“A boundary-blurring composer and improviser” – Gramophone Magazine
Fred Thomas is an ECM artist and one of London’s most sought after multi-instrumentalists and composer/arranger/producers, known for his breadth of musical styles as well as for specialising in creative re-interpretations of J.S. Bach. Thomas’s first appearance on ECM Records came in 2020 as pianist/drummer on Elina Duni’s “Lost Ships”, together with Rob Luft and Mathieu Michel. His subsequent ECM album and debut as leader comes on the New Series label with “Three or One”, 24 pieces by Bach transcribed for trio and solo piano by Thomas himself, featuring cellist Lucy Railton and violinist Aisha Orazbayeva, released in October 2021.
Thomas has collaborated with a huge variety of artists worldwide including Brian Eno, Yo-Yo Ma, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Jordi Savall, Meredith Monk, Jarvis Cocker, Jeanne Added, Rachel Podger, Elizabeth Kenny, Ethan Iverson, Larry Grenadier, Benoît Delbecq, Kit Downes, Tamara Stefanovich, Leo Abrahams, Kadialy Kouyate and Olivia Chaney. He has released a large discography of albums across various genres, particularly classical and jazz, and is published by Spartan Press and Edition Wilhelm Hansen.
Having started to play classical piano at the age of five, Thomas went on to study jazz piano and composition at the Royal Academy of Music, where he developed an interest in rhythmic cultures from Africa and Latin America, free improvisation, contemporary classical, improvised counterpoint and Baroque music, in particular Bach. He works regularly as Musical Director with the National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe and teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. Thomas has produced albums for labels such as Warner Classics with international artists such as Abel Selaocoe, The Magic Lantern and Alice Zawadzki. His most recent compositions were performed internationally and at the Royal Opera House, by ensembles such as Phaedra Ensemble and Bittersuite.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Fred Thomas (BMus Lond. Royal Academy of Music) (ARAM)
www.fred-thomas.co.uk
www.fredthomas.bandcamp.com
https://www.ecmrecords.com/artists/1594369522/fred-thomas
PROJECTS
Three or One (ECM New Series)
Dance Suites (J.S. Bach)
Dick Wag: a Tribute to Richard Wagner (feat. Benoit Delbecq & Ewan Bleach)
Polyphonic Jazz Band
Spinning Threads
Viella
JS Banjo
Abel Selaocoe
Martin Speake/Ethan Iverson Quartet
Ruth Bruckner & Fred Thomas
The Beguilers
Elina Duni
Alice Zawadzki
The Magic Lantern
Sands Films
BitterSuite
F-IRE Collective
Thomas Duo
Monk Spent Youth
Phelan Burgoyne Group
Kadialy Kouyate/Fred Thomas Duo
Electrofeit
Chantilly Codex
Fred Thomas Jazz Trio
Mor Karbasi
Lisa Knapp
Alex Bonney/Fred Thomas Duo
Jiri Slavik/Fred Thomas Duo
Basquiat Strings
Fly Agaric
F-IRE Klang Codex
Fred Thomas/Oren Marshall Duo
Sister Mary & the Choir Boys
Barnaby Keen
Clara Sanabras
El Ultimo Tango
Ensemble Nuevo Tango
Fernando Egozcue
COLLABORATORS/APPEARED WITH
Brain Eno, YoYo Ma, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Jordi Savall, Jarvis Cocker, Larry Grenadier, Ethan Iverson, Elina Duni, Tamara Stefanovich, Abel Selaocoe, Elizabeth Kenny, Leo Abrahams, Benoit Delbecq, Liam Noble, Elysian Quartet, Jeanne Added, Mor Karbasi, Native Dancer, Adriano Adewale, Kammer Klang, Phil Robson, Mark Lockheart, Jason Yarde, Maurizio Ravalico, Julian Siegel, Zac Gvi, The Memory Band, Christine Tobin, Byron Wallen, Liam Byrne, Mamadou Sarr, Resonance FM, BBC, CBSO, Seb Rochford, Kit Downes, Pete Flood, Alice Zawadzki, Phaedra Ensemble.
TEACHING
Trinity Laban
Chichester University
Prague Academy of Performing Arts
Barbican Centre
Private Tuition
Teachers: Dave Holland, John Taylor, Avishai Cohen, Marc Copland, Fred Hersch, Pete Churchill, Barak Schmool, Oren Marshall, Gerard Presencer, Gwilym Simcock, Huw Warren, Billy Jenkins, Newton Armstrong.
PRODUCING
Abel Selaocoe
Elina Duni
The Magic Lantern
Barnaby Keen
Quest Ensemble
Balladeste
Alice Zawadzki
Lily Luca
The Beguilers
Adam Beattie
Garance Louis
Ellie Rose Rusbridge
Rhia Parker
Miranda Joy
THEATRE/DANCE
Shakespeare’s Globe (MD)
The National Theatre
Filter Theatre
Everyman Theatre
Aldeburgh Festival
Spanish National Dance Company
The Yard Theatre
Richmix
Greenwich Dance Agency
PUBLISHING
‘J.S. Bach – 39 Chorale Preludes’ published by Edition Wilhelm Hansen
‘10 Bach Fugues for String Quartet, Volumes I and II’ – Spartan Press