“After playing 34 years with me it was almost predictable this could happen, however it’s a surprise to discover these tunes revisited by my friend, never too close to the ‘model’ and never so far from the spirit.” ELVIS COSTELLO
(London, ENGLAND) – November 3, 2015 – Steve Nieve stormed into England for three nights of his latest endeavor, STEVE NIEVE PLAYS ELVIS COSTELLO, and sold out shows at The Liverpool Philharmonic, Bristol’s Colson Hall and the St James Theatre in London. In 2014, Nieve had toured this show briefly in the United States and is planning a return during the spring of 2016, represented in the United States by Newburyport, Massachusetts-based artist management company, Dog and Pony Industries.
Costello’s keyboardist since the first bars of The Attractions, disarming listeners with those “Watching The Detectives,” organ stylings, Nieve has created a program which includes the Costello fan favorites, previously unheard backstage stories about those songs, as well as a careful selection of obscure, equally brilliant, Costello gems. For this round of British dates Steve invited singers Tall Ulysse and Alex Cornish to share the stage.
“Anybody who has witnessed any of Elvis Costello’s live shows will appreciate the magic that occurs when Steve Nieve is let loose on the piano. Now Steve and his piano take centre stage. Expect intimate stories of his adventures with Elvis, a heart in mouth display of virtuosity, incendiary Piano frenzy, and melodic inventiveness.”—Alex Cornish
For those who know just where Mr. Nieve is in the pantheon of rock and roll, this kind of adoration won’t be much of a surprise. To the others, perhaps this quote from THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER might be effective:
“There’s a case to be made for Steve Nieve as rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest keyboardist, at least as an accompanist. Ebony and ivory have lived together not just in perfect harmony but frenzied excitement as Nieve has been the dominant instrumental force in Elvis Costello’s Attractions and, subsequently, Imposters. The E Street Band’s Roy Bittan and Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench can match or beat him for band longevity and notoriety, but neither of those groups could ever count the piano as the lead instrument, the way that Costello so often handed that role over to his right-hand man.”—Chris Willman, The Hollywood Reporter (26/9/2014 – emphasis added by the press release team to ease writers needing to fill their daily pull-quote quotient)
Mr. Nieve will be bringing STEVE NIEVE PLAYS ELVIS COSTELLO to the United States with availabilities in March, April and May of 2016 with open avails later in the year. The tour will be booked through the firm of Dog and Pony Industries and represented by Gille Amaral there [e/gille@dogandponyindustries.com p/603-379-6602] Steve is also recording the companion album, with his long-time companion, Muriel Teodori, as co-producer. The release will appear next year as well. To answer the question, why Elvis, why now, instead of the offhand, punk rock answer that would have rolled wittily off his tongue during Mr. Nieve’s earlier life, we present a much more measured quote for you and your readers:
“One afternoon I was playing the piano at home, riffing on melodies of Nina Simone, Lou Reed, Mary Lou Williams, Brian Eno, my woman and muse, Muriel Teodori said, “You should make a series of albums playing the music of other artists.“ Good idea. Because Elvis’s music has been in my veins for 30 years, it seemed like THE place to start. However, the kernel of Muriel’s idea is really to produce a series of albums. I’d like to do Steve Nieve Plays Brian Eno, Steve Nieve Plays Neil Young, Steve Nieve Plays Rihanna. The last time I was in Australia, I recorded some songs by Lou Reed, some Lil Harding Armstrong rags and some great songs Elvis Presley made famous that I really love. I’m already ahead of the game. Elvis Costello’s compositions are challenging, and lend themselves to this sort of adaptation in a great way. He’s written in so many different genres. He is well-known for his brilliant lyric writing, but with this piano concert, his other greatness is revealed: melody. I tell some stories around the songs and our three decades of musical adventure.”
Back in the day, critics and pundits alike hailed Nieve as one of the most accomplished musicians to emerge from the Punk/New Wave scene of the late 70’s. Nieve’s creative relationship forged with Elvis Costello has continued through subsequent albums and tours with The Attractions, The Imposters and EC’s solo endeavors, “North” and “National Ransom”, “The River in Reverse” with Allen Toussaint, and the Burt Bacharach collaboration, “Painted From Memory”.
In 2003, Nieve was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Elvis Costello & The Attractions. Steve’s studio session work has been featured on albums by artists as varied as Madness, Squeeze, Tim Finn, Robert Wyatt, Francoise Hardy, the Damned, Morrissey, Nick Heyward, David Bowie, the Neville Brothers, Kirsty MacColl, Graham Parker and Little Richard. He’s also worked with a panapoly of stars, the likes of Sting, Paul McCartney, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Jane Birkin, Mick Jagger, Smokey Robinson, Paul Weller & the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
At the end of 2014, Nieve first took his PLAYS ELVIS COSTELLO show on tour across Australia & the USA. With just an upright piano, telling anecdotes about his life long companion of the road, and playing surprising new arrangements of familiar melodies, he gathered the audience up on a journey through the songbook of one of pop’s most iconic of iconoclasts, which, nightly, ultimately ended in rapturous applause, as noted in The Sydney Morning Herald; “Nieve’s conversational pitch and virtuosic technique drew laughs, gasps and a standing ovation…”
It will be more of the same, yet completely different, when STEVE NIEVE PLAYS ELVIS COSTELLO across the United States next year.
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Steve Nieve plays Upright, Electric and Grand pianos, he is a Steinway Artist and is looking for an endorsement for this tour from Yamaha. _____
Management & Booking Contact: Muriel Teodori, Unlikely Productions Ltd. Paris, France e/ expediteur@aol.com w/ stevenieve.com
US Management Representative: Gille Amaral Dog & Pony Industries Newburyport, MA USA e/ gille@dogandponyindustries.com w/dogandponyindustries.com p/ +01.603.379.6602
Assorted Links for Steve Nieve Plays Elvis Costello
Hollywood Reporter
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/earshot/elvis-costello-sideman-steve-nieve-735873
Billboard Magazine
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6266572/5-questions-with-steve-nieveelvis-costellos-world-class-sideman
Melbourne Fringe
http://www.smh.com.au/national/melbourne-fringe-review-steve-nieve-playselvis-costello-20140921-10jwtd.html
Live on ABC Australia
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/musicshow/steve-nieve/5733954
On Noise 11 (Australia)
http://www.noise11.com/vinterviews/steve-nieve