Another question I wanted to ask the board: does anyone know what's happening with the fine Scottish trumpeter Colin Steele? I haven't seen any reference to him for a couple of years, and the last post on his site was back in 2009.
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Bump....Originally posted by Rcartes View Post -
Came back to this question, still having heard nothing about Colin, and found two reports (here and here) describing his technical problems with playing and that, after much work on his technique, he was making a comeback in early 2015. That was good, but there's been nothing since, so I hope the comeback went well...Last edited by Rcartes; 22-07-16, 08:48.Comment
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There was a time when Scottish jazz seemed very much flavour of the month with the Bancroft brothers also getting as much media attention as Colin Steele. I recall seeing the former perform with pianist Geri Allen which wasn't too bad albeit nowhere near as impressive as when she performed at Vienne with Charles Lloyd. "Jazzwise" seemed to love the Scottish scene at the time and the Bancroft's label "Caber" got some serious reviews yet it seemed to quickly fade from consciousness. At the time, it was quite interesting to follow because the hype did seem credible having been to Edinburgh festival back in 1986 and witnessed just how vibrant the jazz scene was back then. It came as no surprise that this renaissance should have happened and the arrival of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra only added to the impression that Scotland was a hotbed of jazz in the UK. Tommy Smith then seemed to be re-establishing himself as a kind of Scottish Wynton Marsalis.
What is intriguing is that it is now so absent from media attention. I hadn't seen the Bancroft brothers mentioned for years until I read the article in the link and Colin Steele was never really on my radar. I do recall that Julian Arguelles was in one of his bands but had made some disparaging comments at the time he left regarding the conservative nature of the jazz Steele was producing. I am always sceptical of jazz fusion with folk music and whilst there is some kind of tradition in Scotland with the likes of Ken Hyder in this respect, I have always perceived Scotland and Edinburgh in particular to have a strong affinity for jazz following my holiday 30 years ago which revealed a scene far more vibrant than what was already a healthy provincial scene at the time in Southampton.Comment
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First Colin is back and playing after a lay off. His new album "Even in the Darkest Places" is due out shortly. Second, Tom Bancroft's Trio Red (which has released two albums in the last couple of years or so), is playing live on Jazz Now from Edinburgh on 8 August along with Kevin McKenzie's new band with Mario Caribe and a man who knows how to spell his name properly, Alyn Cosker, on drums. If you're in Edinburgh, Colin is playing the St Andrew's Square Spiegeltent tomorrow at 2.30. Keep up, you lot...Comment
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Originally posted by Alyn_Shipton View Post
You're quite right, Alyn.
One of the problems is we get to see/hear less of the Scots scene these days and have to rely on broadcasts. (Well the costs of l.d. travel these days eh?). I have to say I share some of Ian's disappointment with what's become of the Scottish jazz scene since its post-Hyder incarnations emerged in the late 1980s. The fusions ian mentions tended to be an amalgam of hard bop with added reels (reels within reels? no!) mutually cancelling out the strengths of each, and a certain off-putting faux-laddishness came to attend performances: Chick Lyall, who started out so promisingly, a particular culprit afaic - his 1991 quartet with Phil Bancroft - who then seemed such an original, coming out of somewhere between Warne Marsh (whom he told me then he had never heard or heard of!
) and fellow countryman long departed Bobby Wellins - bassist George Lyall (now devoted to the excellent Glasgow free scene, so that;s where it went!) and Bancroft bro. Tom. (I wonder if Bluesie has kept his c90s of that time. if I had more time today I'd look further in my archives, but commitments elsewhere beckon). The "wee Cosker" is one of the present-day gifts from that era, though.
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Thank you very much, Alyn, I'm delighted to hear it. No sign of it yet on Amazon or any of the other places I look, do you have any further information about the disc?Originally posted by Alyn_Shipton View PostComment
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Only that it is due out. Taster track is the top one here: https://soundcloud.com/colin-steeleComment
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