Tom Nicholas

Thomas L. "Tom" Nicholas (born March 8, 1938 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist .

Nicholas played the cello for a short time during his school days in Philadelphia before turning to drums. As a teenager, he played in Jimmy McGriff's rhythm 'n' blues band . After military service, he moved to San Francisco , where he made records with Kenny Burrell and Michael Howell , but also worked with Dewey Redman , John Handy , Pharoah Sanders and Eddie Moore .

In the early 1970s Nicholas moved to New York , where he worked regularly in the groups of George Coleman and Eddie Moore's Space Shuttle Omnibus , but also recorded with Roland Prince and Kenny Barron . In 1977 he moved to Europe and worked with Lou Blackburn's group Mombasa and above all with the Family of Percussion initiated by Peter Giger .

From his new residence in Darmstadt , he went on tour with Abdullah Ibrahim , Özay Fecht , Albert Mangelsdorff , Archie Shepp , Amina Claudine Myers , Wolfgang Lackerschmid , Carla Bley , Monty Waters , but also with the Vienna Art Orchestra . He played at the Montreux Jazz Festival , the North Sea Jazz Festival , the Burghausen Jazz Week , the Leverkusen Jazz Days , but also in Pori (Finland).

Nicholas currently works with founded with Anke Schimpf band Black & White Cooperation with which he presented several albums, as well as Jürgen Wuchners band and the group of Gambian kora player Aziz Kujateh . He also gives workshops and private lessons.

Web links

• Brief portrait
• Black & White Cooperation
• Tom Nicholas at Discogs (English)