Neil Kelly

Neil Kelly is a Jazz Guitarist / Composer / Arranger / and Band Leader who has been working in the greater San Francisco Bay area for the past 10 years. Originally from the East Coast and Chicago Neil arrived in California in 1992. Since that time he has devoted his life to the craft of music. He holds a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from San Jose State University where he majored in Jazz composition and arranging. Neil’s original compositions “Threshold” and “All the Things We Were,” orchestrated for Big band, were selected compositions for the San Jose Jazz Society’s Local Composer’s Showcase of 2009 and 2010.

The Neil Kelly Quartet formed in early 2010 to express Kelly’s compositional and arranging talents in a raw and cutting edge small combo. The group is a modern day expression of the unique piano-less quartet sound first explored by Sonny Rollins and Jim hall in the early 60’s, and includes Jonathan Bautista (Tenor Saxophone), Lukas Vesely (Bass), and Jemal Ramirez (Drums). Their debut CD “Rivers Converge” presents a promising new voice and vision in the San Francisco Bay area Modern Jazz scene.

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