Sings like heaven, swings like hell!

Neal is a powerful and rhythmic piano/vocalist playing jazz, blues and originals, and an award-winning Producer. Neal cut his teeth performing in jazz clubs, hotels, and cruise ships in over 50 countries, from Rio to Raffles, Norway to New Orleans, Vietnam to Venezuela.  His Quartet has entertained Royalty, Hollywood celebrities and VIPs at world-renowned venues, including playing for George Clooney on his yacht at the Cannes Film Festival.  

Neal’s arrangements and original compositions display his wide-ranging tastes and influences, and he and his band have a great swinging style influenced by Oscar Peterson, Nat King Cole and Gene Harris. He played in the London Jazz Festival 8 years running, including launching his debut album “Better Than The Blues” at the London Jazz Festival 2014, and his nine-piece band sold out Ronnie Scott’s in 2016. 

His “Not King Cole” show sold out performances in the London Jazz Festival 2019, and 2021, garnering excellent reviews in the jazz Press, e.g. “Jazz of the purest” UK Jazz Journal

As a Producer he has made 20 albums for various jazz artists, including two at London’s Abbey Road Studios, and ran his own award-winning Label, Splash Point Records, for 10 years.

He now runs the hugely popular Splash Point Jazz Club nights (@splashpointjazz) – which have expanded to six regular venues – and heads-up Splash Point Music Ltd.  

A huge honour was for him to collect a Gold Badge Award at the BASCA ceremony at The Savoy on behalf of Dame Cleo Laine.

He is also the Festival Director for the Eastbourne Splash Point Jazz Festival, and Splash Point Jazz-in-the-Vineyard Festivals.

The Music
A night of punchy, groovy tunes with jazz and blues influences, from powerful pianist/singer/songwriter Neal Richardson – a smorgasbord of jazz standards and bluesy originals!

The Man
“Sings like heaven, swings like hell!”
Neal has performed 2,000 gigs in over 50 countries, in jazz clubs, festivals and on cruise ships. He is also a renowned producer of some of the UK’s finest vocal jazz albums from the last decade – including those by Ian Shaw and Liane Carroll.

The Band
With a line-up from quartet to septet, Neal’s band creates a big sound, with the powerful guitar of Andy Drudy, George Trebar (bass)
and Alex Eberhard (drums). The impressive horn section comprises: Dave Lewis (tenor sax), Mark White (trumpet) and Mark Bassey (trombone).

The Project
Neal is at last showcasing his own musical talents with ‘Better Than The Blues’, an album of sophisticated original material. Many of the great musicians he has worked with are featured on the album, from his newest record label signing, Ricardo Herz (the phenomenal Brazilian violinist), to Claire Martin OBE on backing vocals.

The Songs
“For thinking people with a bit of life‐experience.”
Firmly rooted in the acoustic piano jazz and blues traditions, Neal’s songs have a raw confessional style and a huge breadth of genres:
From the down‐home title track; the brutal honesty of UXB and This Is Not The Life; the feel-good rhythms of Nfunk and irresistible samba You’re The Future; the sublime Breathe, to the moving story told by The Soul Of New Orleans – which was written following his performance at the first Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina.

The CD/Book
“We wanted to make something luxurious and beautiful.”
More than just a new CD, this tour celebrates a unique artistic collaboration with award‐winning photographer, Peter Prior, whose work has been described as having a ‘timeless elegance’. The result is an exquisite, tactile, hardback coffee table book overflowing with Peter’s breathtaking images, to accompany the music CD. This is something physically, visually and aurally desirable, a premium product to cherish ‘instead of just a faceless download’.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Please credit all photos to: Peter Prior
www.peterprior.com
Email: info@peterprior.com

Packshot – Click here to download

Press Release – click here to download

Liner Notes – click here to download

Record Sheet – click here to download