Adam Neely

Adam Michael Neely (born 1988 ) is an American bassist, YouTuber, and composer. His YouTube channel is described as containing "music theory, music cognition, jazz improvisation, musical performance technique, musicology and memes". He also creates "Gig Vlogs", which give insight into his life as a professional musician in New York City and around the world. As a musician, he performs as a solo artist, as a session musician, and as a member of a number of New York City-based ensembles, including the electro-jazz duo Sungazer (along with drummer Shawn Crowder), and the jazz bands Adam Neely's Jazz School and Aberdeen.

Education
Adam Neely graduated from Berklee College of Music with a B.A in Jazz Composition in 2009 and in 2012, received a Masters of Music in Jazz Composition from The Manhattan School of Music as directed under Jim McNeely. He was awarded the Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Jazz Composer award in 2012 and 2015 as well as the Jerome Fund commission prize in 2014, for his work "Exigence".

Career
Neely appeared on the BIMM podcast EP.8 to discuss his beginnings in music and approach to creating content. He discussed bass and the role of social media with YouTube bass educator Scott Devine in this podcast. He has also been interviewed by Music U.

Neely is a founding member of the electro-jazz and electronic dance music (EDM) band Sungazer, created in 2014. He regularly performs with rock band Bright and Loud, indie-soul group Jae Soto, his large ensemble Mass Extinction Event, the "8-bit big band", and a number of singer-songwriters based in New York.

On May 18–20, 2019, Adam Neely, as a member of the band Aberdeen, was hired by the United States Department of State to go to Kyrgyzstan on a three-day tour that included two concerts and a workshop. The first concert was held at the music venue Ololohaus Erkindik in Bishkek. The band was joined by the Kyrgyzstani band Choro in a collaborative concert of American rock music. They then held a workshop and masterclass for underprivileged and young students at first the A. Novoi School, located in the Osh region in southwest Kyrgyzstan, and then a select group of students within the Access Microscholarship program at the Osh Regional Library. They completed their ambassadorship with a concert at School #29 in the capital of Bishkek.

In August 2019, Neely defended Katy Perry's use of an ostinato in the song "Dark Horse" after she was sued by the rapper Flame.

In December 2019, Neely earned a spot in the New Yorker's annual Christmas Poem.

Awards

 * Collaborative Emmy in "Outstanding New Approaches: Arts, Lifestyle, and Culture" (2020)
 * ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award (2011, 2012, 2014)
 * Jerome Fund Commission (2014)

EPs

 * 2014: Sungazer, Vol.1
 * 2019: Sungazer, Vol. 2

Albums

 * 2021: Beautiful and Tragic
 * 2021: How I Loved My Cat
 * 2021: Perihelion

Singles

 * 2017: Want to Want Me

Remixes

 * 2017: Want to Want Me (Jason Derulo "djazz" remix)

Animation

 * 2018: DRUNK (visuals by Ben Levin)
 * 2019: ELECTRO (visuals by Ben Levin)

Live recording

 * 2018: DRUNK
 * 2018: Dream of Mahjong

Music video

 * 2014: Dream of Mahjong (ft. Ivan Jackson)
 * 2014: Sequence Start
 * 2014: I Walk Alone (ft. Justina Soto)
 * 2014: Level One
 * 2014: Ether (ft. Pier Luigi Salami)
 * 2015: Ostinato
 * 2015: Why We Fight
 * 2018: Bird on the Wing
 * 2021: Saria's Song (ft. The 8-Bit Big Band)