Neil Cowley Trio - Entity Live 2025

As a young boy, Neil Cowley studied classical music and by the age of 10 had performed a Shostakovich piano concerto to a sold-out audience at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. In his teens, he turned away from his classical career and entered the world of old-school RnB, soul and funk, working with some of the most successful bands of the time, including the Brand New Heavies and Zero 7, alongside his own chill-out producer duo, Fragile State.

In 2005, Cowley returned to his first love, the piano, and formed the Neil Cowley Trio. His dynamic sound and fusion of jazz and rock positioned him and his trio at the forefront of a new British post-jazz movement. Defined by melodic hooks, stadium-sized piano riffs and playful passages, alongside evocative, delicate moments, the trio turned the concept of the jazz piano trio on its head. They released six highly acclaimed studio albums: "Displaced" (2006), winner of the 2007 BBC Jazz Award for Best Album; "Loud... Louder... Stop' (2008), hailed by Mojo as a 'modern classic'; 'Radio Silence' (2010), which cemented Cowley's credentials as a brilliant, radiant composer; 'The Face of Mount Molehill' (2012), featuring a string ensemble, which won them the 2013 Jazz FM Award for Best British Jazz Act; and 'Touch and Flee' (2014), which Cowley described as his 'concert hall album'. In 2016 they released 'Spacebound Apes', a richly imaginative concept album augmented with electronics, which has been described as a 'post-rock jazz masterpiece' and the trio's magnum opus.

During this time, the trio earned a reputation for their captivating live performances, with Cowley's wonderfully English wit and remarkable connection with the audience taking center stage. They stayed busy. A television appearance on "Later with Jools", inclusion on two Mojo covers CDs (reinterpretations of songs by The Beatles and The Beach Boys), a year as musicians in residence in Derry-Londonderry. "Neil n' Dud" honored Cowley's idol Dudley Moore and included a live show and an accompanying radio program Cowley wrote and presented for Jazz FM, which earned him a nomination for an Arqiva Commercial Radio Award. Further radio broadcasts followed, with Cowley creating two more documentaries for the BBC.

Alongside his trio recordings, Cowley became the go-to pianist for acts requiring a jazz technique and rhythmic smoothness for their artful pop hits. He became famous for his contributions to Grammy award-winning Adele's worldwide chart albums, including the powerful piano on "Rolling in the Deep" (which literally made him the most listened to pianist in the world in 2011!). He lent his golden piano touch to artists such as Emile Sandé, Birdy and Michael Kiwanuka.

In 2017, Neil pressed the 'pause' button for the trio to emerge as a solo artist. He integrated elements of ambient, electronic and neoclassical music into his sound and collaborated with artists such as Maribou State, Jacana People, Rival Consoles, Christian Loffler and others. 2019 saw the release of 'Grains & Motes' with electronic composer Ben Lukas Boysen, followed by 'Building Blocks', a series of successful EPs in 2020. He then released his acclaimed debut solo album 'Hall of Mirrors' in 2021 and the follow-up 'Battery Life' in 2023. Despite Neil's focus on electronic sounds, his solo work reflected his never-ending love affair with the piano and his enduring affinity for rhythm.

In 2024, inspired by Cowley's extended period of solitary music-making, the Neil Cowley Trio reunited after a long 7-year hiatus. The joyous reunion gave rise to their 7th studio album "Entity".