Steve Thompson - Evidence Bag (2015)

Tracklist

01. Deposit
02. The Long Goodbye
03. Utopia
04. Bideford
05. Cool or Something
06. Blow
07. Jake
08. Evidence Bag
09. Stephanie

Full of hip grooves, this exciting collection of originals cooks up a storm with that classic Blue Note sound of Hammond, sax, guitar, drums and double bass, evoking film noir, 70's t.v cop show themes mixed with fresh, contemporary jazz flavors.

After years of being a side-man playing with musicians of the caliber of Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache and Ken Peplowski British double bass player Steve Thompson steps out of the shadows to become band leader...only to step back into the shadows with his noirish collection of his originals tunes and a specific concept in mind; the evocation of the the 70's T.V detective and the Blue Note inspired music that often served as accompaniment,

"I liked the cop show detective. He’s for justice but against the law. He knows everyone and everyone knows him but he’ll forever walk a lonely street, getting his man but losing the girl, cracking the case but never cracking love. He’s wide lapelled and flappy flared, always stylish but never a follower of fashion. There’s a cigarette in the corner of his mouth and a shot of the strong stuff close to hand. He carries a visible hurt on the outside but hides a deeper hurt that festers on the inside and stains his soul. He lives on a boat or in a trailer or in a half-built house but never in a home - no home could ever contain him for he’s as edgy as a panther and twice as dangerous. He drives a car that no one else drives and at a speed that no one else could ever hope to match because no one else shares his sense of direction, his sense of purpose, his fatal destiny...

I grew up in a time when classic American cop shows like Harry-O, Rockford Files, Cannon and Petrocelli were a television staple and I loved all of them. I loved their L.A locale, convoluted plots, cheerful sadism and world-weary philosophy. And I loved the detectives of course. I wanted to be their partner; wise-cracking away as we pieced together the case. But the thing I really loved the most of all about these shows was the music. Without realizing it, these classic theme tunes, chase sequence scores, musical stings and love interest melodies provided my first taste of jazz, expertly written and arranged as they were by true bona fide jazz greats like Quincy Jones, Benny Golson, Oliver Nelson and Lalo Schifrin. They influenced my formative musical tastes in a profound and lasting way".

With this new collection of original compositions Steve has successfully revisited those influences, captured something of the atmosphere of those shows and yet still created something contemporary and fresh. This is an outstanding debut.

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