Neil Cowley (born 5 November 1972) is an English contemporary pianist and composer. He has also released music as part of Fragile State, the Green Nuns of the Revolution, and the Neil Cowley Trio. With his trio, he appeared on '' Later... with Jools Holland'' in April 2008 and won the 2007

BBC Jazz Award The BBC Jazz Awards were set up in 2001 and had the status of one of the premier jazz awards in the United Kingdom (among those presenting the awards were Denis Lawson, Sue Mingus, Humphrey Lyttelton, Ian Carr, Clive James, Mike Gibbs, Julian Jo ...

for best album for ''Displaced''. In 2018, Cowley announced he was working on a new electronic focused solo project. In 2020, Cowley announced his debut solo album, 'Hall of Mirrors'.

Biography

Cowley was born in London, England. He began as a classical pianist and performed a

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

piano concerto at the age of 10 at Queen Elizabeth Hall. In his late teens Cowley moved into being a keyboardist for soul and funk acts Mission Impossible,

the Brand New Heavies The Brand New Heavies is an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing in west London. Centered around songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the core members of the group since its founding, Brand New He ...

, Gabrielle and

Zero 7 Zero 7 are an English musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. They began as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, '' Simple Things'', was released in 2001 in which their song " Destiny" stayed ...

. He also appeared as a co-composer and session musician with the jazz-rock group Samuel Purdey. An early album was ''Foxbury Rules'', released under the pseudonym Diamond Wookie. In 2002, he formed the duo Fragile State with Ben Mynott; after its end, the Neil Cowley Trio. In 2006, he released an album called ''Soundcastles'' under the name

Pretz Pretz (プリッツ, ''Purittsu'') is a Japanese snack made by Ezaki Glico. Like Ezaki Glico's other popular snack, Pocky, Pretz is stick-shaped and comes with a texture similar to pretzels. Unlike Pocky, Pretz is dusted with seasonings instead of ...

. In 2008, the Neil Cowley Trio recorded cover versions of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' "

Revolution 1 "Revolution" is a song by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Three versions of the song were recorded and released in 1968, all during sessions for the Beatl ...

" and "

Revolution 9 "Revolution 9" is a sound collage from the Beatles' 1968 self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album"). The composition, credited to Lennon–McCartney, was created primarily by John Lennon with assistance from Yoko Ono and George ...

" for ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' magazine. In 2012, he appeared as the session pianist on

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

's album '' 21''. In 2013, he was Musician in Residence for Derry, when it was designated the inaugural

UK City of Culture UK City of Culture is a designation given to a city (or a local area from 2025) in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration for the ye ...

. On 16 September 2016, the album ''Spacebound Apes'' was released by Neil Cowley Trio. In 2018, Cowley announced that the trio was on hiatus and he was working on a new electronic focused project.

Discography

Solo albums

Diamond Wookie *''Foxbury Rules'' (1997) Pretz *''Soundcastles'' (2006) Neil Cowley *''Hall of Mirrors'' (2021)

As leader/co-leader

With Green Nuns of the Revolution *''Rock Bitch Mafia'' (1997) Fragile State *''Nocturnal Beats'' (2001) *''The Facts and the Dreams'' (2003) *''Voices From The Dust Bowl'' (2004) Cowley Trio *''Displaced'' (2006) *''Loud... Louder... Stop!'' (2008) *''Radio Silence'' (2010) *''The Face of Mount Molehill'' (2012) *''Touch and Flee'' (2014) *''Live at Montreux 2012'' (2013) *''Spacebound Apes'' (2016) *''Spacebound Tapes'' (2018)

As sideman

-'' 19'' (2008) * Stereophonics – '' Keep Calm and Carry On'' (2009) *

– '' 21'' (2011) * Birdy – '' Birdy'' (2011) *

Professor Green Stephen Paul Manderson (born 27 November 1983), better known by his stage name Professor Green or simply Pro Green, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, television personality and mental health activist from London. Growing up on ...

– ''

At Your Inconvenience ''At Your Inconvenience'' is the second studio album by British rapper Professor Green, released on 28 October 2011. " At Your Inconvenience" was released as a promotional single on 26 July. The first official single " Read All About It" was rel ...

'' (2011) *

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father ...

– ''

Our Version of Events ''Our Version of Events'' is the debut studio album by Scottish recording artist Emeli Sandé. The album was released on 13 February 2012 by Virgin Records, following Sandé's winning of the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards 2012. Though ...

'' (2012) *

Sam Sallon Sam Sallon (born 6 January 1980) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Born in London and raised in Manchester, he is the fourth child of eight. His first release ''Kathy's Song EP'' was released on Indigo-Octagon in January 2013, follo ...

– ''One for the Road'' (2013) * Birdy – '' Fire Within'' (2013)

References

External links

Neil Cowley at All About JazzNeil Cowley Trio Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowley, Neil 1972 births Living people English jazz pianists 21st-century pianists