 Respected throughout the music industry for sticking to his guns during his time
on Australian Idol by staying true to his original big-band style, persistence has
paid off 'Swing King' Carl Riseley, as he starts 2009 off swinging.
Born on the Gold Coast in 1982, Riseley has been a jazz-man ever since he was
big enough to hold his first instrument – and first love – the cornet. He continued
playing the cornet until the age of sixteen, when he found his true calling in the
trumpet.
It was as a trumpeter that Carl first entered The Royal Australian Navy band in
April 2003. The experience of playing in everything from the Concert Band to the
Jazz Quartet broadened the young player's musical horizons, strengthening his
versatility and skills as a musician.
This versatile nature is how Carl ended up falling into singing, when in late 2003
the Navy Rock Band were deployed on the HMS Tobrak on tour around Asia &
Australia, and found themselves in need of a singer. Not one to shy away from a
challenge, Carl decided to try his hand at singing for the first time – and he has
never looked back.
During his time with the Royal Australian Navy, Carl journeyed through some
amazing and life-changing experiences, including deployment in the Solomon
Islands, and most notably playing for the troops on New Years Eve in 2004 &
2005 over in Iraq. “Watching our Australian troops edge a smile on their face
while forgetting about what they were involved in, even if it was just for an hour
as we played for them - was one of the best moments in my life."
Though still relatively new to the world of singing, in 2007 Carl decided to give
the Australian Idol auditions a crack. Says Carl of his reasons for auditioning: "Ha! Besides the fact that my parents had been begging me to audition for years,
the reason I auditioned was because I lost a bet with a mate and had to walk in
and play out my part!"
There was a mixed response by judges to his audition, aside from Marcia Hines
who immediately saw Carl's potential. "You have chops," she told him.
Marcia was proved justified in pushing him through to the Top 100, where he
thrived, and continued to improve every week. By the time he made it through to
the Wildcard round his dazzling swing-style performance of The Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love" he had won everyone over, and the judges placed him in the Top
12. "I'm a trumpet player, I've been doing it since I could walk," he says of making it
into the Top 12. "I can't believe I'm here." Carl went on to make it right through to
the final three in the show, and was a public favourite throughout.
Hailed as the next Harry Connick Jnr, there is no argument that the future is
bright for this young and incredibly talented musician.
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