Stephen Argüelles Clarke (born 16 November 1963) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

drummer, producer and is the proprietor of the Plush record label. He has also worked in film and theatre. He is the elder brother of saxophonist Julian Argüelles. Stephen currently lives in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, France.

Life and career

Argüelles was born in Crowborough, East Sussex and raised in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

. From the age of 16, when he became the house drummer at

Ronnie Scott's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sco ...

, through his seminal work as a founder of the 1980s group

Loose Tubes Loose Tubes were a British jazz big band/orchestra active during the mid-to-late 1980s. Critically and popularly acclaimed, the band was considered to be the focal point of a 1980s renaissance in British jazz. It was the main launchpad for the ...

, and his work with

Django Bates Django Bates (born Leon Bates, 2 October 1960) is a British jazz musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, band leader and educator. He plays the piano, keyboards and the tenor horn. Bates has been described as "one of the most talented music ...

in the early Human Chain, he has shown an innovation beyond the usual role of the drummer. Argüelles has collaborated with

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

Corin Curschellas and

John Wolf Brennan John Wolf Brennan (born 13 February 1954) is an Irish pianist, organist, melodica player, and composer based in Weggis, Switzerland. Career Brennan was born in Dublin, Ireland. His family moved to Switzerland when he was seven years old. He be ...

of Switzerland and with

Nguyên Lê Nguyên Lê (Vietnamese: ''Lê Thành Nguyên''; born 14 January 1959) is a French jazz musician and composer of Vietnamese ancestry. His main instrument is guitar, and he also plays bass guitar and guitar synthesizer. He has released albums ...

. He also plays in a trio with Benoît Delbecq and

Noël Akchoté Noël Akchoté (born 7 December 1968) is a French guitarist in free improvisation, classical, experimental, and free jazz. Career Starting on guitar at when he was eight years old,Philippe Carles, André Clergeat et Jean-Louis Comolli, ''Dict ...

: The Recyclers. With Benoit Delbecq and electric bassist Christophe Minck, he also played with the French male pop singer Katerine on two albums; ''Les Créatures'' (1999) and ''Huitième Ciel'' (2002), and a lot of concerts in Europe.

Selected discography

* 1990 – ''Steve Argüelles'' * 1994 – ''Busy Listening'' * 1994 – ''Blue Moon in a Function Room'' * 1997 – ''Recyclers – Circuit'' * 1998 – ''Circuit'' * 1998 – ''Indigo'',

Ig Henneman Ig Henneman (born 21 December 1945) is a Dutch composer and bandleader. She was born in Haarlem, Netherlands, and took music lessons as a child. She studied viola and violin in Amsterdam and Tilburg, and composition with Robert Heppener. After co ...

Tentet with

Tristan Honsinger Tristan Honsinger (born October 23, 1949) is an American cello player active in free jazz and free improvisation. He is perhaps best known for his long-running collaboration with free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor and guitarist Derek Bailey. Born ...

Ab Baars Ab Baars (born November 21, 1955 in Axel, Netherlands) is a Dutch saxophonist and clarinetist who has had an active performance career since the 1970s. He has recorded several albums for the Geestgronden Records, Atavistic Records, and WIG record ...

Theo Jörgensmann Theodor Franz Jörgensmann (born 29 September 1948) is a German jazz clarinetist. Activities Theo Jörgensmann belongs to the second generation of European free jazz musicians. He was part of the clarinet renaissance in the jazz and improvisi ...

, a.o. * 2004 – ''We da man!'', Ambitronix (with Benoit Delbecq) * 2005 – ''I.N.I.T.I.A.L..S.'' with

, Christy Doran and Urs Leimgruber

References

1963 births English jazz drummers British male drummers Living people People from Crowborough British male jazz musicians Loose Tubes members Human Chain members Voice of God Collective members {{UK-drummer-stub