Artist: Colin Steele Quartet
Album: Diving for Pearls: Jazz Interpretations of the Pearlfishers Songbook
Genre: Jazz
Release Date: 2017
Audio Format:: FLAC (tracks) 24 bit, 96 kHz
Duration: 47:35
Total Tracks: 10
Total Size: 962 MB

Tracklist:

01. Colin Steele Quartet – The Bluebells (05:40)
02. Colin Steele Quartet – We’ll Get By (05:09)
03. Colin Steele Quartet – Everything Works Out (05:02)
04. Colin Steele Quartet – The Vampires of Camelon (03:49)
05. Colin Steele Quartet – Ice Race (03:58)
06. Colin Steele Quartet – You’ll Never Steal My Spirit (05:04)
07. Colin Steele Quartet – Gone in the Winter (05:53)
08. Colin Steele Quartet – Snow on the Pines (05:45)
09. Colin Steele Quartet – The Umbrellas of Shibuya (06:08)
10. Colin Steele Quartet – Swan Dreams (01:03)

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This project – a tribute to an obscure Glaswegian indie band by an equally obscure Edinburgh jazz musician – is an oddly satisfying exercise in wilful Caledonian obscurity. The Pearlfishers, led by David Scott of the BMX Bandits, have been recording dreamy, elegant, adult-oriented pop since the early 90s, pitched somewhere between Brian Wilson, Steely Dan and Prefab Sprout. Colin Steele, the self-taught trumpeter behind his own Scottish-accented modern jazz quintet and jazz-folk outfit Stramash, here dismantles 10 of Scott’s cleverly written songs and reassembles them as glistening modern jazz, his Harmon-muted trumpet turning the melodies into a pleasantly chromatic blur. It would be fascinating to hear Steele apply this approach to the music of other indie bands, Scottish or otherwise.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!