Dave Stapleton Quintet
Dave Stapleton (p) Jonny Bruce (t) Ben Waghorn (saxes) Paula Gardiner (b) Elliott Bennett (d)
It’s rare that young musicians can match their talent and ambition with the energy and skills needed to advance not only their own careers but those of fellow musicians as well. Since graduating in classical piano from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2002, Dave Stapleton has become an important figure on the UK jazz scene.
A jazz pianist of unusual abilities. A composer of beautiful, lyrical tunes and film scores. A record producer, who brings to the music of others the same care and attention to detail that he lavishes on his own releases. A gifted photographer and the astute and intelligent co-founder of Edition Records. Dave Stapleton is all of these things. What is more, he is already receiving well-deserved recognition for his work in all these areas.
Stapleton releases the third album with his acclaimed quintet in February 2010 and follows the four and five star reviews that met When Life Was In Black and White (EDN1007R) and The House Always Wins (EDN1008).
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 following 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.”
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.
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.
For More Information see: www.davestapleton.com and www.editionrecords.com
Abbreviations: as alto sax; b acoustic bass ; bjo banjo; bsax bass sax; cl clarinet, ct cornet; d drums; eb electric bass; eg electric guitar; fl flute; flg flugel horn; g guitar; org organ; p piano : sousa sousaphone; t = trumpet; tr trombone; ts tenor sax; viol violin; voc voice.