Flight Excerpts
Check out some audio clips from ‘Flight’ – geel free to comment:
Dave Stapleton | Home to Pianist, Composer and Producer Dave Stapleton
Latest News: LATEST RELEASE: Flight [Edition Records] - LISTEN | BUY
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News
New Project / Dates
Really happy to say my new album, called ‘Flight’, will be released on 7th May on Edition Records and you can pre-order from the Edition webiste from now:
www.editionrecordsstore.com/product/dave-stapleton-flightAlso, you can follow us on Facebook here:
www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Stapleton-Flight/354883491210993
Dave Stapleton – piano
Marius Neset - tenor saxophone
Dave Kane - double bass
Olavi Louhivuori – drums
Brodowski String Quartet:
David Brodowski – violin 1
Catrin Morgan – violin 2
Felix Tanner – viola
Reinoud Ford – celloRecorded by August Wanngren at the Village Recording Studio, Copenhagen on 8th and 9th December 2011.
Mixed by August Wanngren in January 2012
All music written by Dave Stapleton
Published by Dave Stapleton Music / Westbury Music LtdProduced by Dave Stapleton
TOUR DATES:
3rd May - St. Georges, Bristol – click here
4th May – Dora Stoutzker Hall, RWMCD, Cardiff – click here
5th May – Kings Place, London - click hereNew dates
New gigs for 2011:
DSQ:
25th Nov – Symphony Hall Foyer, Birmingham
27th Nov – Warwick Arts CentreCATCHING SUNLIGHT:
With Neil Yates (trp), Lunar Saxophone Quartet,
Dave Kane (bass) and Josh Blackmore (drums) or Paula Gardiner (bass) and Elliot Bennett (drums)10th Sept – Kings Place, London
19th Oct – The Forge Arts Venue, London
3rd Nov – Chatper Arts Centre, CardiffUPCOMING GIGS
New shows announced for my quintet and my Catching Sunlight Project with Neil Yates and the Lunar Saxophone Quartet.
DAVE STAPLETON QUINTET
with Ben Waghorn (sax), Jonny Bruce (tpt), Paula Gardiner (bass) and Elliot Bennett (drums)5th April – Lighthouse Arts Centre, Poole
12th April – Dempsey’s, Cardiff
15th April – Brighton Jazz Club, Brighton
12th May – Bonnington Theatre, Nottingham
13th June – North Devon Jazz Club
14th June – St. Ives, Cornwall
26th June – Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
25th Sept – Future Inn, BristolCATCHING SUNLIGHT
With Neil Yates (trp), Lunar Saxophone Quartet, Dave Kane (bass) and Josh Blackmore (drums)10th Sept – Kings Place, London
19th Oct – The Forge Arts Venue, London2011…
Hi, Happy New Year! It’s been a long time since I last posted anything here but there’s been plenty going on. Firstly, just want to thanks eveyrone who supported us in buying my last album ‘Between the Lines’ and for those who came to see us. We had a great gig at London Jazz Festival in Nov as part of an Edition mini festival with Neon Quartet and Secret Quartet yet there’s still more to come in 2011…
A French / Swiss magazine So Jazz, has licensed my composition ‘Images’, taken from’ Between the Lines’ which was released digitally and on CD in Dec. Other artists include Yaron Herman, Portico Quartet, Roberto Fonseca and Christian Scott. Here is a link to download from Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/So-Jazz-01-Nouvelle-Vague/dp/B004HLSYTW
Over the last few months, I have written a book of original jazz compositions for approx. grade 3 – 5 level pianists. The book will be launched on 14th March, and will be available from Amazon.co.uk and www.musicroom.com but you can pre-order it now from www.jazzjazzjazz.bigcartel.com. You can also listen to some tracks here – http://jazzjazzjazzmusic.tumblr.com/
In April, May, June I will be playing some more gigs with my quintet. Dates are below:
5th April – DAVE STAPLETON QUINTET – Lighthouse Arts Centre, Poole
12th April – DAVE STAPLETON QUINTET – Dempsey’s, Cardiff
15th April – DAVE STAPLETON QUINTET – Brighton Jazz Club, Brighton
14th June – DAVE STAPLETON QUINTET – North Devon Jazz Club
15th June – DAVE STAPLETON QUINTET – St. Ives, CornwallThat’s it for now but please check out what ‘s happening at Edition Records. Got some really fantastic releases coming out over the next few months. Click on image below to read more.
4 Stars in MOJO and Irish Times
“Stapleton has develop his own music full of melody, atmosphere and tough grooves. Ben Waghorn and Jonny Bruce shine on the front line, but the real achievement is one of compositional and ensemble rigour”. MOJO ****
click here to read full review
“The quintet is a real band, and Stapleton writes for the musicians personalities and gifts with an appreciation for the colours they bring to it. Superb”. IRISH TIMES ****
Between the Lines Reviews
Read the Jazzwise feature in May issue – click here
“Between the Lines is full of subtle surprises. The sound-world, tinged with Fender-Rhodes silveriness, is distinctive. And the solo playing is very classy indeed”. TELEGRAPH (Ivan Hewitt)
Regular jazz lineups are hard to sustain in the choppy waters of the jazz economy. Worthy successors to head-turning first albums are just as tough a proposition. And running an influential jazz record label is probably harder than both. The Wales-based pianist and composer Dave Stapleton has done all three: an ebullient third album, made for the label he co-founded, by the same powerful quintet he started out with. Stapleton draws on a wide range of enthusiasms, from Herbie Hancock’s 1970s Mwandishi band to Keith Jarrett’s quartet with Jan Garbarek. FOUR STARS –Guardian ****
“Dave Stapleton knows how to shape a 21st-century modern-jazz unit. The music on Between the Lines owes plenty to the narrow-eyed, slightly fugitive, occasionally savage Miles Davis quintet of the mid-1960s (the one with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and Wayne Shorter)”. INDEPENDENT
Stapleton has a well-drilled quintet: drummer Elliot Bennett and double bassist Paula Gardiner are high precision without being overly flashy, and trumpeter Jonny Bruce makes no less of an impact for his pert, neat phrases. But the pick of the bunch is multi-reed player Ben Waghorn, an unheralded player who s had my vote since his first hustlings with Tommy Chase two decades ago. He s on superlative form. His tonal beauty, particularly on tenor, light and shade and pacing of his improvisations are really good, no more so than on the title-track, a languorous ballad that has the same kind of yearning quality as Shorter s Infant Eyes. The quintet displays considerable lightness of touch on this lean yet noble piece, as Stapleton s piano raises the dramatic stakes by way of a tremulous minor chord sequence while the perfectly weighted, in-unison horn line edges slowly but decisively to a potent climax. Elsewhere the group gets a mildly gospel, soul jazz groove on and the use of a fender Rhodes also injects another more pointed, steely resonance into the mix, something that works effectively against the felt-like quality of Gardiner s bass. Articulate, sensitive and thoughtfully detailed, this is a smart application of core jazz values. BBC MUSIC ONLINE
“[DSQ] can launch into a funky free-ish N’Orleans style collective romp (Daz Lightyear) with an underlying Hendrix-type keys riff (Horn), or a zippy 60s bluesy-bop theme (Wig Wag). It’s a band that always keeps you on your toes”. JAZZWISE ****
Between the Lines – Reviews, mp3′s
Hello, Thanks for visiting my website. There’s been a few reviews come in recently for my new quintet album ‘Between the Lines’ from Jazzwise Magazine, Vortex and the Independent. The Independent was very bizarre and said I had a name like a suburban postman – See reviews below.
Also, Edition Records are doing an amazing offer at the moment – BUY BETWEEN THE LINES NOW FOR £9.99 (Out 26th April 2010) and receive DSQ’s The House Always Wins and When Life Was In Black and White for FREE – click here
Check some mp3 excerpts below and let me know what you think:
1. October Sky – LISTEN
2. Horn – LISTEN
3. Dry White – LISTEN
4. Socks First – LISTEN
5. Between the Lines – LISTEN
6. Wig Wag – LISTEN
7. October Sky – LISTEN
8. Daz Lightyear – LISTEN
9. Under the Cherry Tree – LISTEN
10. Images [BONUS TRACK] – LISTEN
LISTEN AGAIN AT:and www.myspace.com/davestapletonquintet
BUY FROM:
OR EDITION RECORDS STORE – click here
Current Special Offer:
BUY ‘BETWEEN THE LINES’ NOW FOR £9.99 (Out 26th April 2010) and receive DSQ’s The House Always Wins and When Life Was In Black and White for FREEBetween the Lines, Dave Stapleton’s third recording with his quintet, is his most accomplished and complete statement to date. Following a series of 4 and 5 star reviews from the UK, French and German press with their second album ‘The House Always Wins’, Between the Lines looks set to emulate their considerable success and firmly launch the Dave Stapleton Quintet has one of the finest outfits on the UK Jazz scene.
Full of robust melodies, hard hitting grooves and fiery playing, Between the Lines is a hugely dynamic, powerful, and engaging work packed with a warmth and a depth that is utterly compelling.
Between the Lines Reviews:
“Dave Stapleton knows how to shape a 21st-century modern-jazz unit”. INDEPENDENT
“Carefully arranged, well-crafted albums such as this often fall short on fire and heat, but Between The Lines has plenty of both, and Stapleton’s arrangements play to the individual strengths of his colleagues. Highly recommended”. ALL ABOUT JAZZ
“What is really striking about this recording is how it really feels like the work of a band and a composer in harmony, not just a group of individuals showing off their talents. A disc that has true lasting appeal” THE JAZZ BREAKFAST
“[DSQ] can launch into a funky free-ish N’Orleans style collective romp (Daz Lightyear) with an underlying Hendrix-type keys riff (Horn), or a zippy 60s bluesy-bop theme (Wig Wag). It’s a band that always keeps you on your toes”. JAZZWISE
“A thoroughly enjoyable album which will appeal to all those who prefer their jazz served straight without too many fancy trimmings”. VORTEX JAZZ CD REVIEWS
Jazzwise Chart
hello – my new quintet album ‘Between the Lines’ is no. 4 in the Jazzwise album chart in the March issue. It will be released on 26th April.
The march issue of Jazzwise also features Edition’s Curios and there’s a long feature about their new album ‘The Other Place’. Make sure you check this out as it is an amazing album – they really are world class. Visit www.editionrecords.com for more info
Also, if you live in London and and are free on either Weds 3rd or Thurs 4th next week come and see Jasper Hoibys, Phronesis record their live album in concert at the Forge in Camden. The album will be released on Edition in the Autumn 2010. Visit www.forgevenue.org for more info.
London Jazz Blog
Check out Sebastian Scotney’s London Jazz blog talking about Edition, Phronesis live recording next week and Dave Stapleton Quintet’s album launch at the Vortex last Wednesday.
Click here to read bog – http://londonjazz.blogspot.com/2010/02/edition-records.html
Album launch review
Hi everyone, Had a really fun album launch at the Vortex. It was really nice to play the new material.
Here is a link to a review of the gig on the Vortex website – click here
“Both for his writing and playing with DSQ, and for the consistent quality of the product of his label, Edition, over the past couple of years, Stapleton is to be heartily applauded”. VORTEX JAZZ
Our next gig is on 9th March in Cardiff and then we’re back in London on 16th April at the Forge in Camden. After that we’re playing in a double bill with Mark Lockheart’s In Deep at CBSO Centre, Birmingham on 23rd April – more gigs here
Hope to see you there!
‘Between the Lines’ will be released on 26th April 2010
Album Launch at Vortex
We will be launching our new album quintet album ‘Between the Lines’ at the Vortex Jazz Club, London on 24thFeb 2010. Music starts at 8.00pm and costs £8 to get in. Hope to see you there!
To buy your tickets – click here
Between the Lines will be released on 26th April but we will have a few advance copies at the gig!
DSQ @ Kenton Theatre
Posted 1st Feb 2010
Had a fun gig last night at Kenton Theatre in Henley-on Thames with DSQ. Ivo Neame played alto as Ben Waghorn couldn’t make it for this one. We’re looking forward to the Vortex on Weds 24th Feb - hope to see you there.
The new DSQ album ‘Between the Lines’ comes out on 26th April 2010.
Photo by David Self
Overseas Reviews
‘The House Always Wins’, my second album with my quintet has recently been released in France an has recieved some great reviews. Check them out!
“An unexpected great record”
Edition News
Ivo Neame’s new album ‘Caught in the Light of Day‘ is out today. With recent features in Jazzwise and Metro his new album looks set to become of the most exciting releases this year. Check it out today.
Over the last few years Ivo Neame has recorded and performed throughout the world on piano and saxophone with diverse artists such as Matthew Herbert, Seb Rochford, F-ire collective big band, Stan Sulzmann, Tim Garland, Jim Mullen, Gerard Presencer, Mark Lockheart, Alec Dankworth, Gilad Atzmon, Henry Lowther and Julian Siegel.
With Caught in the Light of Day featuring Jim Hart on vibes, Jasper Hoiby on bass and James Maddren on drums it’s his turn to shine!
[More...] Ivo Neame’s new album ‘Caught In The Light of Day’ demonstrates the combined brilliance of his writing and playing. Listen to it once and you’ll be impressed. Listen twice and its gifts will begin to unfold. The quality of the writing and the performances are immediately apparent but on repeated listens you hear how the musicians foster and nurture these compositions. Neame trusts his team and lets them take the form of each track into their own hands. This record is about interplay, about letting the music breathe.
New Signings at Edition Records
Over the last few months both Tim (Editions Label manager) and myself have been in discussions with some exciting artists to add to the Edition Roster with a view of releasing their albums in 2010. We will be annoucing the new signings very soon on the Edition website – www.editionrecords.com. Artists include some of the most respected musicians on the British and European scene.
We will also be annoucning our full release schedule for the first half of 2010. More will be revealed in the near future.
Visit www.editionrecords.com for more info
String Quartet
The Mavron String Quartet will be performing the 1st movement from my string quartet in a lunchtime concert on Friday 27th at Porthcawl Pavillions. For more info visit www.myspace.com/mavronquartet
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About
"One of the success stories of UK jazz" - Guardian
“A real UK Jazz revelation…one of the success stories of UK jazz” – Guardian
Dave Stapleton is a singular talent. In less than ten years since graduating in classical piano from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Stapleton has established himself as a musician, composer and label boss and become an important figure on the UK jazz scene.
Flight marks his eighth release under his own name. It’s his most ambitious album to date featuring the Brodowski String Quartet alongside saxophonist Marius Neset, bassist Dave Kane, drummer Olavi Louhivuori and, of course, Stapleton himself on piano. Already recognised as a writer of beautiful, lyrical tunes, Flight marks a leap forward and establishes him as one of the most ambitious young composers in jazz.
His compositional abilities, continue to gain ever wider acknowledgement. His commission for the Lunar Saxophone Quartet, Catching Sunlight, garnered five star reviews, whilst the Mavron String Quartet premiered Stapleton’s first work for strings in 2009. He has also written scores for animations and short films, including Pellegrina for the S4C (Channel Four Wales) short animation and The Outsider (Best Welsh Film Award at the Cardiff Film Festival), and is the recipient of a number of commissions from the ABRSM Exam board.
But it is the breadth of his ambition that really marks Dave Stapleton out amongst his peers. The Dave Stapleton Quintet (DSQ) combines a muscular intensity with consummate delicacy in performance and their three CD’s to date have been highly praised by critics in Britain and abroad. Two improvised duets, one with saxophonist Deri Roberts and another with fellow pianist Matthew Bourne, have met with similar approval.
If that weren’t enough, Stapleton heads up Edition Records, one of the most innovative and creative companies in the business. Founded in May 2008 with co-director photographer Tim Dickeson, Edition has gone from strength to strength. As well as providing an outlet for emerging talent such as Troyka and Phronesis, Edition have released albums by established artists like Keith Tippett, John Taylor and Neil Yates and promoted stars of the future in Marius Neset and Josh Arcoleo.
He is truly one of the success stories of British jazz. He is a gifted pianist, an exceptional composer, an innovative label boss and a record producer, who brings to the music of others the same care and attention that he lavishes on his own releases. Dave Stapleton is all of these things and much, much more.
“Regular jazz lineups are hard to sustain in the choppy waters of the jazz economy. Worthy successors to head-turning first albums are just as tough a proposition. And running an influential jazz record label is probably harder than both. The Wales-based pianist and composer Dave Stapleton has done all three: an ebullient third album, made for the label he co-founded, by the same powerful quintet he started out with”. GUARDIAN
The Dave Stapleton Quintet (DSQ) combine muscular intensity with consummate delicacy in performance. A strong frontline of trumpeter Jonny Bruce and saxophonist Ben Waghorn is equalled by the magnificently subtle but pulsing rhythm section of bassist Paula Gardiner and drummer Elliott Bennett. With Stapleton moving between Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano, this is hi-energy jazz. Imagine those great Blue Note and Riverside recordings of the early sixties. DSQ have that same ability to excite heart, mind and body. Their journey so far has taken them on several UK tours and appearances at festivals in Budapest, Cannes (Midem), Cork, Zagreb, Belgrade, London, Brecon and Cheltenham.
Stapleton's exquisitely beautiful and highly evocative music coupled with his multi-functional approach to the business of music led to him being accepted onto the second edition of the prestigious Take Five initiative. Sponsored by the Jerwood/PRS Foundation and managed by international music producers Serious, Take Five provides Britain's most talented young jazz musicians with the unique opportunity to take 'time out' to develop their craft.
In Stapleton's case, it has clearly paid dividends already. He continues to develop as a musician, as a composer and as a business man. In 2006, he signed an exclusive worldwide publishing deal with Westbury Music Ltd. Then in June 2008 and 2009, he was nominated for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Composers in recognition of his abilities and potential as a composer.
Always keen to spread his wings, Stapleton has written a number of scores for animations and short films. These include Pellegrina for the S4C (Channel Four Wales) short animation and The Outsider, which won Best Welsh Film Award at the Cardiff Film Festival. And in Spring 2009, the Mavron String Quartet premiered Stapleton's first work for string quartet in Cardiff. But perhaps his finest work to date is the wonderful Catching Sunlight (EDN1005). A glance at the cover with its haunting Stapleton photograph tells you this is something special. It grew from a commission from the Lunar Saxophone Quartet, to which Stapleton added trumpeter Neil Yates and his own rhythm section.
Released to universal acclaim in 2008, Catching Sunlight has been highly praised in the UK, in Ireland, in France, in Russia and received a five star review in German magazine Jazzthetik. The review in the Independent on Sunday described the music as "among the best performances I've heard all year". And the Irish Times noted in its four star review that:
"Dave Stapleton's writing, which is so well conceived that it's sometimes difficult to separate the written from the improvised."
But Piano Magazine gave the work its most detailed analysis and, as its author was keen to point out, saw it as a sign of Stapleton's progress as a writer:
"His compositional building blocks, repeated ostinati, short motifs that shift through registers and keys, and choppy phrasing alternated with smoother melodic or freely improvised sections, remain the basis of his technique, but the structures are tighter and his playing more deftly controlled than on his earlier recordings".
As a musician, there's a strength and virility to his playing, matched by an innate capacity for tenderness and reflection. As a composer, he draws upon a formidable grasp of jazz, classical and world styles, yet transforms these raw materials into something richly personal. His music touches on the language of contemporary classical music and jazz but matches these with powerful riffs, melodic hooks and intriguing and surprising turns of phrase. Whatever he does, Stapleton brings to each project a questing and searching for adventure.
He has recorded improvised duets with both saxophonist Deri Roberts and pianist Matthew Bourne. The Conway Suite (EDN1006) was recorded in Conway Church in Cardiff with Roberts on tenor and soprano and Stapleton on the church organ. Its distinctive blend of jazz, Bach, minimalism and free improvisation brought comparisons with Jan Garbarek's work with the Hilliard Ensemble. If anything, Stapleton's collaboration with Matthew Bourne, Dismantling the Waterfall (EDN1001), again featuring a gorgeous Stapleton photograph on its cover, received an even warmer response. As Jazzwise said, it is "a fine collaboration between two of the UK's most exciting young pianists."
EDITION RECORDS, the label Stapleton founded in 2007 with photographer Tim Dickeson, has gone from strength to strength. Each release to date has been a jewel and both the Guardian, Jazzwise and BBC Radio 3 have paid tribute to its high production values and innovation. To date, as well as Stapleton's own records, EDITION has released albums by the Keith Tippett Tapestry Orchestra - the legendary Live at Le Mans (EDN1009) - and others just as fine by Geoff Eales, Dave Kane, Mark Lockheart and Troyka. Now with distribution in 23 countries worldwide, EDITION plans a further twelve releases in 2010, including records by Tom Cawley's Curios, as well as the launch of the new Limited Edition imprint.
It's been a fine seven years of innovation in music and business from Dave Stapleton since he left the Royal Welsh College. Here's to the next seven!
Discorgraphy:
The Conway Suite Dave Stapleton / Deri Roberts [2005] EDN1006
When Life Was In Black and White DSQ [2005] EDN1007
The House Always Wins DSQ [2007] EDN1008
Dismantling the Waterfall [2009] Dave Stapleton / Matthew Bourne
Catching Sunlight Dave Stapleton [2008] EDN1005
Between the Lines DSQ [2010] EDN1017
For More Information see:
www.davestapleton.com
www.editionrecords.com
www.myspace.com/davestapletonquintet
www.myspace.com/davestapletonmusic
www.westburymusic.net
www.youtube.com/editionrecords
www.harmoniamundi.com
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DSQ
Dave Stapleton - piano
Ben Waghorn - saxophone
Jonny Bruce - trumpet
Paula Gardiner - double bass
Elliot Bennett - drums
"A real UK Jazz revelation" GUARDIAN
Dave Stapleton Quintet (DSQ) are one of the finest outfits on a British jazz scene overcrowded with talent. As compelling and powerful live as they are on record, DSQ bring to Stapleton's exceptional and distinctive compositions an intensity that recalls those great Blue Note and Riverside recordings of the early sixties.
The band release their third album, Between the Lines, in February 2010 and there's little doubt it will receive the same critical and public acclaim that greeted previous releases, When Life Was In Black and White (EDN1007R) and The House Always Wins (EDN1008). Both records met with rave reviews in the Guardian, Independent on Sunday and Jazzwise.
Jazzwise Magazine said of When Life Was In Black and White:
"This music is vital and fresh full of powerful riffs, melodic hooks and intriguing and surprising turns of phrase."
While the Guardian described The House Always Wins in the glowing terms:
"...hooks that could hardly be more accessible but which none the less avoid any formulaic references...quality and fiery, fearless soloists...A real UK jazz revelation."
DSQ bring together the muscular, vital frontline team of trumpeter Jonny Bruce and saxophonist Ben Waghorn and the subtle, vibrating rhythm section of bassist Paula Gardiner and drummer Elliott Bennett. With Stapleton moving between Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano, this is hi-energy jazz. It is music to feed the mind and move the body.
UK audiences already know just how good this band truly are. Now, with highly successful festival appearances in Cannes, Budapest, Zagreb, Cork, Bratislava and Belgrade under their belt, the rest of Europe is catching on. Imagine music as approachable and sophisticated as Keith Jarrett or EST or the Bad Plus. Now add that to the energy of the Jazz Messengers or Cannonball Adderley. That's DSQ.
Join them on their musical journey now! DSQ - the Dave Stapleton Quintet.
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Albums
Flight
Dave Stapleton Quintet EDN1008
Dave Stapleton - piano
David Brodowski - violin 1
MARIUS NESET - tenor saxophone
DAVE KANE - double bass
OLAVI LOUHIVUORI - drums
BRODOWSKI STRING QUARTET:
Catrin Morgan - violin 2
Felix Tanner - viola
Reinoud Ford - cello
RELEASED: APRIL 2012
Between The Lines
Dave Stapleton Quintet EDN1008
Dave Stapleton - fender rhodes / piano
Ben Waghorn - tenor saxophone / bass clarinet
Jonny Bruce - trumpet
Paula Gardiner - double bass
Elliot Bennett - drums“Dave Stapleton knows how to shape a 21st-century modern-jazz unit”. INDEPENDENT
“Carefully arranged, well-crafted albums such as this often fall short on fire and heat, but Between The Lines has plenty of both, and Stapleton’s arrangements play to the individual strengths of his colleagues. Highly recommended”. ALL ABOUT JAZZ
RELEASED: 26th APRIL 2010
Catching Sunlight
Dave Stapleton EDN1005
Dave Stapleton - Piano
Neil Yates - Trumpet
Paula Gardiner - Double Bass
Elliot Bennet - DrumsLuanr Sxophone Quartet:
Joel Garthwaite - Soprano Saxophone
Hannah Riches - Alto Saxophone
Lewis Evans - Tenor Saxophone
Lauren Hamer - Baritone Saxophone"This disc is without a doubt one this year's best and certainly one of those under-recognized gems that shouldn't be ignored". DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY, NEW YORK
"Pieces rank among the best performances I've heard all year". INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
"Dave Stapleton's writing is so well conceived that it's sometimes difficult to separate the written from the improvised". IRISH TIMES ****
"with a sound halfway between Miles and Arve Henriksen. An excellent recording with standout contributions from both composer and trumpeter". JAZZWISE ****
Dismantling The Waterfall
Dave Stapleton / Matthew Bourne EDN1001
Dave Stapleton - Piano
Matthew Bourne - Piano"This impressive experimental duo set by tyro pianists Dave Stapleton and Matthew Bourne consists of 17 shortish, continually diverting pieces titled after lines of a 17-line poem by Julie Tippetts." INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
"fine collaboration between two of the UK's most exciting young pianists restless imagination". JAZZWISE
"a lyrical lilt reminiscent of Keith Jarrett" THE GUARDIAN
The House Always Wins
Dave Stapleton Quintet EDN1008
Dave Stapleton - Piano
Ben Waghorn - Saxophone
Jonny Bruce - Trumpet
Paula Gardiner - Double Bass
Elliot Bennett - Drums"A real UK jazz relevation." THE GUARDIAN ***
"Deft melodies and hard hitting grooves make his music genuinely kick-ass" TIME OUT
When Life Was In Black & White
Dave Stapleton Quintet EDN1007
Dave Stapleton - Piano
Ben Waghorn - Saxophone
Jonny Bruce - Trumpet
Paula Gardiner - Double Bass
Elliot Bennett - Drums"Dave Stapleton is a real find for British Jazz... a young musician of real maturity and vision... it's the breadth of his talent that's most encouraging. This music is vital and fresh... full of powerful riffs, melodic hooks and intriguing and surprising turns of phrase... this is up there with the Barkers, Sheppards and Baptistes of the UK scene" JAZZWISE
"Idiosyncratically powerful reappraisal of both post-bop and free-jazz" THE GUARDIAN
The Conway Suite
Dave Stapleton / Deri Roberts EDN1006
Dave Stapleton - Church Organ
Deri Roberts - Saxophones"This remarkably soulful recording coax a huge variety of sounds from the airy church acoustic, with Terry Riley-type drones leading into late-Coltrane wails, creating a satisfying natural sense of space and place... What's more striking is the strong, spiritual feeling of the slowly unfolding form" INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY ****
"The Conway Suite reminds me of that Hilliard Ensemble and Jan Garbarek album 'Officium' but not as self consciously ecclesiastical and I actually prefer it for that reason" BBC RADIO 3
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Press
On BETWEEN THE LINES:
“Regular jazz lineups are hard to sustain in the choppy waters of the jazz economy. Worthy successors to head-turning first albums are just as tough a proposition. And running an influential jazz record label is probably harder than both. The Wales-based pianist and composer Dave Stapleton has done all three: An ebullient third album”. GUARDIAN ****
“Dave Stapleton knows how to shape a 21st-century modern-jazz unit”. INDEPENDENT
“Between the Lines is full of subtle surprises. The sound-world, tinged with Fender-Rhodes silveriness, is distinctive. And the solo playing is very classy indeed”. TELEGRAPH
“Articulate and thoughtfully detailed, this is a smart application of core jazz values”. BBC MUSIC ONLINE
“Carefully arranged, well-crafted albums such as this often fall short on fire and heat, but Between The Lines has plenty of both, and Stapleton’s arrangements play to the individual strengths of his colleagues. Highly recommended”. ALL ABOUT JAZZ
“What is really striking about this recording is how it really feels like the work of a band and a composer in harmony, not just a group of individuals showing off their talents. A disc that has true lasting appeal”. THE JAZZ BREAKFAST
“[DSQ] can launch into a funky free-ish N’Orleans style collective romp (Daz Lightyear) with an underlying Hendrix-type keys riff (Horn), or a zippy 60s bluesy-bop theme (Wig Wag). It’s a band that always keeps you on your toes”. JAZZWISE ****
“A thoroughly enjoyable album which will appeal to all those who prefer their jazz served straight without too many fancy trimmings”. VORTEX JAZZ CD REVIEWS
“Between The Lines” is DSQ’s most multi faceted work to date, full of colourful imaginative writing covering a wide stylistic and emotional range”. JAZZ MANN
“Such a refreshing addition to the British jazz scene”. UKVIBE
On CATCHING SUNLIGHT:
"Pieces rank among the best performances I've heard all year". Inpendent on Sunday
"Dave Stapleton's writing, which is so well conceived that it's sometimes difficult to separate the written from the improvised. The voicings, so delicately seasoned with disquieting dissonance, and his use of counterpoint are beautifully crafted". Irish Times ****
"Rich and colourful music from one of the UK's most talented and ambitious young jazz composers". The Jazz Mann
"Stapleton's writing mostly revolves around propulsive piano vamps with nods to Gil/Miles circa Sketches of Spain". Jazzwise ****
"Here is some of the best new jazz around, both in conception and writing and its performance is exquisite. It really is brilliant". Cardiff Jazz Society CD Reviews
"Over just the past few years, he's been earning a reputation as a composer as well as a pianist of fierce ambition". Jazzwise ****
"His compositional building blocks, repeated ostinati, short motifs that shift through registers and keys, and choppy phrasing alternated with smoother melodic or freely improvised sections, remain the basis of his technique, but the structures are tighter and his playing more deftly controlled than on his earlier recordings". Piano Magazine
On DISMANTLING THE WATERFALL:
"Wales-based pianist Dave Stapleton has produced one of the success stories of UK jazz over the past year". Guardian - John Fordham
"a surprisingly winning regard for sound as sound, and an eclectic approach that covers Satie-like sentience, Cecil Taylor knuckle-isms and Viennese abstraction". Independent on Sunday
"a fine collaboration between two of the UK's most exciting young pianists". Jazzwise
On On WHEN LIFE WAS IN BLACK AND WHITE:
"Dave Stapleton's quintet performed tunes from their current CD, 'When Life Was In Black and White'. Allowing his European classical background to shine through in compositions of arresting melodic continuity, his band succeeded not so much through individual voices, but by the strength of their collective musical personality". The Observer
"Idiosyncratically powerful reappraisal of both post-bop and free-jazz". The Guardian
"ECM-ish, filmic originals from distinctive Cardiff-based pianist as heard on his excellent recent album, 'When Life Was Black And White'". Time Out
"Stapleton is one of the most refreshing, sophisticated and intelligent young jazz composers working today. Innovative, infectious and utterly compelling, the future of new British jazz is in safe hands". The Western Mail
"This music is vital and fresh ... full of powerful riffs, melodic hooks and intriguing and surprising turns of phrase ... this is up there with the Barkers, Sheppards and Baptistes of the UK scene". Jazzwise
"Dave Stapleton is a real find for British Jazz ... a young musician of real maturity and vision ... it's the breadth of his talent that's most encouraging. He writes exceptionally well drawing on his classical training as well as jazz and he's hungry to explore the possibilities of free improvisation ... There's something refreshingly unstuffy about Dave Stapleton's sources of inspiration. There's Jarrett and Hancock, of course, Dave Holland and Joshua Redman but also the American Minimalists like Phillip Glass, Steve Reich and Terry Riley". Jazzwise
"Stapleton is one of the most refreshing, sophisticated and intelligent young jazz composers working today. Innovative, infectious and utterly compelling, the future of new British jazz is in safe hands". The Western Mail
On THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS:
"subtle, vivacious and inteligent writing"... an amazingly modern quintet". So Jazz, France
"...hooks that could hardly be more accessible but which none the less avoid any formulaic references... quality and fiery, fearless soloists... A real UK jazz relevation" The Guardain (4 Stars ****)
"There's some excellent thematic writing here...stays in the memory long after the record has finished" Jazzwise(4 stars ****)
"know how to build a groove...bold and catchy compositions" BBC Radio 3 'Jazz on 3'
"Fiery, blusey...A cracking band...Fast establishing a formidable rep...whether in acoustic or proggy Fender Rhodes there's a steely strength" The Independent on Sunday
"Deft melodies and hard hitting grooves make his music genuinely kick-ass" Timeout
On On THE CONWAY SUITE:
"Don't let anyone tell you that there isn't any interesting music scenes' happening in Wales. There is definitely something interesting happening around Dave Stapleton. The Conway Suite reminds me of that Hilliard Ensemble and Jan Garbarek album 'Officium' but not as self consciously ecclesiastical and I actually prefer it for that reason" Mixing It', BBC Radio 3
"Were this a Jan Garbarek album, it would sell by the cartload. The combination of organ and saxophone favourably recalls John Surman's Proverbs & Songs. The music feels as if it's swirling around you and has an almost tactile quality, it's so rich in texture. Quite charming and quite moving" Jazzwise
"... with Terry Riley-type drones leading into late-Coltrane wails, creating a satisfying natural sense of space and place ... what's more striking is the strong, spiritual feeling of the slowly unfolding form" Independent On Sunday
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Music
STRING QUARTET No. 1:
4-movement string quartet commissioned by the Mavron String Quartet
[2009]
Length: Approx 30'
BUY SCORE / PARTSUNDERTONES:
Commissioned by Dave Danford
Written for 5 octave Marimba and soprano saxophone
[2008]
Length: Approx 6'CATCHING SUNLIGHT:
Written for saxophone quartet, piano, bass drums and trumpet and commissioned by the Lunar Saxophone Quartet
[2007]
Length: Approx 50'
BUY SCORE
BUY CDTHE OUTSIDER: Film by Rahil Patel
Won Audience Award for 'Best Welsh Short Film' at the Cardiff Film Festival 2006
[2006]
WATCHPELLEGRINA: Animation by Virginia Head
Performed by principal violist of WNO, Philip Heyman and pianist Zoë Smith for S4C shorts
[2005]9 STEPS TO A NEW START: Film by Neil Wagstaff
Feature Film
[2005]
WATCHCONSCIOUS VEIN: Film by Edward Loades
Won 'Best Sound' at the International Film School of Newport Awards 2005
[2005]
WATCHODE: Animation by Virginia Head
Short animation
[2005]
WATCHDIE ZWOELFTE STUNDE: Film by Keri Collins and Paul West [2004]
Short Film
[2004] -
Film
Please click on picture below to watch short clips of films.
Title: MUMMY'S GIRL (Part 1)
Director: Keri Collins
Instrumentation: Piano and Clarinet (Tom Jackson)
[2009]
Title: MUMMY'S GIRL (Part 2)
Director: Keri Collins
Instrumentation: Solo Piano
[2009]
Title: ODE
Animator: Virginia Head
Instrumentation: String Quartet / Solo Piano
[2005]
Title: THE OUTSIDER
Directed: Rahil Patel
Instrumentation: Orchestral
[2006]
Title: CONSCIOUS VEIN
Animated: Edward Loades
Instrumentation: Sound Design
[2005]
Title: 9 STEPS TO A NEW START
Directed: Neil Wagstaff
Instrumentation: Jazz Quintet
[2005]
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Shop
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Contact
To contact Dave:
Email: dave@davestapleton.com
Tel: 01672 540621
Mob: 07714 239758Record Label:
Edition Records
6 Denison Way
St. Fagans
Cardiff
CF5 4SFTel: 02920 654961
Email: info@editionrecords.comPublishing:
Jon Handle
Westbury Music
Suite B
2 Tunstall Road
London
SW9 8DATel: +44 (0)20 7733 5400
jon@westburymusic.netFor More Infomation:
www.davestapleton.com
www.editionrecords.com
www.myspace.com/davestapletonquintet
www.myspace.com/davestapletonmusic
www.westburymusic.net
www.youtube.com/editionrecords
www.harmoniamundi.com
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