BIO:
Fred Thomas studied at the Royal Academy of Music and is one of London’s most sought-after multi-instrumentalists and composer/arranger/producers. A member of the F-IRE Collective, he recently embarked on a trilogy of J.S. Bach recordings to be released on ECM, The Silent Howl and Odradek Records. His first is a trio with Aisha Orazbayeva and Lucy Railton that plays Thomas’s transcriptions of Bach’s Chorale Preludes, the scores of which are published by Edition Wilhelm Hansen. His second, ‘Electrofeit‘, is a solo organ record and featured the multi-tracking of fugues inspired by the work of historian Hayden White.
Other projects include The Beguilers, a sextet that interprets Thomas’s song settings of poetry; his Polyphonic Jazz Band, a quintet with Martin Speake that explores improvised polyphony; a trio with Maurizio Ravalico and actor Gary Cooper that pits improvised music for prepared piano and percussion against prose-poems; an ongoing recording of contemporary interpretations of the medieval Chantilly Codex; a duo with his violinist father Peter Thomas; and a Richard Wagner tribute band with jazz pianist Liam Noble.
Fred Thomas has appeared or collaborated with a wide variety of artists, including Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Jordi Savall, Jarvis Cocker, Ethan Iverson, Tamara Stefanovich, Basquiat Strings, Kadialy Kouyate, Leo Abrahams, Lisa Knapp, Mor Karbasi, CBSO, Elysian Quartet, Jason Yarde, Julian Siegel, Alice Zawadzki, Jiri Slavik, Zac Gvi, Pete Flood, The Magic Lantern, Seb Rochford, Oren Marshall and Olivia Chaney, as well as record labels Harmonica Mundi and Realworld. He has worked at The National Theatre and has toured worldwide with Filter Theatre and as musical director with Shakespeare’s Globe. He teaches at Trinity Laban and as a producer has recorded albums for many artists in Europe. His most recent compositions, for voice, string quartet and percussion, were commissioned by BitterSuite and Phaedra Ensemble and are being performed internationally and at the Royal Opera House, London.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Fred Thomas (BMus Lond. (R.A.M.))
07973832577
12.05.1985
www.fred-thomas.co.uk
CURRENT PROJECTS as a Composer
The Beguilers – MD, composer, guitar
BitterSuite – composer
as a Performer/Arranger
Solo Piano – piano
Polyphonic Jazz Band – MD, double bass
Electrofeit – Organ
Fred Thomas Trio (with Aisha Orazbayeva & Lucy Railton) – MD, piano
Chantilly Codex – MD, guitar, piano
F-IRE Collective – member
Lisa Knapp – double bass, percussion
Thomas Duo – piano
Monk Spent Youth – drums, double bass
Martin Speake Quartet – double bass
Alice Zawadski – double bass, percussion, tenor banjo
PAST PROJECTS
Fred Thomas Jazz Trio – composer, piano
Alex Bonney/Fred Thomas Duo – composer, prepared piano
Jiri Slavik/Fred Thomas Duo – composer, piano
Basquiat Strings – double bass
Fly Agaric – composer, arranger, percussion
The Magic Lantern – arranger/composer, percussion
F-IRE Klang Codex – curator
Fred Thomas/Oren Marshall Duo – composer, piano
Mor Karbasi – MD, piano, double bass, percussion
KK Sound Archive – double bass
Sister Mary & the Choir Boys – MD, piano
Barnaby Keen Band – arranger, piano, percussion
Clara Sanabras – percussion, bass
El Ultimo Tango – piano
Ensemble Nuevo Tango – arranger, double bass
Fernando Egozcue Quintet – double bass
The Memory Band – arranger, piano
COLLABORATORS/APPEARED WITH
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Jordi Savall, Jarvis Cocker, Ethan Iverson, Tamara Stefanovich, Leo Abrahams, Benoit Delbecq, Elysian Quartet, Mor Karbasi, Adriano Adewale, Kammer Klang, Phil Robson, Mark Lockheart, Jason Yarde, Julian Siegel, Christine Tobin, Byron Wallen, Liam Byrne, Resonance FM, BBC, CBSO, Seb Rochford, Liam Noble, Martin Speake, Pete Flood, Alice Zawadzki, Phaedra Ensemble
DISCOGRAPHY
‘The Beguilers’ – Fred Thomas (2015, F-IRE)
‘Duo’ – Peter Thomas & Fred Thomas (2015, F-IRE)
‘Electrofeit‘ – Fred Thomas (2015, The Silent Howl)
‘La Charme Impenetrable Des Artistes Tortures’ – Lily Luca (2016, Independent)
‘La Strategie de Foulard en Coton’ – Lily Luca (2015, Independent)
‘Lullaby of Bedlam’ – Sister Mary and the Choir Boys (2015, F-IRE)
“The Road Not Taken’ – Adam Beattie (Independent, 2016)
‘Daughter of the Spring’ – Mor Karbasi (2011, Harmonia Mundi)
“La Jeunesse’ – Jiri Slavik (2014, F-IRE)
‘EP Vol. 2’ – Native Dancer (2016, Independent)
‘Night Becoming’ – Ellie Rose Rusbridge (2014, Independent)
‘A World in a Grain of Sand’ – The Magic Lantern (2011, Hectic Eclectic)
‘In Search of Soma’ – Fly Agaric (2012, F-IRE)
‘Repose’ – Fred Thomas/Jiri Slavik Duo (2009, F-IRE Presents)
‘Foxlight’ – Iarla O Lionaird (2011, Realworld)
‘Living Standards’ – Fred Thomas & Zac Gvi (2013, F-IRE)
‘Below the Blue Whale’ – Alex Bonney & Fred Thomas (2013, Loop Records)
‘Twelve Tales from Abbey Road’ – Shortcuts (2009, Loop Records)
‘Sister Mary & the Choir Boys’ – Sister Mary & the Choir Boys (2008,Independent)
‘Musica Paradiso’ – Tina May & Guillermo Rozenthuler (2013, Quadrant Records)
‘El Ultimo Tango plays Astor Piazzolla’ – El Ultimo Tango (2006, Somm Recordings)
‘Le Grand Tango’ – El Ultimo Tango (2007, Somm Recordings)
‘Learnt from Love’ – Barnaby Keen (2011, Independent)
‘Londo’ – Kadialy Kouyate’s Sound Archive (2010, Independent)
‘Pathts’ – Ellie Rose (2013, Independent)
‘It’s Time’ – Fred Thomas Trio (2006, Independent)
PRODUCING
The Magic Lantern
Lily Luca
Adam Beattie
Simone Alexander
Ellie Rose Rusbridge
THEATRE/DANCE
MD with Shakespeare’s Globe’s ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’
Filter Theatre’s ‘Twelfth Night’
Workshops at The National Theatre
‘John Cage Musicircus’ at Aldeburgh Festival, featuring Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Jordi Savall, Exaudi
Spanish National Dance Company
Residencies at the Yard Theatre and Richmix, London
Greenwich Dance Agency
TEACHING
Guest Lecturer at Trinity Laban
Guest Lecturer at Chichester University
Piano tutor at North London Music Academy.
Jazz Teacher (piano, double-bass, drum-kit, guitar, ensembles) at Christ’s Hospital School, Horsham.
‘Jazz and Poetry’ education course at Barbican Centre with Michael Rosen.
Private Tuition in piano, double-bass, guitar, percussion, drum-kit, musicianship, composition, arranging, world rhythms, harmony, song-writing.
Teachers: Pete Churchill, John Taylor, Barak Schmool, Oren Marshall, Gerard Presencer, Gwilym Simcock, Huw Warren, Billy Jenkins, Martin Speake, Liam Noble, Newton Armstrong, Ivor McGregor, Marc Copland, Fred Hersch, Avishai Cohen, Dave Holland.
PUBLISHING
‘J.S. Bach – 39 Chorale Preludes’ published by Edition Wilhelm Hansen