Neil Ardley was a British composer and author. He was the former leader of the New Jazz Orchestra and the composer of several well-known works for jazz orchestra, notably Kaleidoscope of Rainbows, dating from the 1970s. Later compositions were choral works, the most notable being a large choral work called Creation Mass. Neil Ardley has also written a hundred information books, mainly for children, on science and technology and also on music.