Tom Thorp's Ilumetris: 'Here, There Be Monsters'

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I'm a little late to the party on the work of composer, saxophonist and clarinettist Tom Thorp, who hails from Manchester and brings the album on tour across the UK this autumn.


Tom Thorp (centre) with Ilumetris

Tom tells a story of discovering an unusual part of the landscape where he walks his dog. Like many musicians and composers, the inspiration led to immense creativity and now there's a new acoustic project called Ilumetris and the album Here, There Be Monsters.

This is a strong album with some amazing performances from Tom himself, alongside Neil Yates (trumpet and Flugelhorn, Andy Stamatakis-Brown (piano), Grant Russell (bass) and John Arnesen (drums). There are also some spoken word passages from Prof. George Walkden. Listening to the album, there's no credit for bass clarinet, but I'm sure I spotted some and assume it's from Tom.

The fine sounds of contemporary jazz and classical music combine in Tom's writing and playing - sometimes together on the same track.

All in all, Here, There Be Monsters is a fascinating album that is well worth a listen and if you can get to any of the Ilumetris gigs in the autumn, they're bound to be entertaining and perhaps more than a little thought-provoking. You can catch them here:

3 October: Low Four Studios, Manchester
16 October: Revelation, Ashford
17 October: The BeBop Club, Bristol
9 November: Jazz at St Giles', Oxford
14 November, The Tung Auditorium, Liverpool
15 November: Zeffirellis, Ambleside

To Book Tickets – Please Visit: https://www.tomthorp.co.uk/ilumetris/

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