I didn’t think anyone listened to tenorist Warne Marsh these days, but Wellins evidently does. In fact when listening to the plaintive McTaggart, more or less a slowed-down version of Charlie Parker’s The Hymn, the resemblance between Wellins and Marsh struck me as being uncanny. Bobby has the same stove-pipe sound and individual method of building patterns, punctuated by eccentric pauses.
With such a relatively obscure style it is no wonder Wellins appears infrequently on records. He fails to fit into a fashionable stylistic pigeon hole and consequently gets little exposure, more’s the pity. The group heard here was formed four years ago for poetry and jazz concerts and has made hundreds of appearances at these gatherings. Pianist Stan Tracey is a musician with a sympathetic understanding of Wellins’ approach. They mesh well together. Bassist Jeff Clyne and drummer Laurie Morgan are the other half of the quartet. Unfortunately this album is marred by bad balancing. Morgan’s drums are barely audible while Clyne’s bass has been over-boosted. Both Wellins and Tracey sound off mike in places. A bit more care would have improved the product.
Afro Charlie is a Monkish line by Stan Tracey which finds the pianist paying homage to his inspiration. Clyne sounds like Percy Heath and the overall effect is close to the Monk Quartet. Wellins, a Scot, plays his own requiem for the victims of that bitter battle on Culloden Moor. Vic Schonfield calls this free improvising, but in reality these sketches appear to have been carefully prepared. The set ends on a breezy note in Love With Variations, a scarcely concealed I Can’t Give You Anything But Love. Bobby and Stan dig in and swing hard (not without humour) in a way that Fats Waller would have applauded.
In sum, this is a rewarding LP, containing some fine Stan Tracey and bringing the spotlight belatedly on Bobby Wellins, one of Britain’s very best saxophonists. I trust Transatlantic will get these men into a studio again soon, making sure this time that the engineering is right.
Discography
McTaggart; Afro Charlie (22½ min) Culloden Moor; Love With Variations (16½ min)
Bobby Wellins (ten); Stan Tracey (p); Jeff Flyne (bs); Laurie Morgan (d). London, 1965.
(Transatlantic TRA 134 29s. 9d.)
