Smoke And Mirrors

Description

The debut album from the Tom Richards Orchestra features five original compositions by the band leader as well as one unique collaboration co-written with and featuring Jamie Cullum on vocals.
The TRO is a unique 19 piece jazz orchestra comprised of London's most sought after young musicians including Gareth Lockrane (flutes), conductor Jules Buckley and BBC Jazz Awards winners Gwilym Simcock (piano) and Jim Hart (vibes).
This orchestra is truly an ensemble of international stature and a who's who of the UK's current vanguard, as many of the TRO alumni are leaders of successful projects in their own right.
The result is one of the few contemporary big bands to focus on longer, more orchestral structures as well as shorter more conventional forms with an enviable original repertoire.
At only 26 years, band leader/composer/saxophonist Richards has developed a characteristic style of composing many never achieve.
He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music's coveted jazz programme with a first class honours degree in 2004 and has since completed an 18-month world tour with jazz singer/pianist Jamie Cullum.
He has also been involved in several ensembles such as the Matthew Herbert Big Band, the Gwilym Simcock Nonett and Big Band as well as with artists like Michael Garrick and Laurence Cottle.
With this release Tom takes a giant step forward from being one of the UK's leading young saxophonists to acquiring his own one-of-a-kind sound that goes far beyond that of the average big band: beautiful, accessible music with a strong melodic content ranging from lush orchestral textures through driving swing to electronics scattered sound-scapes prepared by TRO sound artists.