Scottish trumpeter Colin Steele has attracted a good deal of critical praise since the release of his début album “Twilight Dreams” back in 2001. Similar acclaim greeted his 2003 follow up “The Journey Home”. Both albums appeared on drummer Tom Bancroft’s ill fated Caber label. It’s a great shame that Caber ultimately failed, it’s recordings and packaging were of a consistently high standard and just fleetingly it looked as if the label might be Scotland’s answer to ECM. Certainly Caber acquired a strong identity during it’s brief existence and it’s reassuring to know that the back catalogue is still available.

The attention garnered by Steele’s first two releases saw him snapped by ACT for his third album “Through The Waves” (2005). Although this brought Steele’s music to an international audience his tenure with ACT was fairly brief and “Stramash” finds him home based again. Nevertheless this is Steele’s most ambitious project to date with the trumpeter writing for a larger ensemble than ever before.
Although Steele cites Chet Baker as his primary influence there has always been a strong “Scottish”  element to Steele’s work. A product of the vibrant Edinburgh music scene Steele has always worked alongside musicians from other genres, particularly folk musicians. The Edinburgh scene is inevitably smaller than that of London and is consequently less specialised. Consequently there is a good deal of mixing between musicians the result of which has been genre bending groups such as Salsa Celtica and Moishe’s Bagel, two of Scotland’s great musical exports. Salsa Celtica’s blend of salsa and traditional Scottish folk music sounds as if it shouldn’t work-but it does, brilliantly-which brings us to “Stramash”.
Steele’s previous albums have all used folk melodies with Steele adapting them especially for trumpet and all his records have had a profound sense of place. Some of these tunes are absolutely gorgeous, something which has helped to increase Steele’s popularity.  Steele plays jazz but from a uniquely Scottish perspective. “Stramash” takes this approach a stage further and sees Steele playing with dyed in the wool folk musicians for the first time. It’s an intriguing ensemble consisting of Steele’s “dream line up” of a jazz quintet , three fiddlers, classical cello and whistles/bagpipes.
“Sounds like a right bloody stramash!” has been the common response to this line up. “Stramash” is a Scottish dialogue word defined as “a disturbance, a racket, a commotion, a state of noise and confusion.” Scottish football commentator Arthur Montford was fond of referring to a goalmouth scramble as a “stramash” .

Looking at Steele’s line up you might think that these detractors have a point. Except of course, like Salsa Celtica it succeeds brilliantly. I dare say there are purists in both the jazz and folk communities who will hate it but as someone with a foot in both camps I think it works admirably. 
Steele’s detailed liner notes reveal the concepts and circumstances behind the writing of each tune in an informative and entertaining manner. The core of the album was written by Steele on a sojourn to Islay and forms a kind of suite. This is bookended by a couple of new tunes at the beginning of the album plus new arrangements of previously recorded material at the end. Steele considers these to be almost “bonus tracks”.

Pianist Dave Milligan who has appeared on all Steele’s recordings is his right hand man again here playing a large part in the arranging process. Appropriately it is Milligan who starts the album off on the folk tinged “Recurring Dream”. Fiddles and cello then take up the melody before Phil Bancroft’s saxophone takes flight, soaring over the ensemble.

This segues into “Steele’s Reels”, two sets of reels led by fiddler Aidan O’Rourke (of dynamic folk instrumental trio Lau) and featuring Steele’s trumpet improvisations “under” the tune. A word too for the drumming of Stu Ritchie who builds from military snare to full on thrash.

“Farewell My Love” is the first of the Islay tunes. Essentially a beautiful air it is invested with an atmosphere of great emotion by Rory Campbell’s pipes and Steele’s mournful trumpet. It’s stirring stuff, don’t let anybody tell you the pipes can’t be beautiful. 

“The Bletherer” is based on traditional sounding melodies actually conceived by Steele. It’s a busy frenetic sounding piece and recently won first prize in the instrumental section at the International Songwriting Competition. The judges included jazz greats McCoy Tyner and John Scofield plus Youssou N’Dour, Tom Waits, Chaka Khan and er..Robbie Williams. It’s reward enough for all the angst Steele put into it. Read his notes and you’ll understand! It’s a great mix of folk and jazz influences, true ensemble stuff indeed.
“Boat To Islay” depicts Steele’s trip out to the Island. Campbell’s pipes are once again prominent in the mix alongside the leader’s imperious trumpet. Bancroft’s sax also makes a welcome re-appearance.

“Shindig At The Lochside” juxtaposes the folk and jazz influences in Steele’s music. Jigs and reels featuring the fiddlers and Campbell’s pipes bookend Milligan’s leaping, exuberant jazz piano solo. Like the whisky that inspired it it’s intoxicating stuff.

“The Girl With The Shiver” is a haunting and melancholic slow number with an achingly beautiful melody. It’s beautifully played by Su-a Lee on cello, Steele on trumpet and Bancroft on sax. The rest of the ensemble later join the proceedings and there are features for bassist Aidan O’Donnell and pianist Milligan. 
Cello starts off the intricate “Simpson’s Jig”, a piece with plenty of tricky work for fiddlers Aidan O’Rourke, Catriona MacDonald and Mairi Campbell. Pipes and saxophone also find their way into the mix. The title come from a remark that the intro sounds like a Scottish version of the Simpson’s theme tune.
As the title suggests “Sunset Over Loch Indaal” is a slower, impressionistic piece which attempts to illustrate a stunning sunset in musical form. Cello and trumpet are once again prominent alongside Rory Campbell on whistle and Bancroft on saxophone. Milligan’s limpid piano also adds to the atmosphere and on the whole Steele succeeds in his quest. Like much of this music a distinct pictorial quality is in evidence. The Scottish Tourist Board could readily use Steele’s music in their ads.

“Steak And Whisky,  5am” is perhaps the closest the record gets to orthodox jazz, but even here the melody line derives from folk. Bancroft’s storming but lyrical sax solo is the chief pleasure here ably supported by a powerful rhythm section of Milligan, O’Donnell (who also solos) and Ritchie.

This segues into the joyous “View From The Round Church” the final tune written on Islay which ends this section of the album on a high note.
The remaining three tunes on the album are re-workings of pieces from Steele’s previous records. On his earlier recordings he has transposed melodies written for pipes, fiddles and whistles to the trumpet. It’s an approach not entirely dissimilar to that taken by English trumpeter Neil Yates in his work with Irish folk musicians. “Stramash” offered Steele the opportunity to to arrange these melodies for the instruments for which they were originally intended. 

Needless to say they sound radically different to the previously recorded “jazz” versions. “Louis’ First Gig” from “Beneath The Waves” is now a stirring feature for Rory Campbell’s pipes with Milligan’s solo piano providing the main jazz element.

“The Journey Home” was the title track of Steele’s second album. Here the beautiful tune features whistle, fiddle and pipes with Milligan again glueing everything together. Appropriately Steele’s trumpet also appears as a solo instrument in the tune’s closing stages and Stu Ritchie also enjoys a bit of a bash. 

“A Wee Prayer” was originally just a tantalising snippet at the end of “Twilight Dreams”. A slow, reflective tune it opens with strings before Steele’s rounded trumpet enters proceedings. Once a valedictory the tune now embraces a more celebratory air and closes the album on a heart warming note.
“Stramash” is a commendable achievement and evokes a great sense of place.. Steele’s fusion of the folk and jazz traditions sounds utterly organic and is the logical conclusion to a process that has been ongoing throughout his previous recordings. There are some gorgeous tunes here and the standard of playing is remarkably high throughout. These musicians are among Scotland’s finest exponents of their respective genres and under Steele and Milligan’s guidance they achieve a remarkable synthesis. There are the odd moments when the whole thing does indeed become a bit of a “stramash” and the whole album is probably a tad overlong but these are fairly minor criticisms. On the whole this album works supremely well and I’ve no doubt that it would be quite something to see this music performed live. It is a mark of Steele’s success that the music would sit happily in context at either jazz or a folk festival.

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