For more than a decade, Andrew Neesley and Chris Vos, both midwest born and raised have com- bined their heartland roots and artistic sensibilities to form a compelling musical voice.
Andrew Neesley made the trumpet his own from an early age. Perfecting his skill and talent with broad strokes, he focused on the jazz idiom with great success. Open to inspiration from all genres, Andrew found his newest work demanded a certain sound, a certain soul. Enter Chris Vos, guitarist and vocalist extraordinaire. And someone Andrew has jammed with frequently over the years. Chris grew from boy to man with guitar in hand. His passion for music evolved into a flair for song and song writing.
This strong partnership stretches across musical genres and evokes the vast american landscape. Above all, it speaks to Nees and Vos' continuing search for the soul of music.
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Nees and Vos: Heartland Soul
For more than a decade, Andrew Neesley and Chris Vos, both midwest born and raised have com- bined their heartland roots and artistic sensibilities to form a compelling musical voice.
Andrew Neesley made the trumpet his own from an early age. Perfecting his skill and talent with broad strokes, he focused on the jazz idiom with great success. Open to inspiration from all genres, Andrew found his newest work demanded a certain sound, a certain soul. Enter Chris Vos, guitarist and vocalist extraordinaire. And someone Andrew has jammed with frequently over the years. Chris grew from boy to man with guitar in hand. His passion for music evolved into a flair for song and song writing.
“Chris is the only guy I felt could join me on this musical journey,” Andrew explains. For the past year, whenever they were in the same city at the same time, they met to lay down tracks, experiment with lay- ers of sound and voice—building at last to a recording that satisfied them both. As Andrew shared copies around the business, reaction persuaded him this could be something big. People were ecstatic about Nees and Vos. They wanted more.
This strong partnership stretches across musical genres and evokes the vast american landscape. Above all, it speaks to Nees and Vos' continuing search for the soul of music.
Andrew Neesley Bio
Andrew Neesley is an award-winning performer and inventive composer who regularly brings his acclaimed style to club and festival stages. Based in New York, Neesley has made his mark nationally performing with contemporary music greats as well as other up-and-coming artists.
Neesley is a past recipient of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s Award and winner of the National Trumpet Competition. Recently, he collected a DownBeat magazine award for Best Engineered Studio Album. Neesley publishes his work as a composer and arranger through Really Good Music, LLC.
Fluent in a range of styles, Neesley has performed with James Taylor, Chris Botti, The Roots, Peter Yarrow, Jon Faddis, Lewis Nash, Christian McBride, Byron Stripling, Slide Hampton, Randy Brecker, Dick Oats, Mike Abene, Carl Allen, Ingrid Jensen, Ed Calle, Jason Marsalis and Bill Rei- chenbach. He had the rare opportunity, in 2002, to perform as guest soloist with the Brass Band of Battle Creek, performing his own arrangement of “Stardust” alongside Wycliffe Gordon.
Neesley has appeared and competed in top venues, from Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and Ravinia, to Birdland and the Jazz Standard. In the past four years, he has partici- pated in Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead and programs at The Steans Institute, Jazz Aspen and Brevard Music Institute. He has performed in concerts aired live on the Internet and on BET. At one time, Neesley hosted a his own national public radio program, live from The Stone’s Throw (WI) featuring musicians from across the nation.
After starting out on violin at age four, Neesley attended Interlochen Arts Camp for eight summers of intense study. There he took up the trumpet and developed an abid- ing interest in jazz. As a student, Neesley competed successfully for various interna- tional honors and music fellowships.
Neesley maintains a private lesson studio in New York and has served on the music faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Stout. His practice includes teaching brass and jazz improvisation to a new generation of musicians. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he performed with the Grammy-nominated Jazz Ensem- ble I, Neesley has just completed his Master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music.
Chris Vos Bio
Chris Vos is a guitarist, vocalist and composer with a mission—to meet and play with musicians as driven as he is to experiment on new material “down to the soul.”
Vos connects with collaborators in the Midwest and on the east coast from home base in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he has played professional gigs since age 16. A farm boy transplanted to the big city, Vos quickly got hooked on the Chess sound out of Chicago and the magic of Motown.
He performs regularly with his band Freshwater Collins—which has gained an impressive following over the past seven years, and has attained endorsements from companies such as Moog Effects, GMS Drums, Istanbul Cymbals, and Lakland Basses. Vos also has put plenty of time in on tour and opening for major artists, including Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant.
Inspired to write original material almost from the moment he laid hands on his first guitar, Vos is a prolific composer of soul-tinged songs, both instrumental and vocal works. A degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee serves this aspect of his art well. As a vocalist, Vos goes to the core of a piece to explore its possibilities, give it a richer dimension. Collaborations with musical colleagues often involve adding voice and guitar to joint compositions.