Other bands



Aside from “Portrait of the MJQ” (see link above for info), I run or am involved with several other bands and a jazz festival, as detailed below:-

Cafecito

An authentic 7-piece Cuban charanga band, led by flute and vocals, which plays the music of Havana from the 1920s. The lineup features three percussionists (of which I am one), 3 backing vocals, flute, piano, double bass, violin and a singer. This band does a lot of functions and occasionally plays public concerts and arts festivals. They recently completed an 11-date UK tour for RBS. Check out the video on the right! For more info and bookings head over to http://www.cafecito.co.uk

Nat Steele Quartet

My own non-MJQ quartet, usually featuring Leon Greening on piano, Luke Steele or Adam King on bass and Steve Brown, Matt Home or Mark Taylor on drums (depending on who’s available!).

My quartet is regularly featured at the Late, Late show at Ronnie Scott’s. We’ve been playing together since 2009 and have developed a close musical rapport based on a shared love of straight ahead jazz and bebop. The pad for this band takes a lot of material from the band Milt Jackson was touring with during the 80s and 90s!

For further bookings contact me at natjsteele@hotmail.com

Neale Meets Steele

American born altoist and flautist Allison Neale's beautifully crafted lines evoke the spirit of Paul Desmond and Art Pepper, with whom she has a particular affinity. In this quintet she joins forces with Milt Jackson influenced vibraphonist Nat Steele, to create a quintet that celebrates the music of the American bebop tradition with a programme that includes material from Allison’s newly released CD I Wished on the Moon now out on Trio. The band features Leon Greening on piano, myself on vibes, Julian Bury on double bass, and Steve Brown on drums.
Stacks Image 32

BopFest

BopFest is a week long jazz festival that I started running, with the help of Allison Neale and others, in 2015, as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival. The idea is to make sure that there is a venue providing lots of unabashedly straight ahead jazz during the larger festival, which otherwise tends towards contemporary/European jazz. We did it again in 2016 with twice as many bands, and over 650 tickets sold, making it a big success for the 2nd year in a row. More info at http://www.bopfest.co.uk
Stacks Image 47