26th August 2012: WWR Signs pianist and composer Tom Gibbs for Oct 15 debut solo release ‘Fear of Flying’ featuring Will Vinson, Euan Burton, and James Maddren

Whirlwind Recordings is proud to announce the signing of a new & unique voice in contemporary jazz and improvised music. Tom Gibbs, a Scottish native currently based in Glasgow, is a formidable pianist, improvisor and composer of extraordinary talent, and will release his debut solo album ‘Fear of Flying’ with us on the 15th of October, 2012 worldwide (on over 50 digital retailers as well as over 12 countries in stores around the globe). The album will feature NYC based alto saxophonist Will Vinson, WWR Artist and long time collaborator Euan Burton on double bass, and London’s most in-demand young drummer James Maddren, who all turn our stellar performances.

Gibbs has a penchant for mixing highly lyrical melodies, lush harmonies, and tricksy rhythms, in a style that is highly original and comes from an honest place, and both his piano playing and compositions unfold with an almost cinematic elegance.  His influences are diverse as well, as he’s traveled the globe learning from such notable musicians as Jason Moran and Ralph Alessi, while studying in the UK with the one and only John Taylor on piano, and all the while developing a highly unique voice mixing the native sounds of Scotland with the music from the Americas and Europe. ‘Fear of Flying’ will be Gibbs first official solo album, following up from his joint venture with Euan Burton titled ‘Forgotton Things’ which featured NYC heavyweights Ari Hoenig and Gilad Hekselman.  We’ve built the ‘Fear of Flying’ album page and you can now listen to preview tracks of the entire album to get a glimpse of what’s in store from this special pianist/composer. We’re expecting great things from Tom this fall, and also check the EVENTS section for his UK wide tour, which will feature all the guys from the record.  Here’s the album cover below, and the official album blurb is under that.

ABOUT ‘FEAR OF FLYING’ BY TOM GIBBS:

Glasgow based Pianist, Composer, and Sound Architect Tom Gibbs certainly knows how to craft a song, and his debut solo release contains melodies, moods, and soundscapes that will make you wonder why you haven’t heard of him before. Whirlwind Recordings is proud to present ‘Fear of Flying,’ a sparkling debut glistening with the type of musical character that will firmly establish Gibb’s as one of the stand-out contemporary pianist/bandleaders working on the European creative music scene today. Featuring ten tracks of powerful, melodic, and shape-shifting music played by a bumper-crop of world-class artists, ‘Fear of Flying’ features long time collaborator Euan Burton on double bass alongside newer musical friends in leading NYC-based Saxophonist Will Vinson and London drumming sensation James Maddren.

The compositions on ‘Fear of Flying’ are distinctive and powerful; these are melodies that will stay with you, and they serve to illustrate why mentor (and world renown pianist) John Taylor dubbed him ‘inspiring’. Gibbs’ modus operandi is simple: “I usually start off with some chords that attract me, then I’m playing away and singing at the piano until a tune sticks.” This ‘songs without words’ quality permeates the record, and one of the pianist’s hallmarks is his ability to maintain a lyrical focus even as the music becomes harmonically and rhythmically complex. Tunes like ‘Jumanji’ and ‘Seventy Eight’ are eminently singable, yet difficult for even the schooled musician to perform. Although the sources for these pieces are varied, the resulting body of work makes a satisfying whole. Recent fatherhood is an obvious inspiration, and the title of ‘Rebecca Song’ and its melody are both derived from his daughter’s name. The Blues formed the starting point for ‘Farming Stock’ when Gibbs tried to play a gut-bucket twelve-bar backwards, eventually sending the song in the direction of a mangled Scottish reel which builds in intensity to its completion.

It’s not all conceptualization, seriousness and virtuosity though, for on this recording you can hear the fun that the musicians had in the studio, as they playfully navigate through Gibbs’ compositions with effortless mastery. Spearheaded by heavyweight saxophonist Will Vinson (an Englishman arguably better known in his adopted city of New York than on home soil), prodigious drummer James Maddren (who plays in both the Gwilym Simcock and Kit Downes Trio), and Double Bassist Euan Burton, (Tom’s oldest ally who hired him for his first-ever paid gig), these highly-skilled musicians lay down some of their best individual performances on a record to date.

‘Fear of Flying’ took these friends, old and new, to Castlesound Studios, the finest studio in Scotland, and worth noting only four miles down the road from where the Gibbs was born. The result? A highly personal debut from Gibbs, blending the pure bliss of music making with the complexities and creative sounds of the contemporary Scottish, NYC, and the European improvised-music scenes. In reference to Gibb’s music, Radio Scotland has said it best: ‘Go along and be amazed.’ With this album, we now bring Gibbs’ unique vision of music to you.