Biography
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Born
26 May 1937
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Born In
Wallington, Sutton, London, England, United Kingdom
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Died
23 February 2004 (aged 66)
Neil Richard Ardley (1937–2004) was a prominent English jazz pianist and composer, who also made a name as the author of more than 100 popular books on science and technology, and on music.
Ardley studied arranging and composition with Raymond Premru from 1960 to 1961. He first came to public attention through the Rendell-Carr Quintet’s recording of his composition Shades Of Blue. He joined the John Williams Big Band as pianist, writing both arrangements and new compositions, and from 1964 to 1970 was the director of the newly-formed New Jazz Orchestra, which employed some of the best young musicians in London, including Ian Carr, Jon Hiseman, Barbara Thompson, Dave Gelly, Mike Gibbs, Don Rendell, and Trevor Tomkins.
In the late 1960s, encouraged by record producer and impresario Denis Preston, Ardley began composing in earnest, combining classical and jazz methods. His rich orchestrations were augmented in the 1970s by the addition of synthesisers. He was the subject of a South Bank Show documentary on ITV in the late 1978s. However, as he began work on an all-electronic album in 1980, Ardley's recording contract was suddenly terminated, and he decided to concentrate more on his writing and publishing career, completing the million-selling book The Way Things Work with David Macaulay. He continued to play and compose, especially with Zyklus, an ’electronic jazz orchestra‘ that made innovative use of the Zyklus MPS (Midi Performance System).
Zyklus formed in 1987, growing out of an experimental duo with Landscape founder and lyricon player John L. Walters. Ian Carr (Nucleus) soon joined them, followed by multi-instrumentalist Warren Greveson. They made one album, Virtual Realities (AMP) recorded at Jon Hiseman's Temple Studios and released in 1991.
Singing in local choirs in the later 1990s led Ardley to start composing choral music, and this occupied most of his musical attention until his death. At the time of his death, Ardley had begun to gig and record again with a slimmed down Zyklus consisting of himself, Greveson, and guitarist Nick Robinson (also an Origami expert).
Discography
1965: Western Reunion (New Jazz Orchestra)
1968: Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe (New Jazz Orchestra)
1970: Greek Variations (with Ian Carr & Don Rendell)
1971: A Symphony of Amaranths
1973: Mike Taylor Remembered (with Jon Hiseman, Barbara Thompson, Ian Carr, Henry Lowther, Dave Gelly, and Norma Winstone)
1976: Kaleidoscope of Rainbows
1978: Harmony of the Spheres
1991: Virtual Realities (Zyklus)
2001: Creation Mass (words by Patrick Huddie)
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