Monday 4 May 2015, 8pm
Debut appearance at OTO for a mouthwatering trio of great improvising musicians in the form of saxophonist Alan Wilkinson, drummer Janne Tumoi and pianist Pat Thomas.
Known for the sheer intensity and physicality of his music, and his ability to react at speed, British saxophonist Alan Wilkinson has played with many of the leading players on the international free scene, as well as being a tireless promoter and advocate of the music. Janne Tuomi explores the boundaries of sound in various situations from symphony orchestras to solo concerts and from rock and jazz gigs to composed and improvised contemporary chamber music and everything in between. Pat Thomas has an utterly unique piano-playing style - embracing improvisation, jazz and new music.
After leaving Art College in Leeds in the late 1970s Wilkinson became involved in the music scene in the City playing in a variety of bands, whilst pursuing his passion for improvisation, promoting and playing alongside some of the great and upcoming names at his club night 'The Termite Club'. It was during this period that he joined forces with the drummer Paul Hession and the tragically deceased bassist Simon Fell to form the trio Hession/Wilkinson/Fell, described in The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette, as "a band that outdoes the old Brötzmann groups for sheer firepower". In the late 80s he was invited to tour with Company by Derek Bailey and subsequently featured in 2 London Companys one of which he co-curated. When he relocated to London in 1990 he was already a figure on the scene and has continued to play and promote the music through various club nights, especially flimflam at Ryans Bar N16, running since January 2001. Playing in innumerable ad hoc settings in the UK and beyond notable collaborators have included Derek Bailey, Peter Brötzmann, Akira Sakata, Thurston Moore, Chris Corsano, Eddie Prevost, Charles Hayward, Talibam! and Jason Spaceman. Long standing groups include a trio with John Edwards and Steve Noble, Norwegian group Akode, and a trio with Alex Ward and Jem Doulton.
"At its highest points, this session unleashes some of the most preposterously powerful energy jazz heard since Peter Brötzmann's Yatagarasu trio with Takeo Moriyama and Masahiko Satoh" - Daniel Spicer, The WIRE
With strong basis in classical education drummer/percussionist Janne Tuomi explores the boundaries of sound in various situations from symphony orchestras to solo concerts and from rock and jazz gigs to composed and improvised contemporary chamber music and everything in between. Tuomi has performed with John Zorn (Cobra) and with Finnish avant rock cult band Circle, appeared as a symphony orchestra soloist with Minoru Miki’s Z-Concerto, and given solo concerts in venues ranging from punkrock clubs to contemporary music festivals such as Tampere Biennale. He continues to perform both locally and internationally in rock, jazz and classical festivals and clubs with different solo projects and with different bands and orchestras such as the Osuma percussion ensemble. He also teaches percussion at the Palmgren Conservatory and composes and improvises music for contemporary dance/theatre.
Pat Thomas studied classical piano from aged 8 and started playing Jazz from the age of 16. He has since gone on to develop an utterly unique style - embracing improvisation, jazz and new music. He has played with Derek Bailey in Company Week (1990/91) and in the trio AND (with Noble) – with Tony Oxley’s Quartet and Celebration Orchestra and in Duo with Lol Coxhill.
"Sartorially shabby as Thomas may be, and on first impression even rather stolid, he has a somewhat imperious charisma that’s immediately amplified when he starts to play. Unlike other pianists whose virtuosity seems to be racing ahead of their thought processes Thomas always seems supremely in command of his gift, and his playing, no matter how free and ready to tangle with abstraction, always carries a charge of authoritative exactitude." - The Jazzmann
