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Thomas Peter Bancroft (born 29 January 1967) is a British jazz drummer and composer.

Early life and education

Bancroft was born in London on 29 January 1967. [1] He began drumming aged seven and started off playing with his father and twin brother, Phil. [1] The family moved to Scotland when Tom was nine and he had gigs in Edinburgh from his mid-teens. [1] While studying medicine at Cambridge University, he composed music and continued playing gigs. [1] For nine months during 1988–89, Bancroft studied composition and arranging at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. [1]

Later life and career

Back in Scotland in 1990, Bancroft wrote for his big band. [1] Qualifying as a doctor in 1992, he then worked as a jazz musician and composer, in addition to doing some medical work, including in Russia. [1] The big band toured the UK in 1996. [1] He has toured extensively in various bands and has written for radio and television. [1]

In 1998, along with New Zealander Suzy Melhuish, [2] Bancroft co-founded Caber Music. [1] [3] The first release was Bancroft's Pieology, a selection of concert and broadcast performances. [4]

Bancroft is co-leader of Trio AAB with Phil Bancroft and guitarist Kevin MacKenzie. [5] Their first album was Cold Fusion. [5] This was followed by Wherever I Lay My Home That's My Hat. [6] Stranger Things Happen at C was their next album and included Brian Finnegan on flutes and whistles for some tracks. [7] Critic John Fordham wrote that the trio "skids between Scottish folk music, the melancholy defiance of John Coltrane and the sprightly melodic laterality of Ornette Coleman". [7]

Around 2012, an album by Bancroft's Trio Red band was released by Interrupto Music. [8] The other musicians on First Hello to Last Goodbye were pianist Tom Cawley and bassist Per Zanussi. [8] Fordham described it as "a shot-in-the-dark venture that turned into a world-class trio in a week." [8] A second album, Lucid Dreamers, was released around 2016. [9]

Discography

As leader/co-leader

  • Pieology (Caber, 1993–97) [4]
  • Cold Fusion (Caber, 1998?) [5]
  • Wherever I Lay My Home That's My Hat (Caber, 2000?) [6]
  • Stranger Things Happen at C (Caber, 2002?) [7]
  • First Hello to Last Goodbye (Interrupto, 2012?) [8]
  • Lucid Dreamers (Interrupto, 2016?) [9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Chilton, John (2004). Who's Who of British Jazz (2nd ed.). Continuum. pp.  19–20. ISBN  978-0-8264-7234-2.
  2. ^ "Caber Music". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Caber History". Caber Music. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2023.{{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL ( link)
  4. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 74. ISBN  978-0-141-03401-0.
  5. ^ a b c Schulte, Tom. "Trio AAB: Cold Fusion". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  6. ^ a b Astarita, Glenn. "Trio AAB: Wherever I Lay My Home That's My Hat". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Fordham, John (21 February 2003). "Trio AAB: Stranger Things Happen at C". Review. The Guardian.
  8. ^ a b c d Fordham, John (15 August 2012). "Tom Bancroft: Trio Red – First Hello to Last Goodbye". Review. The Guardian.
  9. ^ a b Smith, Stewart (27 April 2016). "Complete Communion: April's Jazz Reviewed By Stewart Smith". The Quietus.