Adam Neely

Adam Neely
Adam Neely
	Neely in 2019
Background information
Born	1988 (age 35–36)
Genres	Jazz; electronic; indie; Nu jazz; EDM;
Occupations	musician; composer; YouTuber; record producer; educational entertainer;
Instrument	Bass guitar;
Years active	2006–present
Website	www.adamneely.com
	YouTube information
Personal information
Nationality	American
Education	Berklee College of Music ; (Class of 2009); Manhattan School of Music; (Class of 2012)
Channel	Adam Neely;
Subscribers	1.79 million
Total views	244 million
Creator Awards
	Last updated: December 7, 2024

Adam Michael Neely (born 1988^[4]) 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".^[5]^[6]^[7] He also creates "Gig Vlogs", which give insight into his life as a professional musician in New York City and around the world.^[8] 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.

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Adam Neely graduated from Berklee College of Music with a B.A in Jazz Composition in 2009^[2] and in 2012, received a Masters of Music in Jazz Composition from The Manhattan School of Music as directed under Jim McNeely.^[9] He was awarded the Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Jazz Composer award in 2012 and 2015^[6]^[10]^[11] as well as the Jerome Fund commission prize in 2014, for his work "Exigence".^[12]

Neely appeared on the BIMM podcast EP.8 to discuss his beginnings in music and approach to creating content.^[13] He discussed bass and the role of social media with YouTube bass educator Scott Devine in this podcast.^[14] He has also been interviewed by Music U.^[15]

Neely is a founding member of the electro-jazz and electronic dance music (EDM) band Sungazer, created in 2014.^[16] 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.^[6]

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.^[17]^[18]

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.^[19]^[20]^[21]

In December 2019, Neely earned a spot in the New Yorker's annual Christmas Poem.^[22]

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Collaborative Emmy in "Outstanding New Approaches: Arts, Lifestyle, and Culture" (2020)^[23]
ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award (2011, 2012, 2014)
Jerome Fund Commission (2014)

As Adam Neely

EPs

2014: time//motion//wine

Albums

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

Singles

2017: Clarity feat. Little Kruta and Hannah Sumner (Zedd feat. Foxes cover)
2018: The Hills feat. Hannah Sumner (The Weeknd cover)
2019: Hello with Jae Soto (Adele cover)
2020: Run Away with Me (feat. Kate Steinberg) (Carly Rae Jepsen cover)

With Sungazer

EPs

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

Albums

2021: Perihelion
2024: Against the Fall of Night

Singles

2017: Want to Want Me^[24] (Jason Derulo "djazz" remix)

With Aberdeen

Albums

2019: Downpour
2023: Held Together

With inside//outside

Albums

2013: inside//outside

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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)^[25]

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[1]
Adam Neely: About. Retrieved November 23, 2020 – via YouTube.
[2]
"Adam Neely". Berklee College of Music. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
[3]
"About Adam Neely". YouTube.
[4]
"Adam Neely (@its_adamneely) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
[5]
Allread, Landry (March 16, 2019). "YouTuber Adam Neely explores language as universal music". The Daily Texan. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
[6]
"Adam Neely". New Music USA. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
[7]
"Adam Neely". SXSW. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
[8]
"Adam Neely - Loop 2017". Loop. 2017. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
[9]
"Bio". adam neely. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
[10]
"2015 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award Recipients Announced". ASCAP. February 5, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
[11]
"2012 ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards Recipients Announced". ASCAP. February 2, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
[12]
"The Musician's Show - Adam Neely - WKCR 89.9FM NY". WKCR. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
[13]
"Adam Neely - BIMM Podcatst EP.8". Retrieved November 3, 2018.
[14]
"In Conversation with Adam Neely and others". Retrieved September 26, 2016.
[15]
"The Power of Curiosity, with Adam Neely". February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
[16]
Tagat, Anurag (February 13, 2020). "New York Jazz Artists Shubh Saran and Sungazer to Tour India This Month -". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
[17]
"American Rock Brass Band Aberdeen from New York in Bishkek and Osh". U.S. Embassy in The Kyrgyz Republic. May 16, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
[18]
I worked for the US State Department as a Jazz Diplomat, June 8, 2019, retrieved August 16, 2021
[19]
Adam Neely (August 2, 2019). "Why the Katy Perry/Flame lawsuit makes no sense". YouTube.
[20]
Jeremy Hobson and Serena McMahon (August 14, 2019). "Musician Says Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse' Copyright Infringement Verdict Sets A 'Dangerous Precedent'". WBUR-FM.
[21]
Rachel Yang (March 17, 2020). "Katy Perry scores win as judge rules 'Dark Horse' didn't copy Christian rap track". Entertainment Weekly.
[22]
Frazier, Ian (December 16, 2019). ""Greetings, Friends!" The New Yorker's 2019 Christmas Poem". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
[23]
@its_adamneely (September 25, 2019). "Congrats Estelle! EMMY BABY" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
[24]
"want to want me, by sungazer". sungazer. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
[25]
"The 8-Bit Big Band". The 8-Bit Big Band. Retrieved August 7, 2023. Bass soloist on "Saria's Song" - Adam Neely

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[:0-1] [1]
Adam Neely: About. Retrieved November 23, 2020 – via YouTube.

[:1-2] [2]
"Adam Neely". Berklee College of Music. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

[YouTubeStatsAdam_Neely-3] [3]
"About Adam Neely". YouTube.

[4] [4]
"Adam Neely (@its_adamneely) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved December 9, 2021.

[5] [5]
Allread, Landry (March 16, 2019). "YouTuber Adam Neely explores language as universal music". The Daily Texan. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

[newmusicusa-6] [6]
"Adam Neely". New Music USA. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

[7] [7]
"Adam Neely". SXSW. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

[loop-8] [8]
"Adam Neely - Loop 2017". Loop. 2017. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

[9] [9]
"Bio". adam neely. Retrieved August 3, 2021.

[ascap2015-10] [10]
"2015 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award Recipients Announced". ASCAP. February 5, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

[11] [11]
"2012 ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards Recipients Announced". ASCAP. February 2, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

[12] [12]
"The Musician's Show - Adam Neely - WKCR 89.9FM NY". WKCR. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

[13] [13]
"Adam Neely - BIMM Podcatst EP.8". Retrieved November 3, 2018.

[14] [14]
"In Conversation with Adam Neely and others". Retrieved September 26, 2016.

[15] [15]
"The Power of Curiosity, with Adam Neely". February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.

[16] [16]
Tagat, Anurag (February 13, 2020). "New York Jazz Artists Shubh Saran and Sungazer to Tour India This Month -". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved May 14, 2020.

[17] [17]
"American Rock Brass Band Aberdeen from New York in Bishkek and Osh". U.S. Embassy in The Kyrgyz Republic. May 16, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2021.

[18] [18]
I worked for the US State Department as a Jazz Diplomat, June 8, 2019, retrieved August 16, 2021

[19] [19]
Adam Neely (August 2, 2019). "Why the Katy Perry/Flame lawsuit makes no sense". YouTube.

[20] [20]
Jeremy Hobson and Serena McMahon (August 14, 2019). "Musician Says Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse' Copyright Infringement Verdict Sets A 'Dangerous Precedent'". WBUR-FM.

[21] [21]
Rachel Yang (March 17, 2020). "Katy Perry scores win as judge rules 'Dark Horse' didn't copy Christian rap track". Entertainment Weekly.

[22] [22]
Frazier, Ian (December 16, 2019). ""Greetings, Friends!" The New Yorker's 2019 Christmas Poem". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved December 21, 2019.

[23] [23]
@its_adamneely (September 25, 2019). "Congrats Estelle! EMMY BABY" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[24] [24]
"want to want me, by sungazer". sungazer. Retrieved August 4, 2021.

[25] [25]
"The 8-Bit Big Band". The 8-Bit Big Band. Retrieved August 7, 2023. Bass soloist on "Saria's Song" - Adam Neely

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Adam Neely

As Adam Neely

EPs

Albums

Singles

With Sungazer

EPs

Albums

Singles

With Aberdeen

Albums

With inside//outside

Albums

Animation

Live recording

Music video

Wikiwand in your browser!

As Adam Neely

EPs

Albums

Singles

With Sungazer

EPs

Albums

Singles

With Aberdeen

Albums

With inside//outside

Albums

Animation

Live recording

Music video

Wikiwand in your browser!

Education

Career

Awards

Discography

Filmography

References

External links