The Steve Bell Projects
Steve Bell – composer& arranger of retro pop & jazz songs
‘I remember Father’s Day, 2020 so vividly. Locked in a 5km radius with a pregnant wife, business on hold and unable to see the gorgeous children from my first marriage. I remember it was just a little much and the tears flowed. That’s when I penned the lyrics to my first completed song Lonely View. Thank God for emotions.’
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Steve Bell was brought up on seventies and eighties pop, soul and funk. He was obsessed with Earth Wind and Fire, Bee Gees, Al Jarreau, Gino Vannelli, TOTO, George Benson and, the great, David Foster.
While at college he played drums in numerous bands, but in his own words ‘wasn’t much chop at that’. But he did have a knack for playing piano by ear and writing ‘kind of cool’ ballads and soul songs.
In his twenties he had a part-time role (on top of his day job) as a pop music critic for a local arts magazine, where he interviewed acclaimed artists from across the world.
By the early nineties he was composing soul pop songs with local artist Lisa Roberts and under the guidance of London based jazz composer William South.
Then he took a break – for over 20 years. Family responsibilities took over. In 1998 Bell started a highly successful consulting firm that still exists today. He did little music.
However, he yearned for creative endeavours and once locked down during the COVID crisis, he started writing songs again. His first song ‘Lonely View’ was written looking out across the local bay from his composing studio and recorded using the amazing vocals of Jennifer Davids. Thus he started the journey of identifying a talented singer every few months and penning them a song with rich 70s, 80s and 90s melodies and jazz pop inspired chord structures.
His latest release ‘Two of Us’ has taken Bell out of pop soul into the smooth jazz realm.
The Steve Bell Projects 