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24.2.2022 Birdland, Hamburg Peter Thomas Quartett feat.Emcy Seyer
18.-20.3.2022 Wolfgang Schlüter Symposium, JazzHall, Hamburg
Peter Thomas
Creating Monster
In late spring 2015, after a series of personal and professional set backs, I decided to take some time out, left Germany and went to the United States. After living in New York City for two months, playing at various jam sessions in the Jazz Clubs down from the West Village up to Washington Hights every night, always carrying the vibraphone on my back, I spent my last couple of weeks heading out on a road trip from the East to the West Coast.
During this journey, I encountered a country still deeply suffering from the economic crisis of 2008, a society with a growing gap between the rich and the poor and a strangely vanishing middle class. A land full of undercurrent racism, not only between different ethnic minorities, but also within religions and genders, sometimes leaving me as a European feeling alienated in this familiar, yet so foreign culture.
Nevertheless everybody I encountered, even when struggling with serious financial challenges, remained very light-hearted and openminded. Nobody ever complained about their situation. They simply enjoyed the moments we spent together. These guys were full of optimism, generosity, joy for life and the mere will of living in the Here and Now, that left a deep impact inside of my Soul. Some encounters led to friendships, which remain to this very day.
Most of the tracks on the album originate from this voyage. But without the artists, I had the privilege of working with and without the kind people I met on the road, inviting me into their homes and giving me a place to rest, none of them would have made it on the record. So this is my way to pay my respect to that congregation.
Bio
1968 – born in Fuerstenfeldbruck, Germany
1988 – High School Diploma
1991 – Studies at the Latin Percussion School, Munich (Diploma)
1992 – Studies at the Vocational School of Music, Krumbach
1993 – Studies at the College of Music and Theater, Hannover
1994 – 2001 – Teacher at the Youth Music School, Laatzen
1999 – College Degree
2000 – Lectureship at the College of Music and Theater, Hannover
since 2001 – Principal Marimba Player at the Theater im Hafen, Hamburg for Disney’s The Lion King
since 2002 – Lessons in Jazz Vibraphone with Prof. Wolfgang Schlueter (NDR Big Band)
2012 – Studies in Jazz Improvisation with Gary Burton (Berklee Online)
2016 – Music Production Degree at Berklee Online
2018 - Studies in Jazz Improvisations with David Friedman (Berlin)
2020 - Private Studies with Warren Wolf
Private Studies and Jazz Workshops with Chad Lefkowitz-Brown
2021 - Private Studies with Melissa Aldana
Projects
1988 – Various productions at Neue Buehne Bruck, Fuerstenfeldbruck
1992 – Various productions as musician and composer for Theater im Ballsaal, Bonn
1996 – Contestant as Solo Percussion Player at the National Competition of Deutscher Musikrat, Bonn
1997 – Collaborations with the composers Adriana Hölszky, Steffen Schleiermacher and George Crumb
1998 – Internship as Percussionist at Stadttheater Hildesheim
2000 – Television and Broadcasting productions, as well as CD recordings with Ensemble Modern, Frankfurt and Linos Ensemble, Köln (WDR); World Premieres with composers Anette Schluenz (Deutscher Pavillon) and Harald Weiss (Reise in die Nacht) in cooperation with ARTE for the EXPO 2000, Hannover
CD recording "Harald Weiss: Reise in die Nacht"
since 2001 – Principal Marimba Player Disney’s The Lion King, Hamburg
2002 – 2012 – Substitute for several productions of STAGE, i.ex. Cats, Theater am Potsdamer Platz, Berlin; Mamma Mia, Operettenhaus, Hamburg; Tarzan, Theater Neue Flora, Hamburg
2002 – CD recording "Der König der Löwen – Das Broadway Musical im Hamburger Hafen"
2005 – Projects with the Efim Jourist Sextett and the renowned German actor Dominique Horwitz
2006 – Broadcasting production with pianist Eva Kupiec and Ensemble Resonanz (NDR)
2007 – Broadcasting and CD production with KLASSIK RADIO, including the nationwide tour (Die grosse Welt der Filmmusik)
2008 – Concerts with Grammy Award Winner Joe Gallardo
2009 – TV production with the Tony Uthoff Big Band - composing/arranging assignements commissionend by STAGE (Best Of Musical Tour)
2010 – 2013 – Member of the Lex Bronkowitz Orchestra
2011 – Classic meets Pop in the O2 World Arena, Hamburg
2012 – CD recording "Strictly Gravy – The Lex Bronkowitz Orchestra plays the music of Frank Zappa"
2013 – Concerts and collaborations with Dame Shirley Bassey and Markus Stockhausen (world premiere of his work Das Erwachende Herz) – various productions and concerts with the NDR Big Band and award winning Composer/Arranger Wolf Kerschek
2013 – CD recording "Wolf Kerschek: Metropolitan Visions"
2013 – CD recording "Wolf Kerschek: My Polish Heart"
2014 - African Voicings Concert at Jazz Open, Hamburg
2015 – USA stay
2016 – Sampling and Recording Sessions for Disney’s The Lion King, Shanghai
2017 – Release of the 1st Solo Album "Vibzclub: Monster"
2018 - Sound Engineer, Co-Producer, Editor and Guest Artist (Marimba) on Wolfgang Schlüters last CD recording “Wolfgang Schlüter: For You”
2019 - Sampling and Recording Sessions for Disney’s Frozen (US Tour)
2021 - Release of the 2nd Solo album Vibzclub: “Outside”
2022 - Solo Performance at the Wolfgang Schlueter Symposium, Hamburg
Press
Peter Thomas Quintett
The Peter Thomas Quintett is located in Hamburg as well as in Munich. It was founded in 2014 and is basically the acoustic version of the Vibzclub project. The Quintetts setlist contains Jazz Standards from the Great American Songbook as well as contemporary tunes, all arranged for this special ensemble by the bandleader.
Peter Thomas Quintett
Peter Thomas - vib
David Mechsner - fh
Stefan Maus - ts
Christian Niehues – b
Moritz Hamm – dr
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