Ivo Neame

Key details:

Department:
Jazz
Role:
Piano
Ivo Neame, staff at Guildhall School of Music & Drama, playing piano in red jumper under soft mood lighting

Ivo Neame is an award-winning pianist and composer.

In addition to leading his own bands, he is a vital cog in several of European jazz’s most forward-looking groups including Phronesis and the Marius Neset Quintet. He regularly performs at jazz festivals worldwide, collaborating with ensembles as diverse as the Frankfurt Radio Big Band and the London Sinfonietta. Ivo discovered music at an early age by playing his parents' piano, albeit with drum sticks. Ivo went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music, and since leaving in 2003 he has performed and recorded with highly esteemed musicians at home and abroad such as Julian Argüelles, Kenny Wheeler and Hermeto Pascoal. His fifth album under his own name “Moksha” was released on Edition Records in 2018.

“[Moksha]’s flawlessly conceived and executed, endlessly intriguing, and beautiful to listen to.”
London Jazz News

“That Neame is one of the most interesting jazz pianists of his generation may be clear. That he is getting better and better is too. The 10 years of almost constant being on the road with bands has given him a prominent role in the front line of British jazz.”
Written In Jazz

Awards and honours include:

  • Album of the year 2010 - Jazzwise Magazine (Phronesis)
  • Album of the year 2010 - MOJO Magazine (Phronesis)
  • Best Jazz Act 2011 - MOBO Awards (Kairos Quartet)
  • Best Jazz Act 2012 - London Awards for Art and Performance (Phronesis)
  • UK Jazz Instrumentalist of the year 2012 (nominated) - Jazz FM Awards
  • Jazz Ensemble of the year 2017 – Parliamentary Jazz Awards (Phronesis)
  • Jazz Composition for Small Ensemble 2018 (nominated) – BASCA Composer Awards

Ivo is also an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music and an Associate Member of PR.