The Blue Nile songbook gets a brilliant jazz interpretation

The Herald Scotland

18-06-2025

Now, courtesy of the brilliant Scottish trumpeter and composer Colin Steele comes an engrossing collection, Colin Steele Quartet - The Blue Nile: Jazz Interpretations of the Blue Nile Songbook, which is released this week.
In the company of Calum Gourlay on double bass, Alyn Cosker on drums and pianist Dave Milligan - the latter also arranged the album - Steele delivers striking re-imaginings of many of the Blue Nile's finest moments, from Heatwave and Because of Toledo to Let's Go Out Tonight, Headlights on the Parade, and Easter Parade. Family Life, one of Paul Buchanan's most affecting songs, becomes even more so in the hands of the Quartet and Steele's sinuous trumpet lines.
Mid Air, the title track from Buchanan's only (thus far) solo album, released in 2012, gets a particularly beguiling treatment here.
As Marina Records, the label behind the new release, puts it: "The album perfectly captures and enhances the late-night moods and aural landscapes of The Blue Nile's music, while also adding some unexpected, and, yes, even slightly funky grooves to songs like Body and Soul and Headlights On The Parade".
The Steele quartet is no stranger to the concept of covering other artists' material.
Eight years ago they brought out Diving for Pearls, a songbook devoted to The Pearlfishers duo; three years after that, it was the turn of Joni Mitchell, with Joni.
In an interview with The Scotsman to mark the release of the Mitchell album, Colin described himself as 'an obsessive listener,' listening to her songs over and over and focusing on the vocals of each one – 'every word and inflection she makes, really obsessing where she places notes, how she phrases everything as well as the whole feel. I keep on listening until there's a moment when I kind of hear space in there to put my own voice as well.'
As for his admiration of the Blue Nile, he said recently: 'I am a massive fan of The Blue Nile. I love the melodies of their songs, but I also particularly love the overall atmosphere they create. Paul Buchanan's vocals are beautiful and intimate, his singing actually reminds me of Miles Davis's trumpet playing. Understated and cool, but every nuance filled with beauty and so much emotion".
The new album, which was recorded in the space of just one day at Castlesound studios at Pencaitland, where the Blue Nile albums were recorded, has been given the blessing of Paul Buchanan himself.
The album has already received enthusiastic praise, with the German online music journalist Werner Herpell has described it as "my jazz album of the year. A masterpiece".
The record is available on CD in a six-panel digisleeve and as a vinyl edition limited to 500 copies. The CD version features two additional tracks - Happiness and Headlights On The Parade.
Steele and his Quartet preview the new record at Edinburgh's Jazz Bar tonight - Wednesday, June 18 - followed by two sold-out launch concerts at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall two days later, on Friday, June 20.
* marinarecords.com; colinsteele.com