Wednesday 27 July 2022, 7pm
Proud to present a performance / open workshop featuring musicians Pat Thomas and Sami Fitz and a group of brain injury survivors from Headway East London. It will be the culmination of a collaborative project between Headway East London and Cafe OTO funded by Hello Again Hackney.
The show will be livestreamed for free on the OTO website. After the music there will be a DJ set by DJ K-Line, another brain injury survivor and member of Headway East London.
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
Sami Fitz is a London-based improvising vocalist and music producer whose work explores the boundaries of narratives. Her latest solo project, Tephra, was released in 2018 and produced by multi-instrumentalists Shahzad Ismaily and Aaron Roche. She leads the Experimental Choir at Cafe Oto and performs with Patrick Dahn as STILL NO. Her next album is set for release this winter.
