Fergus McCreadie – April 23rd

Fergus McCreadie

One of Scotland’s most exciting young artists, 22-year-old Fergus McCreadie is already steeped in accolades. Twice winning the Under-17s category of Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the year (aged 15 and 16), he has also been awarded Best Instrumentalist at the 2018 Scottish Jazz Awards and Album of the Year at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2019 for his Trio’s debut album Turas (written whilst studying for his BMus at Glasgow’s RCS). Turas was also shortlisted for the cross-genre Scottish Album of the Year Award.

“I can say with confidence that I have not heard such an impressive trio record from a Scottish (or UK) pianist since Brian Kellock’s ‘Live At Henry’s’ set.” – Nick Lea, Jazz Views

McCreadie is part of the new surge in outstanding young musical talent coming up in Scotland, and particularly, Glasgow. Alongside his own exceptional trio of David Bowden (bass, Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year 2017), and Stephen Henderson (drums, a Jazzwise ‘One to Watch’ 2018), McCreadie is a member of the acclaimed Graham Costello’s STRATA, Mark Hendry Octet, and Matthew Carmichael Quartet.

“I saw an article recently that was something like ‘UK jazz is killing it right now’, but it was all musicians from London. The UK is very London-centric in the jazz scene sometimes and I think people forget that actually the Glasgow scene is really great as well, and especially at the moment it is punching above its weight, for sure.” – Fergus McCreadie

Early this year, the Fergus McCreadie Trio luckily managed to complete a UK-wide tour for their widely acclaimed album, Turas, including a performance at the iconic 606 Club. ‘Turas’ being the Gaelic word for ‘journey’, the album travels the highlands and isles, delicately weaving jazz with Scottish traditional folk. Confidently subtle, the dynamic and impeccably written compositions reflect upon the landscape and history of McCreadie’s roots. Before recording Turas, the Trio holed up with their instruments in a cottage in Balquhidder. “We knew the music for the album quite well, but that really solidified our playing. It’s not just knowing the music, it’s living it, especially in that location, and it really informed how we try to generate these landscapes.” – McCreadie

Now, the trio have a brand-new limited-edition EP available, recorded from a live session at Black Mountain Jazz in Abergavenny, and released especially for the current situation, the CD and handmade sleeve are only available for the next few months. Grab a copy while you can for only £6 at Bandcamp! Turas is also available here in both CD and digital format.

Follow Fergus McCreadie on Facebook for solo improv live-streams every 8pm on Tuesdays! You can subscribe to this event to receive Facebook notification reminders.

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