Dave Stapleton
DAVE STAPLETON
Pianist / Composer / Producer
“One of the success stories of UK jazz” GUARDIAN
“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 LIVE REVIEW
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.
Read Dave Stapleton’s biography in full here
DISCOGRAPHY:
redeye005 – Dave Stapleton / Deri Roberts – The Conway Suite
redeye006 / EDN1007 – Dave Stapleton Quintet – When Life Was In Black and White
redeye010 / EDN1008 – Dave Stapleton Quintet – The House Always Wins
EDN1001 – Dismantling the Waterfall [2008]
EDN1005 – Catching Sunlight [2008]
SYNCHRONISATIONS:
Mummy’s Girl (Part 1) [2009]
Directed by Keri Collins
Music by Dave Stapleton
Mummy’s Girl (Part 2) [2009]
Directed by Keri Collins
Music by Dave Stapleton
Ode[2005]
Directed / Animated by Virginia Head
Music by Dave Stapleton
Conscious Vein [2005]
Directed / Animated by Edward Loades
Music / Sound Design by Dave Stapleton
The Outsider [2007]
Directed by Rahil Patel
Music by Dave Stapleton
9 Steps To A New Start [2005]
Directed by Neil Wagstaff
Music br Dave Stapleton
PRESS QUOTES:
On Catching Sunlight:
“…pieces rank among the best performances I’ve heard all year”. Impendent 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 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:
“…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 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
For 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
