Steve Parry

http://www.theclassicrockshow.com/band/steve-parry
https://www.steveparrymusic.com/audio-video
https://www.thebandmusical.com/cast-creatives/steve-parry

From the official Classic Rock Show website:

Where and when were you born?
I was born in Wallasey, on the Wirral, 22nd May 1975 (hmm, getting on a bit now...)

When did you start to play?
I started playing piano when I was about 4 years old, then I just started picking other instruments up and having a go at them.
Tell us about some of your previous projects.
I was the musical director for the Official Tribute To The Blues Brothers for 15 years touring most of the UK and Europe and also playing in London's West End, Chicago and São Paolo. Amongst other things I've also played in a good few theatre shows, gone round the world on a cruise ship and toured as trumpet player for Corinne Bailey-Rae. And I'm the musical arranger for BBC's The Voice.

Who are your influences?
A lot of jazz; Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon. And also a lot of Genesis. And The Beatles. Can I include the Wombles in here..? They were brilliant!

If you had to take one album to your desert island, what would it be and why?
Why does this question always come up? Very difficult. I think it would have to be the debut album from Joe Topping And The Vagrant Kings. Partly because I'm on it(!) but mostly because the writing is wonderful. It's on repeat in my car at the moment so I know what it would be like to have only that album to play.

What gear do you tour with?
My main pieces of gear are my Roland VK88 organ and (slightly modified) HL722 Leslie speaker. I love the sound of a real organ through a real Leslie and this is a good compromise - I think Roger & Dave, part of our road crew, would be slightly unhappy if they had to move a B3 as well as the Leslie... My other main piece of equipment is my Muse Receptor QU4TTRO, triggered by a regular 88-note weighted master keyboard for all other non-organ sounds.

One obscure interesting fact about yourself.
I once taught Liam Neeson a song. I was in New York with a show I had arranged and recorded the music for and Liam Neeson was going to be the mystery guest at a later date so I had to teach him this particular song. That was the same trip I had an encounter with Roger Moore, but that's another story...

From his own website’s bio:

Steve is a versatile musician who wears many hats (literally as well as figuratively!). He is a trumpet player, drummer, pianist (amongst playing other instruments), composer, arranger, recording engineer and producer, and avid instrument and microphone collector. He travelled the world as the musical director for The Official Tribute To The Blues Brothers for 15 years and has written the music for many theatre shows including The Play What I Wrote, The Band (working with Take That), Calendar Girls (both the play and the musical) and The Full Monty. Since 2015, Steve has also been musical director of The Classic Rock Show.

In the theatre world he has worked with such names as Kenneth Branagh, Lynda Bellingham, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Honor Blackman, Liam Neeson and Roger Moore, and has performed in theatres worldwide including London’s west end, Broadway, Chicago and São Paulo. And in a more pop vein, he has performed with Corinne Bailey-Rae, John Legend and Martha Reeves, amongst others. Steve also appears alongside Zac Efron and Claire Danes in the 2008 film Me And Orson Welles and has been the musical arranger for ITV's The Voice UK and Voice Kids UK since 2014. As both a player and a writer he has worked with the likes of Sir Tom Jones, Jennifer Hudson, Boy George, Paloma Faith, Pixie Lott, Jessie J, Danny Jones, Gary Barlow, Take That, Olly Murs, Chrissie Hynde and will.i.am.

Other work has included jazz festivals and clubs, cruise ships round the world, arranging and conducting the music for the show Simply Big Band, running his own Big Band From Hell and being musical director for the after-race show at Silverstone. Within the past few years, Steve has been recording other artists in his studio, such as Joe Topping, Emily Gervers and Lauren Housley​. He has very recently been the arranger/co-producer for the forthcoming album from Ray Quinn.

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