aledthomastrio: Press

[Review of debut album "We Should Be There By Now" by
Fly Global Music Culture March 2007]


No, not that Aled (Jones), this Aled delivers some of the best lines in vocal jazz since the heyday of Mose Allison.

With song titles like ‘Chasing Rainbows’, I have to admit to going through the motions on putting this CD on, only to be pleasantly proved wrong again and again. His uniquely British sense of ironic detachment and self-deprecation, teamed with a choice of subject matter ranging from motorway traffic to playing to empty houses and not getting paid and of course hopeless relationships is just plain laugh-out-loud funny.

If the lyrics are witty celebrations of life in the wrong lane, this tight trio provides subtly clever musical accompaniment. Aled displays a sure grasp of how to musically emphasise and undermine at will his lyrics. No doubt 15 years playing in hotel lobbies and the like has left Aled with a sandpaper-dry sense of humour and a sure grasp of the relationship between chords and emotions.

The Feelgood Factor delivers ten classic songs from the chronically unsuccessful doppelgänger of Jamie Cullum. How ironic if this album made the trio a household name; could happen, it is that good. On the other hand, as the eponymous opener says, “the decision has been made. Thank you for the music but you are sure not, sure not, getting paid.”

[Newspaper article about The Post Office Song - Hornsey Journal Feb 2009]


Aled's song mocks post office queues
nlnews@archant.co.uk
26 February 2009

A JAZZ musician has sent a "poison pen letter" to the Post Office - in the form of a satirical song - after being forced to stand in ever-increasing queues.

The Post Office Song is the work of Aled Thomas, 37, who has a studio in Coleridge Road, Crouch End, and it has gained an online following.

He was inspired to write the ditty about the Tottenham Lane branch he uses regularly.

The musician said: "We've all seen people out of the door. They're carrying parcels and stuff, actually having to be outside the door in a queue."

The song tells of an afternoon when a Post Office worker queues for hours to see a customer in his front room, before getting to the front, being asked to fill out a form and being sent to the back of the line again.

"I walked past there after I'd written it and thought, I'd like to be able to play the people in the queue the song. I thought it would make my queue time a bit easier!" said Mr Thomas.

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green and long-time campaigner against Post Office closures, wrote to Mr Thomas saying she was a fan of the song.

Six branches across Haringey closed last June despite mass opposition, including those in Weston Park and Ferme Park Road.

A survey carried out by the MP in the five months after the closures revealed waiting times of up to 35 minutes at the Tottenham Lane branch.

Response to the song has been so positive it may feature on the second album of Mr Thomas' band, The Aled Thomas Trio.

[Review of album Baggage Holiday by JazzReview June 2010]


Featured Artist: Aled Thomas Trio

CD Title: Baggage Holiday

Year: 2010

Record Label: Itchy Knee Records

Style: Jazz Vocals

Musicians: Aled Thomas (piano and vocals), Jasper Morrissey (drums), and Dave Jenkins (electric fretless bass and double bass)

Review: Aled Thomas sounds like he could use a hug. Lucky for us that means he has written some good songs.
His trio opens the CD with the title track, a clever number about checking in your emotional baggage at the airport and sending it away for a week. Thomas holds out hope that his troubles will get lost for good. “If there’s one place they’re likely to lose your baggage, it’s Heathrow Terminal Five,” sings the British pianist and vocalist.

Thomas is a good antidote to those young jazz singers who strike a pose that’s too smooth and too slick. While they may be hip, Thomas revels in being every man. He’s put upon, weary, and funny. If he traded in his piano bench for a sit-com, he would play the acerbic office mate.

If he had to be compared to another songwriter, Randy Newman might be a good choice. Both are adept at capturing the spirit of a particular moment in time.

On “The Post Office Song,” Thomas sings about a post office worker coming to visit him at home. Thomas naturally makes him wait in line before informing him that he has to fill out a form and then rejoin the queue. He then goes to lunch, leaving the post office worker to wait for him. It’s a revenge song that could easily fall flat, but Thomas delivers the lines with just the right touch of humor.

Thomas has writing credits on 11 of the dozen songs on the CD. The exception is a spirited cover of Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies.” It’s a nice response to the troubles he sings about in the other numbers.



Tracks: Baggage Holiday, Every Street, Not Here Tonight, Background Music, Function Band, Nagging Blues, Your Name Upon It, Wake Me Up, Archway Snooker Club, I Won't Let Them, Blue Skies, and The Post Office Song

Artist's Website: http://www.aledthomastrio.com

Reviewed by: Donna Kimura