Behind the scenes with Mercury prize nominee Fergus McCreadie

Award-winning Scottish pianist and composer Fergus McCreadie has been making waves in the world of jazz music. His 2022 album, Forest Floor, topped the UK Jazz and Blues charts and led to sold-out performances across the UK. He won the 2022 Jazz FM Instrumentalist of the Year Award as well as the 2022 Scottish Album of the Year Award – the first jazz artist ever to be awarded the prize – and made the Mercury Prize shortlist that same year. He brings the Fergus McCreadie Trio to HACS Harrogate Music Festival in June…

Who inspired you to first start performing?

I was very much initially inspired by some great teachers that I had. I originally scraped my way through the ABRSM grades before seeing Richard Michael teach in Fife, and the way he spoke about jazz and improvisation and how fun it was totally changed my life. After that, Oscar Peterson became my first big hero – I think it took about a year to start listening to anyone else!

What have been your music career highlights so far?

As a trio we just recorded our fifth album in Uist, in the Outer Hebrides, and that was a very special week that I’ll undoubtedly remember forever. In 2024 as a trio, we did a tour with the Manchester Collective and then a European album release tour very close to each other and this was also very special.

What advice would you give upcoming artists wanting to follow in your
footsteps?

I would say that having a relaxed demeanour is very helpful, and also to focus on having a consistent routine. Motivation is of course important, but it ebbs and flows – but if you are as consistent as you can be with practicing, you will see results. I would also say try not to bite off more than you can chew – practicing a few things to a very high level is always more beneficial than practicing many things and only scratching the surface.

What do you hope the audience in Harrogate takes away from your
performance?

I hope that they enjoy the interaction and communication between the three of us. It’s been 10 years and I think we’re still finding new ways to surprise each other. I hope also to paint some images of Scotland and its beauty – but more than anything I hope that everyone in the audience can be transported with us out of ordinary life into the new world that a concert can create.

Describe your programme in three words.

Spontaneous, fresh, varied

Do you have any pre-concert rituals?

To be honest, my favourite thing to do is to be chatting and laughing right up to the moment we walk on stage, then as soon as we’re on we snap into focus. That keeps me from overthinking anything.

If you could collaborate with any other artist, past or present, who would it be
and why?

It wouldn’t be a collaboration as such, but I would go back to Bach’s time and try and get some lessons with him. We all look inferior compared to Bach. I think any understanding of how he created so much perfect music would be incredibly valuable.

What do you most enjoy about performing live and why is it still important in our digital age?

I don’t think there are many other things that are more effective at taking us into a new mental space than a great live concert. I personally love it as it’s the most connected I feel to the world. The most clear-headed I am in my life is when I’m on stage. The world is so full of distractions, and technology robs us of the connection to the present, so it is amazing to enter a space where all of that can slip away.

What music are you listening to at the moment?

Shai Maestro just released a new solo album which I’ve really been enjoying. I’ve been diving back into Martin Hayes’s The Lonesome Touch and Explorations by Bill Evans, and I have recently been enjoying Brahms’ piano trios for the first time.