Album Notes

Neil C Young 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 and you have music that is produced by using a real combination of expression and technique.