Fergus McCreadie Trio

With the release of its second album, Cairn, Scottish pianist Fergus McCreadie’s trio underlined its status as one of the most exciting young groups in European jazz and the third album due in Spring 2022 looks certain to maintain the trio’s momentum.

The trio’s music is dynamic and beautifully crafted, reflecting the Scottish landscape and musical traditions while honouring the American and European jazz legacies, and its huge emotional pull has brought audiences to their feet across Northern Europe and resulted in an appearance at Ronnie Scott’s International Piano Trio Festival.

McCreadie has been winning awards since his mid-teens and his group’s debut album, Turas, released in 2018, showed extraordinary maturity. It won the Album of the Year title at both the Parliamentary Jazz Awards – the UK’s most prestigious jazz prizes – and the Scottish Jazz Awards. McCreadie himself went on to win the Best Instrumentalist title at the Scottish Jazz Awards in 2018 and 2020.

Chosen as Jazz FM’s featured album of the week ahead of its release, Cairn earned five stars from Mojo and four stars from Jazzwise and was acclaimed as one of the key jazz releases of 2021 by prominent industry observers before the end of January.

It marked the further development of McCreadie’s composing talents and the trio’s ability to think, create and play with one voice, qualities that make their live performances such exuberant, uplifting and soul-stirring experiences.

“A trio capable of rivalling EST or The Bad Plus for sheer excitement…” – Mojo

“real personality … lucidly atmospheric … fire and virtuosity” – The Times

“Simply outstanding” – Jazzwise

“Vibrant, progressive, wistful … and possessing a distinctive character whose root lies in both the artistic heritage and the landscape of McCreadie’s Scottish homeland.” – AP Reviews

“A virtuosic technique…high in emotional depth” – Tommy Smith

“Think Erik Satie running on Islay Malt rather than Absinthe” – The Scotsman

“Prodigious, cascading technique while communicating warmth of personality” – The Herald