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Tom Wetmore
About Me
“An asset to the age of modern music,”* Tom Wetmore is an innovative
pianist, composer, and bandleader working in the New York City area.
Since 2005, Tom has been a regular on the NYC scene, performing in
clubs and other venues from Harlem to Brooklyn (and everything in
between)—leading a variety of top-flight groups, including his traditional
jazz piano trio and genre-defying sextet, the Tom Wetmore Electric
Experiment. His debut album The Desired Effect (2011), released on
Crosstown Records, embraces the strikingly eclectic nature of his
musical sensibilities.
Borrowing just as much from Bach as from Miles Davis, Tom has long
embraced the pursuit of that rare breed of musical expression that
defies musical boundaries. Though well-grounded in classic jazz—
having completed studies with such traditional masters as Mulgrew
Miller and Harold Mabern—Tom has delved even deeper into the more
experimental elements in improvised music, completing extensive work
with such modern innovators as James Weidman and Ran Blake.
His work with Blake—the Avant Garde legend who practically invented
the notion of combining classical music with jazz (in the 1950s)—
challenged Tom to look past all stylistic boundaries and, through
exhaustive ear training, strive to eliminate any disconnect between his
musical ideas and his ability to express them on the piano.
Just as comfortable composing as performing, Tom has made his
writing an integral part of his creative process. Having studied jazz
composition with Cecil Bridgewater and Jim McNeely and modern
classical composition with Jeffrey Kresky, Tom has developed a style
that combines the advanced harmony and rhythm of jazz and classical
with the visceral groove of funk and other popular music. He has been a
finalist for the ASCAP Young Composers award.
Tom has performed or recorded in various formats with such leading
musicians as Jaleel Shaw, Michael League, Garrett Brown, TK Blue,
Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Brad Williams, Justin Sabaj, Bernard
Pretty Purdie, and many more.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a Master’s in
Jazz Studies from William Paterson University. He has also studied at
Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory.
*Vardan Ovsepian