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British Jazz Superstar Neil Cowley Releases Debut Album in the U.S.

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On March 20, 2007 HideInside Records Proudly Releases Displaced from The Neil Cowley Trio

Neil Cowley (piano, compositions), Richard Sadler (double bass), Evan Jenkins (drums)

“a triumph ... an absolute feast... Debut of the year" - Mojo (4*'s)

“Thrilling.. dynamic...one of the most distinctive debuts you're likely to hear this year" - Jazzwise (4 *'s)

“When the energy of Neil Cowley's piano comes booming out of your speakers it's impossible not to think of early clash... Think punk's energy and the grace of Billy Elliott... trance... and funk... the most exciting band since...Polar Bear and Acoustic Ladyland" - Observer Music Monthly (5*'s)

As a 10 year old child protg Neil Cowley performed a Shostakovich piano concerto to a full house at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Having answered an ad in Melody Maker at 17, he entered the world of pop, and by 21 had performed to over 5,000 at Royal Albert Hall. In 2002, Q Magazine described his music as “beautiful and delicate", while The Independent on Sunday added “sweeping and epic". Yet just two years ago, London born pianist-composer Neil Cowley was locked in a damp dark room with a few keyboards and an Apple Mac, desperately “trying to extract creative art from within." An experience he refers to as “lonely and depressing".

“British Jazz's next poster boy... a popster's ear for a catchy hook and his trio swings like hell" - Time Out

Neil Cowley turned his back on the Royal Academy at an early age, choosing instead to record and tour with some of the best soul and funk bands of the day, including The Brand New Heavies, Gabrielle, and Zero 7, until in 2002 he formed his own band, Fragile State. As one half of the production duo, Cowley produced two critically acclaimed albums that set the world of jazzy chill-out music alight. Yet when the record company dissolved, the act went down with the ship, and with it, his heart and soul. Cowley continued to make music, yet found the experience of extracting music from a computer chip unbearable. So, he called on the oldest friend he had - his dear old piano, and set forth with a renewed enthusiasm to present creativity without technological hindrance. Cowley began composing, embarking on late night sessions of piano discovery.

“one of the big jazz stories of the year" - The Guardian

The result is Displaced, an outstanding debut jazz album of original recordings that presents Cowley as a thoroughly modern player with an impeccable touch. As a pianist, Neil Cowley is dazzling, as a composer, stunning. With Richard Sadler on double bass, and Evan Jenkins on drums, Cowley has assembled a masterful trio, whose bursts of energy and emotional infectiousness underpin Cowley's tremendous flair for creating beautiful, sometimes forceful melodies.

“Stardom, such as it is in jazz, beckons" - The Independent (4 *'s)

Having rehearsed the material for one week, The Neil Cowley Trio recorded Displaced in one take over two days at Real World Studios. For Cowley, the tunes on Displaced had to tick the boxes of the past masters that live on his shoulders and in his heart. Shostakovich, Ahmad Jamal, Frank Zappa, Errol Garner, Taraf de Haidouks. “I love a chord!" he says, “My chords always come before my melody. Each chord has to have its own life and story and touch on something I feel. The melody is often how my fingers play around those chords."

“witness the creation of beautiful, melodious, joyful music... I get nothing but a feeling of monumental euphoria listening to (it)." - Straight No Chaser

Displaced is an album of emotional honesty and integrity, and one that will surely become contender for many top-ten lists this year. One thing is for sure, The Neil Cowley Trio have produced an album that demonstrates what should be at the core of all music making, sheer joy!

“In the world of jazz, many are called but few are chosen. Well here's a few.... These guys have the potential to change the face of British jazz." - Jazznotes.com

“especially hard to dislodge from the internal jukebox" - The Herald

Displaced was released across the UK on June 5th 2006 and will be released in the U.S. on March 20, 2007

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