The phrase "national treasure" may be overused, but no-one who saw him revisit his classic Under Milk Wood album at Welwyn's Campus West will doubt it applies to Stan Tracey.

The greatest living British jazzer is now 85 but rolled back the decades on a night of timeless grace and magic.

An evening which began in fine form with the Irish/Bengali influences of pianist Zoe Rahman, assisted by nimble drummer Gene Calderazzo, soared to the stratosphere when the long-time St Albans resident took the stage with saxophonist Bobby Wellins, a spring chicken at 78.

Always a generous player, Tracey stayed towards the background on an opening series of tunes by his hero Thelonious Monk which showed Wellins has lost none of his cool power despite the passage of time.

When the quartet, completed by bassist Andy Cleyndert and Stan's drummer son Clark, then rolled into their seminal 1965 album, Tracey gave centre stage to another collaborator as grandson Ben read Dylan Thomas' text with a style which would have pleased Richard Burton and Philip Madoc.

In other hands, playing under a narrator might have left Starless & Bible Black , arguably Tracey's greatest tune and definitely his most famous, as mere incidental music. Yet Tracey's still-potent skills and still-burning soul had some audience members reaching for the hankies.

The rest of the concert passed in a blur of brilliance, with the great man chopping out rhythm lines or delicately playing cross-hand and Wellins' sax either softly hooting or delivering upfront clarity until a unanimous and totally deserved standing ovation.

During one of Tracey's 1960s gigs as house pianist at Ronnie Scott's, legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins asked the crowd, "Does anyone here know how good he is?" They did then, we do now, and we won't see his like again.

Steve Anglesey