Paul CostelloBiography
I was born in Liverpool in 1960. As a child I found myself strongly drawn to music- particularly through listening to my dad's collection of classical records and watching the Beatles on television. I started playing double bass when I was twelve followed by bass guitar and guitar. Over the next few years I played in an endless succession of youth orchestras, Jazz bands, school shows and rock bands.
During my late teens I became more interested in acoustic music. I started performing my own songs and instrumental pieces regularly at folk clubs and festivals throughout the region. In the early eighties I became the resident musician and co-organiser at a prominent Merseyside club, giving me the opportunity to meet and perform alongside some of the worlds greatest acoustic artists, including Martin Carthy, Nick Jones, Dave Swarbrick, Mike Chapman and many others. These early experiences provided me with an invaluable musical and professional apprenticeship and sowed the seeds of my future career.
Throughout this time I had continued to pursue my interest in electric guitar and in Jazz and improvised music. A chance, revelatory encounter with Ralph Towner's magical 1980 ECM album Solo Concert proved to be a turning point in my musical life- showing me the possibility of combining elements of European Classical music and Jazz through improvisation.
I successfully auditioned for the innovative Jazz Diploma course at the Mable Fletcher College of Performing Arts in Liverpool and went on to study Jazz and Classical guitar, music theory, composition and arranging, teaching practice and other related subjects for three years-gaining my Diploma in 1984. After finishing college I continued my studies in Jazz guitar, taking private lessons from Phil Lee in London.
Since 1984 I have worked as a professional freelance musician and guitar tutor. In 1996 I made the decision to focus on performing only my own music. I have since worked in both the UK and in the Netherlands including performances in music festivals and on radio. I have recorded three albums- Snaizeholme, Solo Six and Seven String Guitar and Living Music. I have also won recognition and support from The Arts Council both in my capacity as a project leader and as a composer and performing musician.
In addition to my performing work I have continued to run my own successful practice as an instrumental tutor and have taught, over the years, many hundreds of people of all ages and levels of ability. Although I now only teach private students and group workshops I also worked, earlier on in my career, as a peripatetic guitar tutor for Cheshire County Council and as a lecturer in Jazz guitar at Wirral Metropolitan College.
Current projects include composing for, and recording and performing with Living Music. This is a collective of improvising musicians from the UK, USA, India, Israel which I co- founded with fellow guitarist John Loughran. I am also writing an instructional book on improvisation for Classical and Fingerstyle guitarists which is due for publication in 2011. I continue to dedicate myself to teaching my own students and to add to my repertoire of original music for solo guitar.