Pat Thomas (pianist)
Pat Thomas (born 27 July 1960) is an experimental pianist from Oxford, England.
Biography
Thomas was born in Oxford and began playing jazz piano at age 16 driven by a fascination for Liberace's instruments.[1][2] His first album as sole leader was New Jazz Jungle: Remembering, which was released in 1997.[1] He received a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists in 2014.[3] Several of his recordings were released in 2019: "from the ruminative post-bop piano trio heard on BleySchool, the free improv of the collective trio Shifa, an exploratory trio with reedist John Butcher and drummer Ståle Liavik Solberg on Fictional Souvenirs and a stunning live solo piano set of Duke Ellington music available digitally from London's Cafe Oto".[3]
Thomas is part of the band أحمد [ahmed], a quartet with Antonin Gerbal, Joel Grip, and Seymour Wright inspired by the music of Ahmed Abdul-Malik. To date, they have released seven albums, all based on live recordings in Europe. New Jazz Imagination was released by Umlaut in 2017 and was followed by Super Majnoon (East Meets West).[3]Their 2026 album, play Monk, diverts from their formula, subjecting Thelonious Monk tunes to their deconstructive approach.
Two Thomas albums were released in 2024: the solo piano The Solar Model of Ibn Al-Shatir (Otoroku) and the electronics-based This Is Trick Step (577).[1]
Thomas came to the U.S. 2025 and played shows in Chicago, Illinois (with Mariam Rezaei at the Renaissance Society) and Knoxville, Tennessee (with أحمد [ahmed] at Big Ears).[4][5]
Discography
- Pat Thomas, Oile Brice and Gary Willcox: The Day After (JazzNow, 2026)[6]
| Title | Label | Year | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jazz Imagination | OTOROKU | 2017 | 41:30 |
| Nights on Saturn (communication) | Astral Spirits | 2021 | 41:47 |
| Super Majnoon [East Meets West] | OTOROKU | 2023 | 156:57 |
| [Wahid] / [Ahad] | OTOROKU | 2022 | |
| Wood Blues | Astral Spirits | 2024 | 58:34 |
| Giant Beauty | OTOROKU | 2025 | 235:12 |
| Sama'a (Audition) | OTOROKU | 2025 | 68:01 |
| play Monk | OTOROKU | 2026 | 129:14 |
References
- 1 2 3 Wright, Seymour (January–February 2025). "Invisible Jukebox: Pat Thomas". The Wire. No. 491/492. p. 25.
- ↑ Crumble, Rae-Aila. "The Chaotic Genius of Pat Thomas". daily.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - 1 2 3 Margasak, Peter (April 2020). "Thomas: Prolific, Unheralded". DownBeat. Vol. 87, no. 4. p. 20.
- ↑ Society, The Renaissance. "Mariam Rezaei & Pat Thomas | Events: Concert | The Renaissance Society". www.renaissancesociety.org. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ "Festival Review: Ten Highlights from Big Ears 2025 - The Arts Fuse". 6 April 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Pat Thomas, Oile Brice and Gary Willcox – The Day After, jazzviews.net 23 July 2026, retrieved 26 July 2026
External links
- Pat Thomas at AllMusic
- http://ukvibe.org/interviews/2014-interviews/pat-thomas-2014/
- Pat Thomas discography at Discogs
- https://discus-music.co.uk/catalogue-mobile/dis103-detail Archived 25 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine Pat Thomas plays Anthony Braxton
- https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/nov/20/piano-virtuoso-pat-thomas-on-his-journey-through-jazz-ahmed
- Living people
- 1960 births
- English jazz pianists
- English jazz composers
- English experimental musicians
- Avant-garde jazz pianists
- British avant-garde musicians
- Musicians from Oxford
- 20th-century English musicians
- 21st-century English musicians
- Incus Records artists
- FMR Records artists
- Emanem Records artists
- Psi Records artists
- English people of Antigua and Barbuda descent
- 20th-century Black British musicians
- 21st-century Black British male musicians
- British jazz musician stubs