DSQ brought together the muscular, vital frontline team of trumpeter Jonny Bruce and saxophonist Ben Waghorn and the subtle, vibrating rhythm section of bassist Paula Gardiner and drummer Elliott Bennett. With Stapleton moving between Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano, they made hi-energy jazz, music to feed the mind and move the body. UK audiences already knew just how good this band truly were and with highly successful festival appearances in Cannes, Budapest, Zagreb, Cork, Bratislava and Belgrade under their belt, the rest of Europe was catching on. Imagine music as approachable and sophisticated as Keith Jarrett or EST or the Bad Plus, add that to the energy of the Jazz Messengers or Cannonball Adderley: That was DSQ.

‘One of Britain’s most interesting jazz pianists and composers’.


The Daily Telegraph