FRED THOMAS
Fred Thomas (ARAM) studied piano and composition 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 quartet of J.S. Bach recordings to be released on ECM, The Silent Howl and Odradek Records. 2018 will see the release of his ECM debut: 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.
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 quartet of original music with Ethan Iverson; a duo with his violinist father Peter Thomas; and a Richard Wagner tribute band with jazz pianist Benoît Delbecq.
Fred Thomas has appeared or collaborated with a wide variety of artists, including Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Jordi Savall, Jarvis Cocker, Elina Duni, Tamara Stefanovich, Leo Abrahams, Kit Downes, Lisa Knapp, Mor Karbasi, CBSO, Jason Yarde, Seb Rochford and Olivia Chaney, as well as record labels Harmonica Mundi and Realworld. He works regularly with 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. Royal Academy of Music) (ARAM)
07973832577
130 Jamaica Rd, London, SE164RX, UK
12.05.1985
www.fred-thomas.co.uk
CURRENT PROJECTS
Solo Piano (J.S. Bach)
Polyphonic Jazz Band (MD)
Fred Thomas Bach Trio (MD)
Dick Wag: a Tribute to Richard Wagner, feat/ Benoît Delbecq – (MD)
Martin Speake/Ethan Iverson Quartet
The Beguilers (MD)
Elina Duni
Alice Zawadzki
BitterSuite
Chantilly Codex (MD)
F-IRE Collective
Lisa Knapp
Thomas Duo
Monk Spent Youth
Phelan Burgoyne Group
Kadialy Kouyate/Fred Thomas Duo
PAST PROJECTS
Electrofeit
Fred Thomas Jazz Trio
Mor Karbasi (MD)
Alex Bonney/Fred Thomas Duo
Jiri Slavik/Fred Thomas Duo
Basquiat Strings
Fly Agaric
The Magic Lantern (MD)
F-IRE Klang Codex
Fred Thomas/Oren Marshall Duo
Sister Mary & the Choir Boys (MD)
Barnaby Keen Band
Clara Sanabras
El Ultimo Tango
Ensemble Nuevo Tango
Fernando Egozcue Quintet
COLLABORATORS/APPEARED WITH
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Jordi Savall, Jarvis Cocker, Ethan Iverson, Elina Duni, Tamara Stefanovich, 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, Resonance FM, BBC, CBSO, Seb Rochford, Kit Downes, Pete Flood, Alice Zawadzki, Phaedra Ensemble.
DISCOGRAPHY
‘Dance Suites’ by J.S. Bach – Fred Thomas (2017, Odradek)
‘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)
‘It’s Time’ – Fred Thomas Trio (2006, Independent)
TEACHING
Trinity Laban
Chichester University
Prague Academy of Performing Arts
North London Music Academy
Christ’s Hospital School
Barbican Centre (with Michael Rosen)
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
Alice Zawadzki
The Magic Lantern
Lily Luca
The Beguilers
Adam Beattie
Garance Louis
Simone Alexander
Ellie Rose Rusbridge
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