Neil - Solo Guitarist

Act fee up to £495

Neil is an extremely gifted guitarist who is beginning to establish his unique talent as a performer and composer both in Britain, and more recently in North America. In a contemporary musical climate which is often overcrowded with an eclectic range of guitar styles, Neil not only acknowledges these various influences, which includes bossa nova, bebop and blues, but also displays an in-depth knowledge of performance and composition, which were key to his studies at Birmingham Conservatoire. His performance and playing delights in playful, fresh and beautiful harmonic interpretations of both standards, and original compositions. Neil continues to teach and perform and is an active participant and frequently invited performer at guitar festivals throughout the world.

Studied guitar with Gary Boyle between 1990-92 and then went on to study with Fred T. Baker between 1992-96 at the Birmingham Conservatoire (UK). These studies led into the fields of composition and arranging especially with regard to Jazz and Classical music. After leaving the Conservatoire, Neil formed the Ofay Jazz Quintet, playing original arrangements of jazz standards and leading the Ofay Big Band, which performed Neil's original compositions alongside the arrangements now embedded into the repertoire.

In 1999, joined forces with Sam Dale (The Big Mojito, Deep Cabaret) and Richard Young (The Earlies, John Mayer's Indo-Jazz Fusions) to form Rokasayers, a Hard Jazz- Rock Fusion power trio. Over a 5 year period they repeatedly wrote and performed to high critical acclaim (see reviews on Rokasayers page). Regularly performing with The Latin Committee as well as performing with other artists such as Gary Boyle (Isotope, Mike Westbrook), Barnaby Dickinson (trombonist for Tim Garland, Jamie Cullum) and Steve Tromans (formerly John Mayer's Indo-Jazz Fusions and Birmingham's finest!).

Combine this educational and performance background with the attention to detail in composition and practice then you have music of real expression and technique.

Music Samples

I Could Write A Book

Still Crazy After All These Years

Nature Boy

You ve Got A Friend

Act Video

Awaiting video for this artist
Act Info

Line-up

Neil - Solo Guitar.

Extra Line-up(s)

Duo, Trio, With additional percussion and/or Bass Guitar. Vocals additional also for clients requiring voice at their event. Particularly effective as ambient/background music for all kinds of events

Location

North West based and will travel to these areas: Midlands, North East, North West.

Previous Clients

Romerias de Mayo Festival, Holguin, Cuba. 2010
English Arts Council - Winter Gardens, Blackpool.
Zihuatanejo Guitar Festival, Mexico.
Lancaster Jazz Festival.
Manchester Jazz Festival.
Newark Jazz Festival.
BMW - Stockton on Tees.
Stagecoach - Oxford

Song List

50's & 60's

Nat King Cole - Nature Boy.
Frank Sinatra - Fly me to the moon.

70's & 80's

Randy Crawford - One day I'll fly away.
Marvin Gaye - What's going on?

90's To Present

Paul Weller - You do something to me.
Other Info

The price brackets above should be used as a guide only as all quotes are bespoke.Performance times for most acts except Tributes and some other Unique performers are usually 2 x 60 minute sets or 3 x 40 min sets. (If you require the act to perform longer than these times you may incur extra costs.)

Travel costs vary depending on the act and will be included to the quote given to you by our agents.

Our acts would usually expect to arrive around 6pm and to be finished around midnight.

(If you need the act to arrive earlier or finish later there may be extra costs but these can be negotiated.)