New Reveries
Celebrated pianist and composer Ivo Neame presents Dodeka: New Reveries, the first release on his new label, Oriel Recordings.
About the album
Celebrated pianist and composer Ivo Neame presents Dodeka: New Reveries, the first release on his new label, Oriel Recordings. Recorded live with his 12-piece ensemble at London’s Vortex Jazz Club, the album brings intricate writing and collective improvisation together, shaped by Neame’s exploration of rhythmic traditions from around the world.
New Reveries is set for release on January 8th, 2027 via Oriel Recordings.
Rhythm is central to the music. Alabama Song draws on konnakol, the South Indian classical tradition of vocal percussion, reflecting Neame’s studies over the past five years with renowned Chennai-based veena player Karikudi Subramaniam. His writing is also shaped by encounters during his travels. Following a 2025 tour of Cuba, Neame stayed in Havana and attended a rumba ceremony where musicians played for hours, dedicating the music to their orishas. The experience reinforced his interest in how individual voices can flourish within a collective musical setting.
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Other compositions explore contrasting moods and influences. In Two Minds draws on the energy and collective improvisation of New Orleans second-line music, while Melancholic Moment takes a more introspective approach. Informed Uncertainty was commissioned by detective fiction writer Peter Morfoot as a 70th-birthday gift for his wife. Morfoot supplied the title and concept, requesting a ballad with a surprise ending; Neame presented him with the original handwritten score.
Recorded by engineer Alex Bonney on 27 April 2025, the performance captures Dodeka’s compositions in the moment. The ensemble made its debut at Ronnie Scott’s during the 2022 London Jazz Festival and has since performed at festivals including Buxton International, Scarborough Jazz and Canterbury.
Known for his work with Phronesis and the Marius Neset Quintet, Neame has also collaborated with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, London Sinfonietta and musicians including Hermeto Pascoal, Kenny Wheeler and Mike Stern. In 2026, he established Oriel Recordings to reissue the back catalogue of his own recordings and release new music. Alongside Dodeka: New Reveries, Neame is making the recordings he now controls available exclusively through his Bandcamp page and Qobuz.
