About Ed



Ed was born in St. Louis Missouri on January 16th 1946, displaying his musical ability from an early age. Ed began playing piano around age seven. Forming his first band in the eighth grade, Ed played piano in the Rocketeers. Ed and his family moved to California in the early 1960’s. It was while living in Lake Elsinore and his involvement with the folk scene, Ed first heard Bluegrass music, and was hooked immediately. After that fateful day Ed pursued his music with a single-mindedness bordering on obsession. Ed has played Bluegrass music in the traditional style for over fifty years.

    Ed's Discography:

  • High Country, Warner Bros/Raccoon Records #7, February 1971
  • High Country, Dreams, Warner Bros/Raccoon Records, 1972
  • Done Gone, The Done Gone Band, Police Records, 1979
  • Rose Maddox & the Vern Williams Band, Beautiful Bouquet, Arhoolie 1983
  • Kazuhiro Inaba, Shore to Shore, Hay Holler Records, 1986
  • Kazuhiro Inaba, Hard Times, Red Clay, 1988
  • High Country, Blue Highway, Turquoise Records, 1987
  • Roanoke, Thoughts of Home, Iris Cool Records, 1996
  • Vern Williams Band, Bluegrass from the Gold Country, Rounder, 1996
  • Butch Waller, Golden Gate Promenade, Rebel, 1999
  • Chris Brashear, Wanderlust, Copper Creek, 1999
  • Lone Prairie, Desert Flower, self-produced, 1996
  • True Blue, Years Gone By, Blue West Records, 2003
  • The Vern Williams Band - Live 1982-1988, Arhoolie Productions, Inc, 2004
  • The David Thom Band - Live at the Majestic, Swollen Records, 2006
  • Lone Prairie, Back on the Dusty Trail, self-produced, 2007
  • RoseBud Blue, Depending on the Glass, Squirty Records, 2008
  • Riggy Rackin, Somewhere in Between, self-produced, 2009
  • Blue & Lonesome, Some Old Day, e’Neff Said productions, 2009
  • Blue & Lonesome, Harrietville e'Neff Said Production, 2013
  • Blue & Lonesome, Cruzin' With Blue & Lonesome e'Neff Said Productions, 2016

Although Ed can play all of the traditional stringed instruments at a professional level and sings Lead and Tenor, most of his career he has been known to bluegrass fans as the premier fiddler and mandolin stylist in the traditional vein. He has been a fixture in the Bay Area bluegrass scene for over fifty years. (He is referred to as the utility infielder for bluegrass music)

Currently Ed is the leader of Ed Neff & Friends and Blue & Lonesome. Ed Neff & Friends has the longest running weekly gig in Northern California. (twenty years and still going) They play every Thursday night at the Willowbrook Ale House in Petaluma, CA.

Ed is well-known in the worldwide music community for preserving and interpreting the style of music created by Bill Monroe. Although heavily guided by this impressionistic style of mandolin playing, Ed has taken this influence to interpret and create his version of this tradition.

Ed’s other lifelong interests are gardening, cooking and collecting Asian art. And of course, his family and friends.