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Neil
Blaze
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In 2000, Neil released “Frog Legs,” his first ragtime piano solo CD. He is now working on a second CD titled “Excelsior!” which will feature the classic ragtime of Scott Joplin, James Scott and Joseph Lamb. A disc of Tom Brier’s piano music is also in the works. In August, 1996, Mr. Blaze attended his first ragtime festival, which was in Indianapolis. Since then, he has made appearances at festivals in Sedalia, Missouri; Superior, Wisconsin; Boulder, Colorado; Woodstock, Ill.; and Sacramento, California. This is his third appearance at RagFest, after wowing everyone at the 2002 and 2004 Orange County events. Besides performing and recording, Neil has done quite a bit of ragtime composition over the last couple of years, including collaborations with Tom Brier and Eric Marchese. Aside from ragtime, Mr. Blaze is also a certified piano technician, but earns his bread by working for the Pitney Bowes Corporation. |
A 25-year-old pianist from Oshkosh, WI,
Neil Blaze is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, where he majored in music theory and composition. He became interested in ragtime music in 1993 and has been completely hooked ever since.