Diving for Pearls – Jazz Interpretations of the Pearlfishers Songbook Colin Steele Quartet

• 1 The Bluebells 05:40
• 2 We'll Get By 05:09
• 3 Everything Works Out 05:02
• 4 The Vampires of Camelon 03:49
• 5 Ice Race 03:58
• 6 You'll Never Steal My Spirit 05:04
• 7 Gone in the Winter 05:53
• 8 Snow on the Pines 05:45
• 9 The Umbrellas of Shibuya 06:08
• 10 Swan Dreams 01:03
• Total Runtime 47:31

Info for Diving for Pearls – Jazz Interpretations of the Pearlfishers Songbook

Marina Records proudly presents one of its most unusual and best releases yet: The music of The Pearlfishers, one of Marina s most beloved acts, gets the royal jazz treatment in exciting new arrangements by the Colin Steele Quartet. Continuing a great jazz tradition like Miles Davis with Porgy & Bess ( 58) and Chet Baker with Plays Lerner & Loewe ( 59) the entire album is dedicated to the work of one composer David Scott of The Pearlfishers. Colin Steele from Edinburgh, one of UK s leading jazz trumpeters, adds his very own sound and interpretations to Scott s songs and transports them into a brand new musical territory.

Steele has a long association with The Pearlfishers since he appeared as a studio musician on many of their albums. Steele: I d played on many sessions with The Pearlfishers before, and have a similiar taste in music with David Scott, with our shared love of Burt Bacharach, Beatles and Beach Boys. I was impressed by the depth of the beautiful melodies and could immediately hear my own voice playing these melodies specifically using the Miles Davis sound of the Harmon mute.

The results are simply gorgeous. The album kickstarts with the joyous blast of The Bluebells a song that originally appeared on the Pearlfishers album Up With The Larks . Colin Steele makes it swing and rise just beautifully. His warm, melodic playing and tone is also a perfect match for the wonderful Everything Works Out , one of Scott s most enduring songs. The Vampires Of Camelon rides on a great piano riff reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi brilliantly played by Dave Milligan, Steele s long-time collaborator, who also arranged the album. Quite fabulously so.

Ice Race from the Pearlfishers seasonal album A Sunflower At Christmas gets propelled to new heights by the powerhouse drumming of Alyn Cosker. It just grabs you and won t let you go. Gone In The Winter is a superb showcase for the exceptional deep-toned, warm double-bass playing of Calum Gourlay. Just stunning.

The piano intro of The Umbrellas Of Shibuya quite fittingly recalls the stripped-down beauty of Ryuichi Sakamoto. And then Steele breezes in with the fantastic melody and his imaginative playing. The album comes to a perfect close with the blissful coda Swan Dreams (originally from Sky Meadows ). Simply sublime.

Diving For Pearls was recorded in just one day like many of the greatest jazz albums at Scotland s famous Castlesound studios (The Blue Nile, Orange Juice, R.E.M.). Masterfully engineered by Stuart Hamilton. You really get the in-the-room-with-the artist feel. Dive, baby, dive!

Colin Steele, trumpet
Dave Milligan, piano
Calum Gourley, double bass
Alyn Cosker, drums

Colin Steele
joined his first jazz group the John Rae Collective at the age of 19 (which included Brian Kellock and Phil Bancroft). He then went on to work with Tommy Smith, Tom Bancroft Orchestra and pop band Hue and Cry.

Colin Steele has been described as the Sibelius of Scotland. His music is a joyous celebration of Scottish melody and rhythm, liberated and enhanced by the spirit, sophistication and technique of jazz. His recordings and concerts are warm, life affirming, and thrilling in their effect. He disarms the most hardened jazz fan with the power and beauty of his music and his playing speaks strongly to audiences of all musical tastes."

Between 1990 and 1996 he travelled Europe extensively, living in France, London and Italy.

On his return to Scotland in 1997 he established the phenomenally successful live music club Midnight Blue, which ran for three years and attracted over 40,000 people during this time. He began composing and formed his first quintet in 2000.

Since the release of his debut album Twilight Dreams in 2002, Steele’s highly original and melodic Scottish folk-influenced jazz has won just about every UK jazz plaudit there is; from BBC Jazz CD of the Year and Jazz Review international CD of the Year (for his album ‘The Journey Home’) to CD of the year accolades in The Guardian, Observer, Independent and The New Statesman. Steele’s compositions are inspired by Scottish and Irish folk music, but are firmly rooted in the jazz tradition. The success of his first 2 quintet recordings led to a third, 'Through the Waves' being released internationally by top European label ACT.

In 2006 Steele formed Stramash, a 10 piece Scottish 'supergroup' consisting of his jazz quintet, fiddles, bagpipes, whistle and cello. This group received universal critical acclaim, both for their concerts and for their recording, which was released in 2009. "a stunningly lyrical ensemble". (THE TIMES) ​

Colin's latest CD "Even in the darkest places" with his quintet will be released on the 17th March 2017. ​

Other projects: Over the last few years Colin has also worked on a wide variety of different projects, including a commission for the Edinburgh Jazz Festival Orchestra, a long running theatre show 'A Funny Valentine', based on the life of Chet Baker, a quintet playing the music of Miles Davis, duets with Dave Milligan and Brian Kellock, and 'Stone Islands', a collaborative project with Scottish and Sardinian musicians.

This album contains no booklet.