Neon Blue

Aaron Davis is an eclectic composer, arranger and keyboardist who has two careers: one as a keyboard player and arranger for singer Holly Cole, and one as a composer of music for film.
Aaron was born in the U.S. but moved to Toronto, Canada as a child. In his teens he commuted between Toronto and the San Francisco Bay Area. In the late 70's he attended the eclectic music program of York University in Toronto, studying piano with Casey Sokol, jazz with John Gittins and South Indian percussion with Trichy Shankarin.

Upon graduating in 1979 he helped found Toronto worldbeat-jazz band Manteca for whom he wrote and played keyboards from 1979 until 1991(see discography) . In 1981 he formed his own band and in Jan. 1983 Aaron released his own album, "NOUVELLE AFRIQUE", which included many different sorts of hiscompositions. One of them was the song "Mandela", with lyrics in Zulu by Basi Mahlasela. This song, a tribute to the then-imprisoned leader, also inspired a video which was shown across North America.

Davis's second album, "NEON BLUE" was released in May, 1988 . During the mid-eighties Aaron was simultaneously a band member of the Aaron Davis Band, Manteca & Blue Monday, but as the Holly Cole Trio became increasingly busy he had to give up the other bands.

As well as being a co-arranger of the Holly Cole repertoire, Aaron has done all of her orchestral and choral arrangements, which have been performed by Symphonies across Canada and Japan, the Canadian Brass, Quartetto Gelato, and the High Park Girls Choir.

Orchestral writing of diffent sorts has also played a part in Davis' film writing. Since 1985 he has scored more than 30 films, some of them with his film-writing partner John Lang. Aaron has been nominated for two Genie awards, and four Gemini awards. Aaron and John won a Gemini last year for "No Price Too High", and are nominated in 1997 for "Ebola:Inside An Outbreak".

Aaron Davis: keyboards
Basi Mahlasela: lead vocals (tracks 1, 6)
Jay McGee: vocals (track 4)
Molly Johnson: vocals (track 2), backing vocals (track 6)
Peter follett: guitar (tracks 1, 3, 5)
David Piltch: bass (tracks 2, 4 6)
Howard Ayee: bass (track 1)
Peter Bleakney: bass (track 3)
Steven Webster: bass (track 5)
Michael Sloski: drums
Ahmed Hassan: percussion (track 6)
Bob Becker: percussion (tracks 1, 6)
Ron Allen: lyricon (tracks 2, 5)
John Johnson: saxophone (track 1)
Ron Allen: saxophone (tracks 2, 6, 7), shakuhachi (track 5)
Bob Becker: table (track 5)
Dawn Aitken: backing vocals (track 1)
Sheree Jaecocke: backing vocals (track 1)
Ron Allen: flute (track 4)

Music by Aaron Davis
Produced by Aaron Davis and John Lang
Engineered by Greg Roberts and Rick Starks, assisted by David Botteril, Dean Perry, Mike Colomby, and Rick Jurgens
Recorded at Grant Avenue Studio, Hamilton, Ontario and Manta Sound, Toronto, Ontario
Mixed at Manta Sound, Toronto, Ontario
Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk

Album design by Lynn E. Harvey
Photography by Taffi Rosen
Artwork by Oliver Girling

This album is dedicated to those who struggle for freedom