Diving For Pearls – Jazz Interpretations Of The Pearlfishers Songbook

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, in gorgeous new jazz arrangements by the Colin Steele Quartet. Continuing a great jazz tradition - like Miles Davis with Porgy and Bess (’58) and Chet Baker with Plays Lerner and 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. 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.).