Grimaldi Cinématique
We celebrate the life and music of Steve Aston, a driving force in the European live music scene and a household name in the UK gypsy jazz circles with the posthumous release of double LP ‘Waltz for Grimaldi’ and ‘Venison Night’.
This double LP was the culmination of six years of Steve’s exploration into his music and was considered by him to be the ultimate expression of his anthology, on which he started working in 2012 in Brighton and was recorded first in 2013 at Tenbury Wells, and finalised and signed off in Parisot, France in March 2019.
Originally founded for a one-off gig in 2012, Grimaldi Cinématique is a collective with core members rather than a band. The collective was motivated, led and engineered by Steve Aston – a man of unparalleled musical vision, carefully crafting his compositions and sound. He was influenced by Django Reinhardt as much as by Eric Dolphy, Erik Satie and Captain Beefheart to name a few, and surrounded himself with outstanding musicians with whom he played locally in Brighton as well as touring the UK and Europe, including a UK tour with Sebastien Giniaux and an appearance at the annual Django Reinhardt Festival in Samois sur seinne France.
The album features Steve’s carefully selected crew: Matt Holborn on violin, Andy Morris and Elis Davis on rhythm guitars, George Berrils and Willkommen co-founder Marcus Hamblett on double bass, Nigel Broderick on accordion and special guest appearance by Louise Thiolon on vocals.
The artwork is by Steve’s close friend Véronique Besnard and musical production by Bar Zalel, who followed the project from the 2013 recordings all the way to the vinyl’s quality control. Steve wanted to print only 250 copies, so this physical edition, the only one planned, is limited to 250 physical copies.
All proceedings from the release will go to the Steve Aston Foundation.