Entity Neil Cowley Trio

• 1 Marble 05:41
• 2 Those Claws 03:33
• 3 V&A 04:33
• 4 Father Daughter 04:48
• 5 Brood 03:40
• 6 Adam Alphabet 03:16
• 7 Photo Box 04:06
• 8 Lemon Meringue 03:48
• 9 Shoop 04:43
• 10 Sir Benjamin 03:38
• 11 Entity 05:12
• Total Runtime 46:58

Info for Entity

In my life there have been no closer allies in musical support and brotherhood than my beloved ’Neil Cowley Trio’ cohorts Rex Horan and Evan Jenkins. So in my quest to end a period of musical solitude it was obvious to me who I should call; and so a studio reunion was arranged. A week long one in fact.

I went into the session not entirely sure of how much I should bring with me from my recent musical experiences. To cover all eventualities I brought pre recorded synth and drum machine parts to play along to, feeling that these could still serve my compositions well. But it was immediately obvious that these pre produced ideas just interfered with the human connection between us…. nay, our reconnection!

I feel as a species we are still learning how to interact with each other after the difficulties of recent years and technology doesn’t seem to want us to reignite those flames. It would rather we dwell in its artificiality and continue to scroll, jealously guarding our attention for commercial gain. Maybe this is my bands small contribution to some kind of human push back! This music and this band are by example an exercise in human interaction and the inherent joy that that brings. A manifest reminder of the benefits of communal activity.

We have made a warts and all human sounding record. It is music that does not conform to a digital pulse or an algorithm. It is three people conversing, supporting and metaphorically dancing together. It is a society of friends all looking out for each other. It is difficult music to execute and therefore without the support and commitment of all the people in the room, impossible to achieve. Therefore everyone gives all of themselves in pursuit of the goal and leaves parts of their individual self at the door.

There were tears in the process of recording ‘Entity’. For me, mainly over the recollection of how hard it’s been in recent solitary times and the joy and sadness in equal parts of realising how much we’ve missed each other. There has always been a special kind of love between the three of us. A feeling of selflessness and of doing something for the greater good.

There is a level of interaction that we can all participate in as humans to avoid becoming very glum automatons. We hope we represent a small example of that spirit and in contrast to the machines we seem slave to, present something that is unmistakably human. Communal, supportive, flexible, reactive, instantaneous and flawed; and perhaps, when we are at our most elevated and selfless, what you might call an entity!

Entity: an organization that has an identity separate from those of its members.

Neil Cowley, piano
Rex Horan, bass
Evan Jenkins, drums

Produced and mixed by Ethan Johns
Mastered by Tony Cousins

Neil Cowley Trio
As a young boy, London-born Neil Cowley studied classical music at the prestigious Royal Academy, and by the age of 10 had performed a Shostakovich piano concerto to a full house at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.

By his mid-teens, Cowley had joined a friend in a Blues Brothers tribute band, “as a way” he says “of getting into pubs”, yet the London pub circuit served him well – he learned to play classic, old school Rnb in a number of bands whose members had come from, or went on to great things. By the age of 17 he turned his back on formal training altogether, and entered the world of pop. He went on to record and tour with some of the best soul and funk bands of the day, including The Pasadenas, 4 years with the Brand New Heavies, and Zero 7, until in 2002 he formed his own band, Fragile State.

As one half of the Fragile State production duo, Cowley set the world of jazzy chill-out music alight and produced two critically acclaimed albums, from which came Four-Four-Four, a track that was later licensed by Vodafone for a nationwide commercial. When the record company dissolved, Cowley continued to make music; his incredible versatility as a composer saw him producing themes to a number of television programmes and documentaries, drawing on desert blues, chill, jazz and orchestral soundtrack.

Cowley soon began to find the experience of extracting music from a computer chip unbearable, so set forth with his dear friend the piano and a renewed enthusiasm to present creativity without technological hindrance. Cowley began composing and eventually realised a long-standing vision, and formed the Neil Cowley Trio with Richard Sadler on double bass and Evan Jenkins on drums.

In June 2006 Cowley formed his own label, Hide Inside Records, and released the trio’s debut album Displaced, an outstanding album of original recordings that established him as a dazzling pianist and stunning composer. Through his examination of the possibilities of the acoustic piano trio, Cowley created a unique trademark sound that delivered, powerful music of massive dynamic range and contrasts – where ferociously forceful, hook laden melodies sit side by side with reflective, tender pieces capable of heart shattering tenderness. The album was released to huge critical acclaim, and won the 2007 BBC Jazz Award for Best Album.

In February 2007, the Neil Cowley Trio undertook their first full UK tour, revealing Cowley’s instinctive flair and ingenuity as an entertainer. At the heart of their captivating live performances is Cowley’s marvellously English wit, mischievous humour and remarkable rapport with his audience.

In the summer of 2007, the trio recorded their follow-up album, Loud… Louder…Stop for the indie jazz label, Cake. Fizzing with the energy of rock and the surging dynamics of dance music, Cowley solidified his sound, yet stretched the envelope further. Released in March 2008, it placed him and his trio at the forefront of the British ‘Post-Jazz’ movement, and earned them far reaching critical acclaim from across the musical spectrum. Mojo hailed the recording as a “Modern Classic”, and listed it in their ’50 Best Albums’ of that year. The trio became noted for blurring the boundaries between jazz and other genres, and, dubbed ‘Jazz for Radiohead fans’, they found themselves with a diverse touring schedule that would take them from Glastonbury and the iTunes Festival to the infamous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. A TV appearance on Later with Jools, a Mojo cover- mounted CD (a celebratory reworking of the Beatle’s Revolution), and a Guinness commercial inched them further toward crossover status.

In the meantime, dedication to his trio would see Cowley decline various invitations to appear as side man on other projects. However, his contribution to the platinum-selling 19, the debut recording from Adele, and in particular his poignantly expressive intro to the stand-out Hometown Glory is now legendary. More recently, Cowley has collaborated with the Stereophonics on their current album, Keep Calm and Carry On.

Radio Silence is Cowley’s third album and undoubtedly his most cohesive recording to date. It is released in April 2010 on one of the UK’s most exciting Indie labels, Naim Jazz, and though the recording does not stray too far from the Cowley template, it represents the sound of a band fully comfortable in their unique sonic skin. It is the record that Cowley has been working towards, seizing the magical empathy of his unit, who, with thousands of hours under their belt have learnt to breathe and listen as one.

This album contains no booklet.