Many moons ago, I was invited by former band-mate Warren Greveson to come out to his studio in Matlock, to play alongside Warren and music legend Neil Ardley in the last incarnation of their band Zyklus. We rehearsed and played a couple of gigs, one in Bakewell and the other at St Cyprians in London. At long last, thanks to the efforts of Viv Ardley, John Thurlow and Jazz in Britain, a book about his life has been published. I contributed some historical details and shared some audio files I had from our time together. Amazingly, these audio files were unknown and 3 tracks from our London gig were included. (Sadly, there was no space for our mammoth version of "In C", for which a video apparently exists!)

We were working on material for a new album, but then came the horrendous news that Neil had died (on 23 February 2004). I sat at his funeral alongside such legends as Ian Carr, John Walters and Jon Hiseman, thinking how fortunate I'd been to be (briefly) involved with such giants of music. A few short years later, I had a similar experience at Warren's own funeral.

ISBN: 978-1-9163206-4-2 Hardback / 424 pages / 19.4 x 3.1 x 25.3

Viv Ardley’s book on her husband Neil’s life is published by Jazz In Britain. The book includes contributions from Dave Gelly, Neil’s musical colleague in the New Jazz Orchestra, and John Coles who knew Neil well and has written about his electronic studio. The book covers Neil’s entire life and all aspects of his various careers.

As an added bonus, the book includes two companion audio CDs, one of previously unreleased electronic music from Neil’s tape archive; the other of a previously unheard, early, Danish Radio Big Band recording of Neil’s New Jazz Orchestra arrangements. The CDs are included in the book and are only be available with the book.