Biography
Neil Todd’s music is an abstract collage of emotions, moods and images, which might at different times be described as melancholic, mellow, happy, sad, dreamy, and almost always chilled. Many of the pieces connote specific colours, and this is reflected in some of the titles – for example, “Waltz in blue and green” and “Night rain in black and white.” To get a good idea of the complexity of colours and texture, the listener need go no further than the album artwork (designed by Ivan Leudar).
Neil Todd is a self-taught musician, composer and theorist. His principal instruments are the piano and bass, both acoustic and electric. Although jazz is his primary genre of choice, Neil also loves classical music and enjoys many other genres, including Latin, folk, blues, gospel and rock.
Neil believes that music is powerful medicine which benefits him psychologically, physiologically, emotionally, and biologically: “Playing and listening for myself is like a form of self-stimulation for a high which is very addictive – almost like a drug, except that it’s not harmful. Music can bring out strong emotions, both positive or negative, which can be very therapeutic. I couldn’t live without it.”
To multi-instrumentalist Neil, composing is “a bit like solving a mathematical problem, and I do take quite a mathematical approach to things like harmonic and melodic structure. It is very satisfying to complete something which has a wholeness to it. There is also a more random creative element to it where you can be just grasping or jamming around and ideas just come.”
Some of Neil’s biggest jazz influences include Bill Evans (“I particularly appreciate the harmonic and textural richness of his piano playing and compositions. He also always worked with great bass players, such as Eddy Gomez.”), Miles Davies, and John Coltrane (“both of whom I appreciate for their coolness of sound and feel”). Neil is also a very big fan of the great Brazilian songwriter and composer, Carlos Jobim (“I love Jobim for his wonderful harmonic and melodic sequences. This has been a big influence. The “One note samba” for example, is just a brilliant composition, but it sounds great too. The three bossas on my album are probably a testament to Jobim’s influence, and the Portuguese titles are no accident”).
Within the classical genre, the great composers Johan Sebastian Bach, Frederick Chopin and Claude Debussy stand out as major influences (“No one has surpassed JS Bach in creating bass lines and Chopin, harmonically, is a bridge from classical to jazz with a direct link to Bill Evans”).
Neil believes that, “of all the musical genres, jazz is the most versatile and expressive. Jazz is a melting pot of so many other influences, and you as a musician / composer / performer can bring all those influences as you wish. Many other genres are more one-dimensional and only really good for limited emotions, whereas jazz has an almost infinite amount of flexibility.”
Neil has jammed with a large number of musicians in the UK and overseas, not least in Australia. Most recently, he was a regular at the Cairns Jazz Club in Queensland. He also occasionally performs with jazz ensemble, the Todd-Clarke-Plews Trio, the other members of which are based in the Manchester area.
Although he has been playing music all his life, and semi-professionally as a jazz bassist in the Westcountry for the past 30 years, for most of his adult years Neil has worked full-time as an academic. This included a few years working in the Music Departments at City University and Sheffield University, where he had the opportunity to develop as a composer and arranger. During this time, Neil composed, orchestrated and conducted a performance of a jazz-influenced string nonet. However, most of his compositions date from the 1980s and early 1990s.
In 2014, Neil decided to give up his academic career to focus full-time on his writing, composing and consultancy activities. As part of this career change he dusted down some of his old compositions and put these together for his first album, entitled “From out of my music box”. Neil assembled some of the best musicians he has played with over the years (including Chris Lee, Charlie Hearnshaw and Tony Plato) in the Neil Todd Quartet to record some great studio performances at Sound Gallery studios in Exeter. The album was mastered at Super Audio in Devon, released by ASC Records on CD and digital in 2015, and also released as a vinyl LP in 2016.
As to the future, Neil is planning to promote his debut album with a series of gigs over the next year. He also looks forward to beginning work on his next album… “I’ve already got a few ideas!”
“From out of my music box” is available for download at all major digital stores and download sites, and is also available to purchase on CD or vinyl here.