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Identity

Grew up in North Worcestershire, UK. 

 
I Studied classical piano from age seven. In my twenties I became interested in jazz and, from then on, my main focus became jazz study and performance. In just a few years I was performing regularly on the the Midlands jazz scene. Sharing platforms with the likes of Bryan Corbett, Steve Ajao, Casey Greene, Chris Gumbley, Percy Pursglove and Andy Derrick. A significant part of my career was spent giging on the B’ham & Midlands scene, only actually finishing when I moved to the Welsh Borders in 2014. 
 
In 2000 I started the well known and acclaimed Jazz at the Bonded Warehouse both as a regular performance venue for my own trio and as a high standard, monthly, live fixture for jazz musicians and jazz followers in the Birmingham and Midlands region. The club continues to thrive, hosting monthly gigs featuring some of the finest players on the UK scene. 
 
Alongside my performing/composing career I have continuously worked as a piano teacher. In this field I have for many years, now, specialised in jazz and improvisation tuition, having some twenty years ago, devised my own course of development in this genre. 
 
Another major focus of my career has been composition; from my earliest beginnings as a jazz performer I have composed and presented my own music. As my career has progressed writing has become an ever more important aspect so that, now, it is the most important focus of my creative output. 
 
Since moving to the Welsh Borders in 2014 this concentration on writing has resulted in the production of four albums and an EP – ‘Crossing Borders’ (2016), ‘From the Blue Hills’ (2017), ‘Afan’s Dance’ (2019), ‘Indigo Horizon’ EP (2021) and ‘String Rise Azure Traces’ (2023).  
Much inspired by my surroundings in the breath taking Welsh Marches I continue to compose, perform, record and teach. 
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Simon Deeley  
STRING RISE AZURE TRACES (2023)
Rather than an over-arching theme the album has a hint of an immediately recognisable style. An infusion of Latin flavour threads through the album; with the Samba groove of 'So, Fly Azure Acrobat', and the gentle, easy, slow Latin of ' Song to the Condor', to the hint of Spanish music in 'On Echoes Andalucia'- both in the solos section and the Bolero like Coda. The other four tracks are examples of two of Simon's other writing styles; blues-infused-jazz-fusion and atmospheric, mood-setting film style. As he says, " I have always been moved by the expressive, lyrical guitar genre; where the guitarist plays an expressive, powerful melody or line against the backing of the rest of the band (heard a lot in electric blues and earlier rock music) and this is the central element of the opening track ' Theme of the Legends' with its strong, lyrical guitar melody". Simon's more cinematic writing style can be heard in 'Midnight Song' and 'Aurora's Dream Waltz', the former with its emotionally charged, yet somewhat restrained late-night mood and the latter creating a dreamy atmosphere depicting, perhaps, a wide-screen scene of the dancer tracing her movements across a moonlit landscape or, of course, across the background of the flued luminescent shapes of the Aurora Borealis (The Northern Lights) which was the original inspiration for the piece.
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Simon Deeley  
INDIGO HORIZON (2021)
Indigo Horizon (EP) consists of two songs written (music & lyrics) by composer and pianist Simon Deeley - Free Spirit and Blue Blues Horizon.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                'Free Spirit' - a strong-grooving, blues-infused song, that paints a picture of that perfect day - the one we all look for - that, 'great day' as the song says.                                              'Blue Blues Horizon' - an expressive, emotive ballad that tells a story of loss, reflection and hope. A blues/gospel style track, with an element of Americana.
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Simon Deeley  
AFAN'S DANCE (2020)
The music recorded for Afan's Dance shows the full stylistic range of Simon Deeley's writing at this time: from powerful, driving Jazz-Fusion numbers to groove-driven, blues-infused tracks, and on through atmospheric film music style compositions, to reflective, evocative ballads.
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