Jacksoul's Haydain Neale Remembered For Artistry & Passion

ole, its partners and fellow songwriters are recalling the late Haydain Neale with fondness and admiration after the artist succumbed to a seven-month battle with lung cancer on November 22nd.

Neale was represented by ole and co-venture partner tanjola, who continue to publish the 87 songs written or co-written by Neale; all of which can be previewed on ole's musicnow search engine.

"It was a privilege and an honor to have known and worked with Haydain Neale for the last ten years. Haydain, more than being an incredibly talented songwriter, musician and vocalist was also an extraordinary human being. His true raw talent was a rare thing in this industry and it will be missed by us all, but his infectious humor and over all generous, humble and hard working nature is what I will miss most. Haydain was the real deal, and artists and people like that don't come around every day. I'm proud to have called him a friend and will continue to keep his legacy alive through the music and melody he left behind to be shared with the world," says tanjola partner, Ivan Berry.

A benefit concert held on December 7th at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Hall featured a star-studded lineup of performers including Nelly Furtado, Chantel Kreviazuk, K-os, Jim Cuddy and others who paid tribute to the lead singer of Juno Award-winning R&B band, jacksoul. Neale had also been battling the effects of injuries sustained when he was struck by a car while riding his scooter in 2007, but returned to the studio in 2009 after months of physiotherapy to work on jacksoul's new album, SOULmate, released on December 1st, not long after Neale's death. The first single, "Lonesome Highway," debuted at #1 on the Canadian radio charts just prior to Haydain's passing.

All proceeds from the Lonesome Highway album will go to the Haydain Neale Family Trust Fund. Donations for the Haydain Neale Family Trust Fund can be made at any Royal Bank of Canada branch c/o Haydain Neale Family Trust (account No. 1018647, transit No. 06262, branch No. 003).

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