Geoff Eales is regarded as one of the UK's most inspirational jazz pianists and composers.[1]
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Born in Aberbargoed in the south Wales valleys, his musical education began at the age of eight, in the late 1950s. His father Horace, pianist in a well-known local dance band, taught him to play the 12-bar blues. He was also introduced to piano masters Erroll Garner, George Shearing and Oscar Peterson, as well as Bud Powell, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.
Eales also underwent a more conventional musical education while a pupil at Lewis School Pengam, learning classical piano and the French horn. He played the latter with the Glamorgan Youth Orchestra and, in 1968, with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales.[1] He achieved a first class honours and a masters degree at Cardiff University and in 1980 was awarded his doctorate in music for a thesis on structure in the symphonic works of Aaron Copland[2].
Throughout his long and distinguished career Geoff Eales has worked with pop stars, country singers, opera divas, variety artists, and played on countless sound tracks, TV shows and jingles, been a featured soloist with symphony orchestras and has composed chamber music, symphonies and concertos.
Early in his career he cruised the world on a Greek liner. For four months he was based in the jazz capital of the world, New Orleans where he played with many American jazzmen such as Buddy Tate, Jimmy McPartland, Earl Warren and Major Holley. He then moved to London, where he joined Joe Loss' band. The following year he became the pianist in the BBC Big Band, where he remained for over four years.
For the next 15 years Eales worked with an array of conductors, composers and singers including Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin, Jerry Goldsmith, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rosemary Clooney, Adelaide Hall, Tammy Wynette, Shirley Bassey, Andy Williams, Kiri Te Kanawa and José Carreras.[1]
By the end of the 1990s he felt the need to return to jazz, since when has performed at some of the world's leading jazz clubs, such as The Blue Note Clubs in Osaka and Fukuoka, New York's Birdland (jazz club), The Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, Louisville's Jazz Factory and London's Ronnie Scott's, and at many major jazz festivals.
His work has met with critical acclaim, such as:
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and :
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One of the world's most respected jazz critics, Dave Gelly has called him "phenomenally accomplished" in The Observer in 2005.[5]