British bass guitarist, born 1948, St Albans, Hertfordshire.
Steve Cook’s bass playing became serious during the 1960s at Cambridge University, where he played double bass in the Jazz Club accompanying visiting soloists. In mid-1971 he joined the progressive rock band CMU with Ian Hamlett and Roger Odell, both of whom he met in Cambridge. After CMU folded in 1973, Cook joined Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia and Jubiaba. He then joined Alan Gowen’s Gilgamesh which did few gigs but did record a couple of radio broadcasts. He participated to the progressive rock band Seventh Wave (1975), and around the same time Cook formed ’Mirage’ alongside Brian Godding, George Khan, Dave Sheen and John Mitchell; the band played regularly and recorded an album ’Now You See It’ in 1976. In 1976 Cook joined Soft Machine, touring and recording with them until 1978. From 1978 onwards he toured with Mike Westbrook for several years, appearing on three albums.
Cook also played in freelance settings, including a stint at Ronnie Scott’s with Mark Murphy, another with the Gil Evans Orchestra, gigs with Michael Garrick, Pete Jacobsen, Ronnie Ross, Don Rendell, Art Themen, Paz, Big Chief and others. He has also recorded with Pete Atkin, Julie Covington, Steve Tilston, Don Rendell, Annette Peacock, and Joji Hirota.
In the 1980s he became an academic computer scientist and stopped playing altogether during the 1990s. In the 2000s he returned to playing as a semi-professional.