Voices of Bishara Live at "mu" Tom Skinner

• 1 Bishara (Live) 15:05
• 2 Red 2 (Live) 05:20
• 3 The Journey (Live) 07:49
• 4 The Day After Tomorrow (Live) 05:56
• 5 Oasis (Live) 20:18
• 6 Camille (Live) 07:51
• 7 Happiness (Live) 08:39
• Total Runtime 01:10:58

Info for Voices of Bishara Live at "mu"

Voices of Bishara is Skinner’s first solo studio album under his own name – with inspiration found in the album title of Abdul Wadud’s 1978 album ‘By Myself’, pressed on Wadud’s label, Bishara.

Voices of Bishara is a classic sounding record that connects backwards to Skinner’s 2017 Hello Skinny collaboration with American composer and Arthur Russell-collaborator Peter Zummo on ‘Watermelon Sun’. It links sideways to Makaya McCraven’s beat maker-inspired treatments of jazz sessions, and it offers a musical bridge to Sons of Kemet’s most meditative moments.

“Voices of Bishara is one of the top three jazz albums of 2022 so far and it would take the second comings of John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Horace Silver and Lee Morgan to threaten to dislodge it," exclaims All About Jazz in a five-star review. "Voices of Bishara is a terrific affirmation of what makes Skinner so interesting as both a drummer and now a composer," says Treble, naming it the Album of the Week. "It’s a thrilling, lively record and one of the best jazz releases this year."

The Voice of Bishara live band, comprised of esteemed names Chelsea Carmichael, Robert Stillman, Tom Herbert and Kareem Dayes have been touring the project over the past year, the shows sculpted around timeless and deeply emotional music that contains masses of movement and exceptional harmonic depth and texture. The sets sweep and soar through sound-worlds, rich in musicality, always anchored by the deep doubling of cello and bass, alongside Skinner’s percussive, magic, drumming skills.

Voices of Bishara began life when Tom Skinner asked some musician friends to join him for a Played Twice session at London’s Brilliant Corners. These regular sessions had a simple format: play a classic album in full through the venue’s audiophile system and then have a live ensemble improvise a response. The night in question focused on drummer Tony Williams’ 1964 Blue Note album, Life Time, and the music conjured that night inspired Skinner to write an album’s worth of new music.

Skinner recorded an album of that music with a cellist, bass, and two saxophonists subsequently putting it aside, occasionally bringing it out for some attention in between his many other creative projects. Gradually, the record began to take shape as he embraced the studio recordings and accentuated their idiosyncrasies.

“This record is an attempt to put something truthful into the world, through collaboration and community, at a time of rising dishonesty and disinformation,” says Skinner. “Bishara is the bringer of good news, and by bringing the musicians on this album who are very dear to me together, we pay homage to that idea by collectively spreading light where there is increasing darkness.”

Based in London, Tom Skinner has been a vital and central figure in the underground music scene throughout the last twenty years. He is presently a member of The Smile with Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. Their debut album A light for attracting attention was released to critical acclaim earlier this year, and the trio tours the United States this November and December.

In 2012, Skinner, under the alias Hello Skinny, released his self-titled debut solo record. MOJO described it as “existing in that fertile zone where jazz, dub, techno and avant-pop deliquesce into an exhilarating free-for-all.” The second Hello Skinny album, Watermelon Sun, released on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label in 2017, featured a collaboration with acclaimed veteran New York composer and trombonist Peter Zummo.

Skinner is also an original member of award-winning band Sons of Kemet alongside bandleader and frequent collaborator Shabaka Hutchings. Their third album, Your Queen Is a Reptile, garnered worldwide critical acclaim, including a Mercury Prize 2018 nomination, while their latest album, Black to The Future, received a five-star review from NME, which deemed the album to be the band at their “most dynamic and urgent.”

Skinner has performed and recorded with notable musicians such as Jonny Greenwood, Graham Coxon, Grace Jones, Kano, Zero 7, Floating Points, The Invisible, and many more. In addition to his performing career, Skinner curates a bi-monthly live music night at The Pickle Factory in East London and hosts a monthly radio show on Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM.

Tom Skinner, drums & percussion
Tom Herbert, bass
Kareem Dayes, cello
Chelsea Carmichael, tenor saxophone, flute
Robert Stillman, tenor saxophone

Recorded live at “mu” London by Juan Blanco on January 18th and 19th, 2023

Tom Skinner
London based drummer, composer and producer Tom Skinner has been a vital and central figure in the burgeoning underground music scene in London throughout the last 20 years. From his early days in Tomorrows Warriors, forming the band Jade Fox with school friends Tom Herbert and Dave Okumu, through to touring and recording with Zero 7, Matthew Herbert, Floating Points, Eska and Mulatu Astatke, Tom is constantly evolving across a broad spectrum of music, ever pushing his musical limits in different directions, always on the hunt for new sounds inspired by the music, people and places he’s found along the way.

In 2012, Tom released his debut self-titled solo record under the alias Hello Skinny to critical acclaim, MOJO Magazine describing it as “…existing in that fertile zone where jazz, dub, techno and avant-pop deliquesce into an exhilarating free-for-all.” The second Hello Skinny album Watermelon Sun, released on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label in 2017, featured a collaboration with acclaimed veteran New York composer and trombonist Peter Zummo.

Tom is an original member of award winning band Sons Of Kemet alongside band-leader and frequent collaborator Shabaka Hutchings. Their third album Your Queen Is A Reptile [Impulse! 2018] garnered worldwide critical acclaim including a Mercury Prize 2018 nomination. Their latest album Black To The Future [Impulse! 2021] has been met with rave reviews, NME giving it 5 stars, claiming the album to be the band at their “most dynamic and urgent”.

Tom works regularly with legendary grime MC Kano, featuring on his 2016 Mercury Prize nominated album Made In The Manor and forming an integral part of Kano’s live band. He is also a third of London jazz trio Wildflower, alongside bassist Leon Brichard and saxophonist Idris Rahman as well as a founding member of the Owiny Sigoma Band, an inter-continental collaboration between musicians from London and Kenya’s Luo tribe.

In addition to his illustrious career in creating and performing music, Tom has curated his own bi-monthly live music night at The Pickle Factory in East London and hosts a monthly radio show on Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM.

Tom has performed and recorded with many notable musicians such as Jonny Greenwood, Graham Coxon, Grace Jones, Jarvis Cocker, Joy Crookes, Melt Yourself Down, Matthew Herbert, Zero 7, Floating Points, Beth Orton, Eska, Mulatu Astatke, The Invisible, John Surman, Batida, Alexander Hawkins, Byron Wallen, Steve Beresford, Toshio Matsuura and many more.

This album contains no booklet.