Tune up: Colin Steele's Stramash
Acclaimed trumpeter Colin Steele will be taking his new band out on the road as this Tune Up tour kicks off later this year...
Colin Steele has been playing professionally since 1987. After three tours with Hue and Cry and appearances on Top Of The Pops and Wogan (amongst many other TV shows) he decided that the world of pop was definitely not for him. So he moved to France for two years, and then on to London to study jazz at the Guildhall School of Music. Throughout this time he returned sporadically to Scotland to work with the innovative and groundbreaking modern jazz outfit, The John Rae Collective, which also included Brian Kellock and Phil Bancroft. After finishing college he spent four years travelling throughout Europe, returning to Edinburgh in 1996.
Colin's first album, Twilight Dreams, was released in 2002 on Caber Music and received universal acclaim (Guardian/Observer Album of the Week, Guardian Top 5 Jazz CD's of 2002 etc). The characteristic uplifting and open feel of Colin's music, that is now very much his signature, features throughout the tracks on his second album, The Journey Home' . The development in Colin's individual skills and the bands overall cohesion is clearly evident in his latest album, Through the Waves, that goes further down the folk-tinged contemporary mainstream paths that Colin and the band set out on in their triumphant debut. Through The Waves, continues his grafting of the American tradition onto the lyricism of Scotland's folk traditions. Released by the prestigious label ACT (home to euro-jazz star, Esbjorn Svensson) the new album will make Colin's warmly familiar, yet compellingly spontaneous, music more widely noticed..
For this Tune Up tour, Stramash sees Colin's award-winning jazz quintet joined by three of Scotland's finest fiddlers; Aidan O' Rourke (Blazin' Fiddles), Charlie McKerron (Capercaillie) and Chris Stout (Fiddlers Bid); with Sua Lee (Mr McFalls) on cello plus Rory Campbell (Old Blind Dogs) on bagpipes and whistles. It makes its debut on this Tune Up tour.
Full line-up:
Colin Steele (trumpet), Phil Bancroft (sax), David Milligan (piano), Aidan O'Donnell (bass), Stu Ritchie (drums), Aidan O' Rourke, Charlie McKerron, Chris Stout (fiddles), Sua Lee (cello), Rory Campbell (bagpipes and whistle).
'Warmly familiar, yet compellingly spontaneous, music. Scottish jazz trumpeter Colin Steele, a Chet Baker and Miles Davis disciple has grafted the lyricism of Scotland's folk traditions into that American legacy' The Guardian.
From lilting ballads to jazz swingers, from laments to ecstatic whirls, Colin achieves an almost perfect fusion of jazz and folk.
'A superb instrumentalist, Steele's music has instant appeal' The Observer
Feedback
'My daughter and I went to the St Andrews performance of Colin Steele's Stramash and I wanted to say a huge "Thank You" for supporting this venture. It was one of the most enjoyable gigs I have been to in a long time and brought together two musical passions in my family (mine for jazz and my 15 year old daughter's for traditional music) in a unique and truly memorable way. We are both fired up to find out more about each other's music.
Although I am not normally one to "put pen to paper" in this way I wanted to pass on my thanks to everyone involved in supporting this genuinely creative musical initiative.' - Bruce
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For more information on Colin Steele have a look at his website
