J A Z Z

 

“In performance, it’s all about class and quality: Stevenson has a beautiful touch, caressing the keys Bill Evans-style but rhythmically perfect too”
Jazzwise Magazine

“An inspired and brilliantly constructive improviser...a technically superb musician and gifted composer.” 
The Herald


Following studies with leading UK jazz pianist Liam Noble at Birmingham Conservatoire, Euan moved to Glasgow and became an in-demand player on the Scottish music scene. Whilst there, he was shortlisted for The Scottish Album of the Year Award, The Paul Hamlyn Award for Composition and most recently ‘Best Instrumentalist’ at the 2021 Scottish Jazz Awards, at which he shared accolades for ‘Best Album’ for co-writing, arranging and co-producing singer Georgia Cécile’s debut album, Only The Lover Sings which reached number 3 in the UK official Jazz Charts, featuring across BBC Radio, Jazz FM and KJazz88 in the U.S.

Over the past decade, Euan has both collaborated, performed alongside, accompanied and written for, leading UK jazz musicians and vocalists, including David Newton (Newton/Stevenson Piano Duo), Jim Mullen, Tommy Smith (SNJO), Colin Steele, Anita Wardell and Tina May. From the US, he has worked with Grammy award-nominated vocalist Carla Cook and the tap dancer Andrew Nemr. With maestro Newton, (Newton has been voted Best Pianist at The British Jazz Awards 16 times!) the pair improvise swinging and virtuosic interpretations of jazz standards in a two-piano/four hands format.

Stevenson also enjoys a long-held musical partnership with Scottish saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski. New Focus: The Classical Connection is a light-hearted review in which the pair explore the many traits shared by classical composers and jazz musicians within the context of a lively set of improvised music based on original themes, classical and jazz standards. Euan also performs a similar set in solo piano format. New Focus began as a nine-piece ensemble, for which Stevenson composed and arranged the majority of the music for two genre-defying albums for jazz quartet, string quartet and harp, released on Whirlwind Recordings: the eponymous New Focus (nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year Award) and New Focus on Song.

In both solo format and with the Euan Stevenson Trio, Euan curates and performs jazz piano reviews entitled “Ellington to Evans”, shedding light on the styles and techniques of jazz piano icons such as Duke Ellington, Errol Garner, Oscar Peterson, George Shearing and Bill Evans. He also co-leads ‘One For Benny’ with clarinetist Tom Gibbs, performing music inspired by The King of Swing, Benny Goodman.

Euan has worked with many top jazz vocalists including Tina May, Anita Wardell, Fionna Duncan and Pete Horsefall, however his primary collaboration remains a long association as co-writer/pianist/arranger/producer/M.D for emerging popular jazz singer Georgia Cécile who was voted Best Jazz Act and Best Vocalist at the 2022 Jazz FM Awards. Recent live highlights include supporting Gregory Porter at The Royal Albert Hall, several headline performances at Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club, Cheltenham and Love Supreme Jazz Festivals, Duc des Lombards (Paris) and The Blue Note (Milan) as well as a tour of Scotland performing Stevenson and Cécile’s music which Euan was commissioned to arrange for the award winning Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO). In addition, Euan’s compositions and arrangements have been performed by The BBC Big Band (Radio 2), The BBC Concert Orchestra, The Guy Barker Orchestra (BBC 4), The NueJazz Festival Jazz Orchestra, Edinburgh Jazz Festival Orchestra and The The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland. 

Euan is a part time Lecturer at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, taught Harmony and Jazz piano on the Richard Michael Summer Jazz School (2007 - 2019), Strathclyde University (2010 - 2013), Glasgow University (2016 - 2021) and is a highly regarded private teacher of talented alumni such as Mercury-nominated jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie and pianist/arranger Ryan Mackenzie.