Review by David Nind

Videos from the Masterclass
Video One   Video Two

With a CV featuring names such as Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney it is no surprise that there was a massive buzz around this masterclass. Only one night before, Ian Thomas had been playing Madison Square Gardens with Clapton, and now he was heading to the Institute to give an insight into his world.

Ian started the evening with a quick introduction and then jumped straight into an up-tempo Bebop number, accompanied throughout by the phenomenal Laurence Cottle on bass. The tune showed off Ian's co-ordination, finesse, speed and creativity, but most impressively his sheer musicality. The interaction between he and Laurence, as they played off each other for ideas, dynamics and structure was amazing to watch.

The evening was extremely relaxed, and Ian took time to answer questions and share his wisdom. He told of the importance of listening to other musicians in the group and how learning songs by ear, as opposed to cheat sheets, could lead to a freer and more exciting performance.

Ian also spoke of how his career got started, his experience of the music business, how to approach a song, as well as sharing his views on current music. He painted a good picture of what life as an in-demand musician is really like.

The whole evening was littered with great performances from Ian and Laurence, both showing incredible versatility. Ian made clear that the attitude, "If you can play jazz, you can play anything," is not entirely correct: every style has different demands and should be studied just as seriously.

Overall, what stuck out was the importance of playing with heart and soul: something Ian clearly does whenever he sits down on a kit.