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Tom McDermott

New Orleans is a city with a rich musical heritage, and Tom McDermott is a pianist who has mastered many of its styles.

Born in St. Louis in 1957, McDermott began piano lessons at age six. After eight years of lessons, he got caught up in the Scott Joplin revival and began playing and composing rags and early jazz pieces. This eventually led, in 1981, to an album of original ragtime music on the Stomp Off label, New Rags.

McDermott received a scholarship to St. Louis University and graduated in December 1978 with a B.A. in Art. Shortly after that he began his career as a free-lance journalist, writing mainly about music for a number of St. Louis newspapers. He was the jazz and rock critic for the morning paper, the Globe-Democrat, from 1980 through 1983. In 1982 he earned his master of music degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

In 1984, McDermott moved to New Orleans, lured there by a job at the World's Fair as well as a passionate interest in the music of Crescent City pianists like James Booker, Professor Longhair and Dr. John. He quickly found steady work, first as a solo pianist and later with jazz bands. From 1990 through 1995 he played with the Dukes of Dixieland, a period which many observers feel was the group's peak since the death in the '70s of the founding Assunto brothers. During this time the band recorded three albums (including one with jazz legend Danny Barker), toured Germany and South America, and played Carnegie Hall.

In April 2005, McDermott released a Brazilian-music masterpiece, Choro do Norte, his most ambitious work to date, the album was recorded in Rio de Janeiro in August 2004 and New Orleans in 2004-05. In Brazil, McDermott recorded with three members of one of Rio's hottest choro groups, Tira Poeira. Returning to New Orleans he added two fantastic players: clarinetist Evan Christopher and trombonist Rick Trolsen.

McDermott left the Dukes of Dixieland in May 1995 to join the American Queen riverboat for four months of its opening season. During this time he composed and recorded All the Keys and Then Some, a 24-piece suite for the piano which was released in the Spring of 1996. He also co-founded the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, a sensational new brass band.

In 1998, McDermott followed the success of All the Keys with a recording that truly explored the roots of New Orleans and Louisiana's music. Louisianthology incorporated the talents of many of New Orleans' finest musicians, including the Nightcrawlers. The recording showcases McDermott's imaginative composition and arranging skills and has been received with critical acclaim.

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97
Album Review

Tom McDermott / Evan Christopher: Almost Native

Read "Almost Native" reviewed by Louis Heckheimer


Avant-garde art has been described as seeking innovation through experimentation, preferring novelty to formula and defying existing convention. The term “avant-garde traditionalism" could be a way to describe the music of New Orleans pianist Tom McDermott. Although it is rooted in the traditions of his adopted city, he pushes boundaries with his quirky compositions and interest in eclectic styles, such as Brazilian choro, McDermott, active there since 1984, is not as well known outside of New Orleans as he deserves ...

456
Live Review

Unexpected Moments in New Orleans with Tom McDermott

Read "Unexpected Moments in New Orleans with Tom McDermott" reviewed by Wade Luquet


Tom McDermott Donna's New Orleans, LA July 2009

I love unexpected moments in New Orleans. The best thing about these moments is that they happen so often. New Orleans is often called “the biggest small town on earth." You just never know who you are going to meet or what you are going to see or hear, and that's exactly what happened on a recent balmy July night.

Stopping in Donna's on Rampart Street ...

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2

Education

Music Education Monday: New Orleans piano with Jon Cleary and Tom McDermott

Music Education Monday: New Orleans piano with Jon Cleary and Tom McDermott

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Given that old adage about converts being the most zealous believers, perhaps it should come as no surprise that two of the most prominent current custodians of the New Orleans piano tradition are transplants to the city. Jon Cleary originally from is England, while Tom McDermott is from right here in jny: St. Louis, but both have made jny: New Orleans their home and have immersed themselves in the history and practice of the city's indigenous music. For today's Music ...

1

Music Industry

Jazz this week: Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, Tom McDermott, and more

Jazz this week: Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, Tom McDermott, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in and around St. Louis includes shows from a couple of New Orleans acts - one a former St. Louisan - as well as a diverse assortment of performances from local musicians. Let's go to the highlights.... Thursday, August 6 Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes will be swinging in the swanky confines of the Ritz Carlton Hotel's Lobby Lounge, and guitarist Dave Black and friends, including singer Joe Mancuso, will ...

Video / DVD

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: New Orleans Piano with Tom McDermott

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: New Orleans Piano with Tom McDermott

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring pianist Tom McDermott, a St. Louis native now living in New Orleans who's coming back home to play this coming Thursday, August 14 at the Tavern of Fine Arts. (The events page on hHis website also shows a gig on Wednesday, August 13 at Joe's Cafe, but none of the three websites associated with that venue make any mention of it, and there don't seem to be any listings of ...

Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Block, Gibson and Recoder, Jim Manley, Frank Catalano, Tom McDermott, Cornet Chop Suey, and More

Jazz This Week: Block, Gibson and Recoder, Jim Manley, Frank Catalano, Tom McDermott, Cornet Chop Suey, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

It's potentially another very busy weekend for fans for jazz and creative music in St. Louis, with so many performances, workshops and film screenings going on that yr. humble StLJN editor got a bit behind schedule and worn out just assembling the basic info for all the events of interest. So, assuming you're willing to forgive this week's relative lack of description and/or commentary, let's go to the highlights... Tonight, the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University presents “Freedom ...

Festival

Jazz This Week: Red Baraat, Gateway Jazz Festival, Tom McDermott, and More

Jazz This Week: Red Baraat, Gateway Jazz Festival, Tom McDermott, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This Labor Day weekend in St. Louis offers fans of jazz and creative music an eclectic mix of sounds from traditional to experimental, with numerous gradations in between. Let's go to the highlights... On Thursday, “bhangra funk" band Red Baraat returns to St. Louis to take the stage at The Gramophone. Led by drummer Sunny Jain, the group's instrumentation resembles a New Orleans brass band, but their music blends in a variety of other sounds, including funk, go-go, and elements ...

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Almost Native

Threadhead Records
2011

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