Iva Bittova Iva or IVA may refer to: Organizations * Independent Voters Association, a North Dakota U.S. political organization * Informationsvidenskabelige Akademi, a Danish university * Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, (Swedish: ''Kungliga In ...

, ''Iva Bittova'' (Indies, 2002) * Harry Bolt, ''Piece By Piece'' (Selective, 2018) * Alex Clarke, ''Only A Year'' (Stray Horn, 2022) * Daniela Clynes, ''Gentle Persuasion'' (2004) *

Laurence Cottle Laurence Cottle (born 16 December 1961) is a Welsh bass guitarist and composer. Career His solo recordings have been mostly in jazz and jazz fusion. He was a member of the fusion quartet The Fents and appeared on their second album, ''The Ot ...

, ''Jazz!'' (KPM Music, 2001) * Dunstan Coulber, ''I'll Be Around'' (Nagel Heyer, 2004) *

, ''Groovin'' (Hep, 1985) *

, ''Garden of Dreams'' (ProJazz, 1988) *

, ''35th Anniversary Tour 2011'' (Konnex, 2011) * Greg Foat, ''The Mage'' (Athens Of The North, 2019) * Greg Foat, ''The Dreaming Jewels'' (Athens Of The North, 2019) * Greg Foat, ''Symphonie Pacifique'' (Strut, 2020) * Hampshire & Foat, ''Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand'' (Athens Of The North, 2017) * Hampshire & Foat, ''Nightshade'' (Athens Of The North, 2018) * Hampshire & Foat, ''The Honey Bear'' (Athens Of The North, 2018) *

John Harle John Harle (born 20 September 1956) is an English saxophonist, composer, educator and record producer. He is an Ivor Novello Award winner and has been the recipient of two Royal Television Society awards. Biography Harle was born in Newcastl ...

, ''The Shadow of the Duke'' (EMI, 1992) *

Gary Husband Gary Husband (born 14 June 1960) is an English jazz and rock drummer, pianist, keyboard player and bandleader. He is also a composer, arranger and producer. Husband is a member of John McLaughlin's group The 4th Dimension, he also regularly ...

, ''From The Heart'' (Jazzizit 1999) *

Benjamin Herman Benjamin Herman (London, 9 May 1968) is a Dutch jazz musician. He is best known as an alto saxophonist and as leader of the jazz band New Cool Collective. Herman also plays the C-melody saxophone and flute. He also has a radio show on Radio 6 ...

& Stan Tracey, ''The London Session'' (Dox, 2006) *

Roger Kellaway Roger Kellaway (born November 1, 1939) is an American composer, arranger and jazz pianist. Life and career Kellaway was born in Waban, Massachusetts, United States. He is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory. Kellaway has composed commissi ...

, ''Lenny by Julian Barry'' (Send in the New Boy, 1999) * Angie Mills, ''Too Much In Love To Care'' (AMCD, 2000) * Derek Nash, ''Setting New Standards'' (Jazzizit, 1998) *

, ''Victim of Circumstance'' (Linn, 1990) *

& Stan Tracey, ''Live in London'' (Steam, 1985) * Bernard O'Neill, ''Echoes & Whispers'' (Deadly-Disc Music, 2001) *

, ''Playin' in the Yard'' (Steam, 1987) *

, ''East to West'' (Miles Music, 1992) *

Simon Spillett Simon Richard Spillett (born 4 November 1974, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England) is a jazz tenor saxophonist. He has won the BBC Jazz Awards Rising Star (2007), ''Jazz Journal''s Critics' Choice album of the Year (2009), the British Jazz Awards To ...

, ''Square One'' (Gearbox, 2013) * Warren Vaché & Alan Barnes, ''Memories of You'' (Zephyr, 1999) * Warren Vache,

Tony Coe Anthony George Coe (born 29 November 1934) is an English jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, flute as well as soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones. Career Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, Coe started out on clarinet and was self- ...

, Alan Barnes, ''Jumpin'' (Zephyr, 1999) *

, ''The Satin Album'' (Jazzizit, 1996) *

Bob Wilber Robert Sage Wilber (March 15, 1928 – August 4, 2019) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber was a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his car ...

, ''Bean: Bob Wilber's Tribute to Coleman Hawkins'' (Arbors, 1995) *

Norma Winstone Norma Ann Winstone MBE (born 23 September 1941) is an English jazz singer and lyricist. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is best known for her wordless improvisations. Musicians with whom she has worked include Michael Garrick ...

, Stan Tracey, Bobby Wellins, ''Amoroso...Only More So'' (Trio, 2007) * Samuel Yirga, ''Guzo'' (Real World 2012)

References

Other sources

*Mark Gilbert, "Clark Tracey". '' Grove Jazz'' online.

External links

* – official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tracey, Clark 1961 births Living people British jazz drummers British male drummers Musicians from London British male jazz musicians Recipients of the British Empire Medal