Cambridge / London based keyboard player Tom O’Grady has already achieved a hell of a lot since he decided to concentrate on music full-time some time ago. Having already graced the stage at a number of prestigious UK venues, including the infamous London Jazz Cafe and the IndigO2 arena, as well as getting a festival under his belt with a performance at The Big Chill, it’s hard to believe that this man isn’t on some sort of mission to conquer the world by 2015! But chatting to him, it soon becomes clear that his passion lies in his playing. Ably assisted by a grounded personality and the ability to notate and play nearly all music he listens to, the opportunities he’s earned so far have been due to his talent as a musician first, not the people he knows. As such we’re pleased to welcome Tom to Floripa this coming Sunday, as he brings his new project Revolution 88 to The Jazz Meet, and bringing with them a sound steeped in the Rhodes led jazz funk of the 1970s. We caught up with Tom ahead of the gig to discuss his musical beginnings, a little about this new project and his fascination with the work of one Herbert Jeffrey Hancock.
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Morning Tom, first off, tell us a bit about your musical background? When did you decide you wanted to pursue the music thing seriously?
My musical background was classical – both my parents play the piano and my Mum is a piano teacher. I started learning with her when I was about four and a half and then I went for lessons with a pianist called Julian Hellaby when I got a bit older – he is very inspiring as a teacher and makes me think hard about what I do and how I play. He also introduced me to pianists like Oscar Peterson. I grew up in a house where I’d hear Liszt, Prokoviev, Brahms, Ravel – that kind of music, every day in the living room. It wasn’t until I was probably 15 that I discovered Jamiroquai – and shortly after that, Herbie Hancock. That music resonated with me so much; I loved the keyboard sounds so much and I’ve never looked back since then really. Music has always been my first love but I have been pulled in other directions too – I enjoyed Maths at school (my Dad’s a Maths teacher) and ended up studying Engineering at Cambridge; at that time, I figured that I could always pursue music seriously ‘on the side’ whilst doing a degree like that. After a few years of an Engineering job in audio restoration and teaching Maths, I came to the conclusion that I still wasn’t getting enough music and that I wanted to *be* a musician. So, I guess my employment status has changed but I’ve been serious about music ever since I first sat at the piano.
It seems you started out playing keys on Kirk Degiorgio’s Beauty Room project, which was championed by everyone from Gilles Peterson, to Patrick Forge to Michael Rutten. How did that little collab come about?
My first high profile gig was with Kirk Degiorgio and Jinadu’s Beauty Room project. I first got in touch with Kirk when I was still at school because I was interested in a track from a Downbeat flexidisc that featured Herbie Hancock advertising the Rhodes piano (he’d brought it out on a Soul Of Science compilation). It’s fairly common to Herbie collectors now thanks to the internet, but it wasn’t back then – we’re both Herbie nuts! Kirk found out I played keys and that I had perfect pitch, so he started asking me to come and record keys for him. The first one we did was a remix of a Phil Ranelin track from the Tribe label. Whilst I was at Kirk’s studio he would play me loads of incredible music and so I have a lot to thank him for in terms of record-collecting knowledge. Whilst we were working together, Kirk was also working with the singer Jinadu and they came up with a remix of a Jan Hammer song, ‘Don’t You Know’. I played keys on that and sometimes, in Kirk’s studio, he’d play me chord progressions he was trying to come up with and I’d suggest unconventional ways of joining them. Kirk and Jinadu are both heavily into Steely Dan and Kirk particularly was finding out everything he could about them, like their characteristic use of what they called the ‘mu’ major chord. Jinadu has a unique talent for building up beautiful overdubbed harmonies with his singing and it was through those times that Kirk and Jinadu realised they were onto something in terms of what they could produce together melodically, harmony and production-wise. And that’s (I think) how the Beauty Room was born – I think I fitted in with my love of the Rhodes piano, which features heavily on both their albums.
Did you think at the time that the album would be so well received? What was it like taking the project on the road and playing it live at places like Maida Vale (For Gilles Peterson’s former Worldwide Show on Radio 1) and The Big Chill Festival at Eastnor? That must have been an awe-inspiring experience.
Those were very exciting times, getting a shout out on Gilles’ show, recording at Maida Vale for the Worldwide live sessions, playing at the Big Chill on the main stage; definitely awe-inspiring. It didn’t really sink in until afterwards because at the time, I was concerned with getting everything right and doing the best job I could. I wasn’t surprised that the album was so well-received because I really believed in the music. The same goes for the second album too I hope!
So moving forward, we understand Revolution 88 is your new project. Can you tell us a little about the band and what to expect on Sunday at Floripa? How did you come up with that name?
I really like having my own project (actually I think it’s essential for most musicians) and it had been a long time since I had run anything myself. I knew last year that I wanted to put a band together but I spent quite a while figuring out exactly what I was trying to do. I love Herbie’s ‘Head Hunters’ album (I still listen to it very regularly) but I also love Don Blackman’s self-titled album and Matthew Larkin Cassell’s albums from back in the 70s – I started thinking that I wanted to write vocal music inspired by them but when I tried, I wasn’t particularly happy with the results and it also raised the problem of having a lead singer. I had a rethink and I decided to concentrate on what I thought were my strengths – keyboard-driven funk. This project is inspired by Herbie Hancock but also by current musicians such as Kaidi Tatham and Dan Goldman. Kaidi and Dan are both good friends and also absolutely incredible players. I make a point of seeing them live with their bands whenever I’m able to – they play the kind of high-energy funk I want to play.
‘Revolution 88’ doesn’t relate to the United Nations Security Council, whatever Google might tell you! I was reading the Headhunters book by Stephen Pond and finding out how somebody like Herbie perceives harmony. To paraphrase both Herbie and McCoy Tyner, it doesn’t matter where you take something harmonically (like playing ‘out’), it’s how you resolve it that matters. I wanted absolute harmonic freedom to experiment with that so I prioritised rhythm in the band and went for a percussionist rather than a guitarist. So that’s where the ‘Resolution’ comes from – the ’88’ refers to the number of keys I have available to me.. And most importantly, I’m relieved that the band name isn’t some lame pun based on the word ‘funk’.
I set about asking friends who I knew were just right for this band and I am very lucky that they all said yes – Afrika Green is a fantastic drummer, she grooves hard and loves the same sort of music I do (she also played in Goldie’s band for his TV series back in 2011), Ric Elsworth is a fantastic percussionist, always bringing ideas to my compositions – and Tiago Coimbra is the best bass player I’ve ever been lucky enough to play with as well as being an old friend. At the Jazz Meet gig, we also have two very special guests; George Crowley is on sax – he is a superb sax player and heavily involved with the ‘Jazz at the Oxford’ night. We also have the lovely, very talented Milena Lainovic singing on a couple of tracks (including the only cover) – she was an obvious choice because aside from being a great singer, she already knew the cover I suggested (and again, we love the same music).
So the truth is, I can’t tell you exactly what to expect on Sunday – nobody knows what will happen! All I know is, we’ll be playing my own compositions and one solitary cover – it should all be Rhodes-drenched grooves and have hints of Herbie, Kaidi and Dan Goldman!
Excellent! So clearly you’re quite heavily into Herbie Hancock’s music, even going as far as to transcribe many of his tunes on your YouTube channel. What initially got you into Herbie’s music in the first place and if you could pick just one of his LPs as a favourite, what would it be?
I got into Herbie through discovering ‘Head Hunters’ in the school CD library – I very quickly set about acquiring everything he’s ever done after hearing that! It’s impossible to choose a favourite album of his but I’ll come as close as I can by saying I would have to keep ‘Head Hunters’ if I was only allowed one (what Paul Jackson and Harvey Mason achieved with Herbie as a rhythm section on that album has never been matched in my opinion), BUT I think Herbie, Fred Catero and David Rubinson captured the most sublime suitcase Rhodes sound on his ‘Sunlight’ album. Just listen to ‘Come Running To Me’ which is a symphonic, synthesized masterpiece – the Rhodes on that just bathes all the other recorded sounds in warmth.
We’ve heard you’ve also famously shared a stage twice with the soul legend that is Don Blackman when he played in the UK last year. How did you meet Don and is there anyone out there now. you’d really like to work with?
Meeting and playing with Don was one of the highlights of my life so far, definitely. They say you should never meet your heroes but Don is the counter-example; he’s so genuine and humble that he will always reply to people who send him messages. I originally got in touch with him to chat about his music and about Weldon Irvine but we kept on writing to each other and eventually he invited me to come to see him at the Jazz Cafe one year. The next year it happened again but this time he’d seen a YouTube video I’d done of his piano solo on ‘Heart’s Desire’ – he dragged me out of the crowd onto the stage and I played it alongside him. Definitely a dream come true – just imagine the risk he took with his own reputation getting me up on stage. He showed a hell of a lot of trust in me – I really respect Don for that. I can’t think of anybody else I’d dream of getting to play with in quite the same way – how do you top playing with Don Blackman?!!
Finally, what does the future hold for you? Do you have aspirations  to work on an album with the band or are have your got any other projects you’re working on that are due to be released you could let us know about?
My plan is to record an album with Revolution 88 but follow the philosophy of the Headhunters when they first started out. I want to rehearse the music, gig it, find out how it goes down – and only when it’s really ready will I take it to the studio. Aside from that, the Beauty Room are on the scene again with their great second album, I’m playing with a very talented soul singer called Myles Sanko – his first 7 tracks are already available and he will be officially releasing a single later this month along with a music video. I’m also playing with a group back in Cambridge called The 3rd Eyebrow (some very complex original jazz funk music along with some well-chosen covers). And I’m always on the look-out for more recording and playing.
Thanks Tom, it’s been a pleasure. Look forward to seeing the live experience in action on Sunday!
Interview by Rob Coley (@robcoley)
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Catch Tom and his new band Revolution 88 live on stage at Floripa this Sunday 21st October, 5pm-12am with DJ support from Jazz Meet resident Sid Ford and very special guest selector, Raggy from the Off Limits Radio Show.  We’ve also got a jazz-related feature film lined for 3.30pm as part of our Domingo Cine Club in association with Floripa (check with venue for this week’s title),  Brazilian inspired roasts till 9.30pm and of the exotic cocktail list and happy hour drinks deals between 5pm-7pm. What more could you need eh? And the best bit… it’s  FREE all day!
We catch up with this Sunday’s live guest Tom O’Grady as he talks about new project Resolution 88… Check it out: http://t.co/iRRfCxz3
RT @thejazzmeet: We catch up with this Sunday’s live guest Tom O’Grady as he talks about new project Resolution 88… Check it out: http://t.co/iRRfCxz3
RT @thejazzmeet: We catch up with this Sunday’s live guest Tom O’Grady as he talks about new project Resolution 88… Check it out: http://t.co/iRRfCxz3
@cestalin Hi Cecilia, it’s Tom O’Grady’s 🙂 http://t.co/wpFkYenB