Home » Jazz Musicians » Tom Cawley

Tom Cawley

Still just 32 years of age, pianist and composer Tom Cawley has been performing and recording with the country’s most successful and groundbreaking jazz artists for the last ten years. Since winning the Young Jazz Musician of the Year award in 1998 he has played all over the world and led bands in residencies at the Blue Note club (New York) and Ronnie Scott’s (London). Recently he has been instrumental in shaping the unique sound of the genre-bending iconoclasts Acoustic Ladyland, as well as writing and arranging songs with Gwyneth Herbert for her Blue Note debut album, ‘Between Me And The Wardrobe’.

2007 saw the debut of Cawley’s much-acclaimed group Curios, a vehicle for Tom’s original music. The album, Hidden, made a startling impact on the jazz scene, winning a nomination as Best Album in the BBC Jazz Awards and reaching the top 5 in both the HMV and Radio 3 Jazz Charts. MOJO described the record as “an extraordinary collection of deeply personal, highly evolved music”; the Independent made Hidden Album Of The Week and called it “never less than spellbinding”, and Musician magazine declared Curios “a shining light for British jazz”. An extensive UK tour confirmed their hype, prompting the Guardian to declare that “the startling promise of the album glows ever more brightly live”. Curios were subsequently recorded in session for Jazz On 3, and invited to appear at the new Royal Festival Hall in June. Shortly afterwards, John Fordham placed them on the cover of Jazz UK magazine and wrote a large article about the band in which he proclaimed, “Just when you think EST, or Brad Mehldau, ot The Bad Plus might have taken the piano trio as far as it can go, another keyboard talent opens another door. Pianist Tom Cawley has done just that with Curios”.

As a composer, Cawley’s writing is informed by romantic classical music as much as by jazz, and his piano playing betrays many influences: Phineas Newborn, Brad Mehldau and all points in between. He has written for many types of ensemble, from a string quartet to a big band, and had compositions played in large venues such as the Festival Hall and the Cardiff Millennium Hall. Despite this breadth of experience, his style is his resolutely his own. As MOJO observed whilst reviewing Hidden, “Any detectable influences are overwhelmed by the individuality of the conception, the imaginative compositions and the sheer skill of the execution.”

Read more

Tags

4
Album Review

Tom Cawley: Catenaccio

Read "Catenaccio" reviewed by Roger Farbey


Tom Cawley has been a familiar presence on the British jazz scene for well over a decade. He teaches piano and improvisation in the jazz department of London's Royal Academy of Music and he's led his group Curios since its debut album, Hidden, was released in 2007 on Jazzizit Records. Cawley won the Young Jazz Musician of the Year award in 1998 and he's an alumnus of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. As an in-demand pianist he's accompanied the likes ...

14
Album Review

Georgia Mancio: Live At ReVoice!

Read "Live At ReVoice!" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay


The name at the top of the cover of Live At ReVoice! is that of Georgia Mancio, the London-based vocalist who appears on every one of the 12 tracks. A quick glance lower down the cover adds a dozen more names--a list of Mancio's accompanists that reads like a veritable “Who's Who" of the UK jazz scene. A baker's dozen of talented performers, twelve beautifully performed songs, captured with exceptional sound quality. Mancio has organised the ReVoice! festival ...

Read more articles
Album reviews:

“An extraordinary collection of deeply personal, highly evolved music” MOJO

“Never less than spellbinding” The Independent

“Full of surprises and commanding a huge expressive and dynamic range” The Observer

“A display of group understanding that ebbs and flows with startling intuitiveness” Jazz UK

“The debut release that everyone’s been waiting for” Jazzwise

“This trio plays with real emotional substance, real weight of feeling” Musicweb International

“A shining light for British jazz” Musician magazine

Live reviews/previews:

Read more

Primary Instrument

Piano

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Professor of Jazz Piano and Aural & Transcription Studies at the Royal Academy Of Music, London.

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Catenaccio

Ubuntu Music
2019

buy

Live At ReVoice!

Roomspin Records
2015

buy

Closer

Impure Music
2008

buy

Hidden

Jazzizit
0

buy

Videos

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.