"as original as they come, listening to everyone but beholden to no
single influence; Eales demands your attention with the force of his musical
personality and keeps it with his musicianship" - Budd Kopman ( Cadence ) GEOFF EALES is regarded as one of Europe's most inspirational pianists and composers. Though he has been pro-active in a vast variety of musical situations throughout his long and distinguished career, it is within the realm of jazz and improvised music that the full extent of Geoff's personality is revealed.
Geoff is that rare breed of artist - the multiple specialist. He is fluent in many musical languages : blues, bebop, swing, ragtime, gospel, latin, fusion, classical, the avant-garde and more. As Jack Kenny puts it in Jazz Views : "Geoff Eales is unique. When you talk to him one word comes up over and over, eclectic... any performance by Geoff will refer to the varied influences of his life so far : a splendid synthesis from Messiaen through Henry Mancini to Bill Evans."
Geoff loves to take both himself and his listeners on adventures into the unknown. You never quite know what's around the corner but you do know that the trip will be highly eventful, unpredictable and immensely colourful. This is true whether he is reshaping a well-loved standard, emoting on an original ballad or conjuring up an improvisation from a totally blank canvas.
Geoff's 60th Birthday Gala Concert at London's South Bank in March 2011 was yet another important landmark in the pianist's ever-evolving musical story. This is what Bob Weir of Jazz Journal International had to say about the happy occasion : "This highly enjoyable event was a well-timed reminder that Geoff is one of the most creative and musically broad minded pianists playing today... he can still show a thing or two to the talented younger players who enrich the current British jazz scene."
Geoff's incredible musical journey began in the late 1950's in the South Wales Valleys, his jazz-loving father sowing the seeds for a life in music when he taught him the 12-bar blues when he was only eight years old. From that moment on Geoff has never looked back.
Having graduated from Cardiff University with a Masters in Music in 1973, Geoff enrolled on a Ph.D course where he specialized in Composition and the music of American composer Aaron Copland. As a career in academia beckoned Geoff decided to broaden his horizons instead. Cruising the world as a ship's musician for a couple of years, Geoff absorbed the musics of many different cultures - Greek, Turkish, North African, Spanish, Japanese, Balinese and North and South American. These early musical experiences would have a tremendous impact on his later work.
Geoff moved to London in 1977, joining the BBC Big Band a year later. Here he worked with some of the best arrangers in the business including Nelson Riddle, Billy May and Bob Farnon and many fine jazz vocalists such as Norma Winstone, Rosemary Clooney and Marian Montgomery. By the time he had left the organisation in 1983 he had been featured in well over a thousand broadcasts.
After the BBC years Geoff quickly became one of the most sought-after pianists on the London session scene. He remained a top studio musician for over 15 years working alongside a host of musical luminaries, Leonard and Elmer Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith and Lalo Schifrin included. However as the new millennium approached Geoff felt an inner need to return to the music that had inspired him in his youth - jazz.
In 1999 Geoff released his first jazz album as a leader, Mountains of Fire, to rave reviews. Since then a steady stream of highly acclaimed albums has flowed : Red Letter Days (2001), Facing the Muse (2002), Synergy (2004), The Homecoming (2006), Jazz Piano Legends (2007), Epicentre (2007) and Master of the Game (2009).Towards the end of 2010 Geoff formed the exciting genre-busting band Isorhythm featuring Ben Waghorn (saxes/bass clarinet), Carl Orr (guitar) Fred T Baker (bass guitar) and Asaf Sirkis (drums). Isorhythm's debut album "Shifting Sands" ( which includes a guest appearance by the brilliant violinist Chris Garrick ) was released in November 2011 and is already attracting some great reviews. This immediately followed the release of "Reflections" with the ELF Trio ( Eales, Lee, Findon ), a joint collaboration between Geoff, horn player Dave Lee and flautist Andy Findon.
Throughout the period of his jazz renaissance, Geoff has performed at many of the world's leading jazz clubs including the Blue Note Clubs of Japan, New York's Birdland, the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, Louisville's Jazz Factory and London's Ronnie Scott's. He has also graced the main stages of many of the major jazz festivals such as Belgrade, Zagreb, Cork and Brecon.
Plans for 2012 include a major UK tour with Isorhythm, a new project entitled "100 Years of Jazz Piano", and the release of a live CD recorded at Cardiff's Dempseys in May 2011 featuring Ben Waghorn once again and the phenomenal young avant-garde bassist, Ashley John Long.