Scottish trumpeter Malcolm Strachan returns with his third solo album Look On The Bright Side, a groove-driven, forward-looking release that moves fluidly between soul-jazz, Latin rhythms and Afrobeat textures while staying rooted in the warm, cinematic language of 1970s jazz. Across the record, Strachan continues to expand his identity as a composer and bandleader, drawing together influences shaped by more than two decades at the centre of the UK jazz, funk and soul landscape.
Strachan’s career began after graduating from Leeds College of Music in 1996, leading to a prolific life as a professional trumpeter working across genres and stages worldwide. Over the years he has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists including Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jamiroquai, The New Mastersounds, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, and Craig Charles’s Fantasy Funk Band, as well as contributing to countless studio sessions across contemporary pop and soul.
Originally from Inverness, Strachan co-founded the influential horn section and funk outfit The Haggis Horns in 1998 alongside Atholl Ransome and Jason Rae. Emerging from the Leeds live scene with club residencies and a rapidly growing reputation, the group gained wider recognition after appearing on Keb Darge Presents The New Mastersounds and releasing their debut album Hot Damn in 2007 on First Word Records. The Haggis Horns have remained active ever since, continuing to tour and work extensively as both a band and horn section across live and studio projects.
Strachan’s solo path has unfolded in parallel. His debut album About Time introduced a deeply soulful, instrumental jazz sound that nodded to the classic Blue Note era of the late 1960s. In 2023, Point Of No Return pushed further into jazz-funk and fusion territory, drawing inspiration from the 1970s CTI Records aesthetic and the work of trumpet icon Freddie Hubbard, where groove and harmonic richness sit at the centre of the music.
With Look On The Bright Side, Strachan continues that evolution, widening his palette to incorporate brighter harmonic colours, Afro-Latin rhythms and deep funk undercurrents. The result is a record that feels both reflective and in motion, balancing nostalgia for analog-era jazz textures with a contemporary sense of rhythm and direction.
Across his solo catalogue and extensive collaborative history, Strachan has steadily refined a voice that bridges eras and styles without losing focus on groove, melody and emotional clarity. Look On The Bright Side stands as a further step into that vision, reinforcing his place as one of the UK scene’s most versatile and enduring brass voices.
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