Steele played trumpet professionally from 1987, touring with Hue And Cry, but soon decided that he did not care sufficiently for pop to continue in this genre. After two years in France, he moved to London where he studied jazz at the Guildhall School of Music. During this same period, he also worked in Scotland with the John Rae Collective. After graduation in the early 90s, Steele played in various parts of Europe before returning to Scotland in 1996. Broadening his musical base to incorporate funk, Latin, and contemporary dance music with his jazz playing, he established a live music club, Midnight Blue, at Edinburgh’s Café Graffiti. With singer Cathie Rae, he took a show, A Tribute To Chet Baker, to the Edinburgh Festival. Among the bands with which he is linked are Melting Pot (a jazz funk group), Mas Que Nada (a Latin jazz band), both of the latter as leader, the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, and the Subie Coleman Band.

Artists and groups with whom Steele has recorded include Chizuko Yoshihiro, Tom Bancroft, Todd Gordon, Melanie O’Reilly, Larry Coryell, Aqua Bassino, Ambisonic, and Demusphere. Steele’s Twilight Dreams, for which he composed all the music, and which was arranged by pianist David Milligan, and on which Julian Argüelles guested, was a critical triumph. His fully rounded sound, lyrical warmth, and his ability to play in all registers with accuracy and clarity have helped make Steele one of the most talked-about and admired players on the UK scene of the early 00s.