Upon the release of Kaleidoscopic Visions , the second album that Tom Skinner has made under his own name, the drummer-composer will be 45 years-old. Skinner is already in possession of an incredible career—two decades as a key member of London’s jazz community, including co-founding the mighty Sons of Kemet; in-demand collaborator to a who’s-who of famed electronic producers and noted rhythmalists; purveyor of his own left-of-center musical pursuits (see: Hello Skinny); and, most recently, a budding experimental-rock star (see: The Smile). Off-the-clock, Skinner is a life-long Londoner, husband and father, keeper of poly-generational sonic memories, a soulful creature attuned to old and new relationships.

The Kaleidoscopic Visions that form Skinner’s view from the bridge between his past and future take all these roles and details into account. Where on his bandleader debut, 2022’s star-studded quintet piece Voices of Bishara, Skinner used Abdul Wadud 1978 solo cello masterpiece By Myself as inspiration for an album of post-session edits; Kaleidoscopic Visions leans into “more personal,” fully composed pieces, interpreted by his band’s improvised choices, a timeline of life reconciled in his creative subconscious.

A meditative atmosphere encircles the dodecaphonic precision of his writing, refreshed by Stillman and Carmichael’s interwoven airy harmonies. Dayes’ cello and Herbert’s bass underpin the melodic figures, harkening somewhat to the “naturally flowing composites” sound of Bishara. Yet the music’s emotional intentions seem a world away from its predecessor, a product of listening less to outside inspiration, than to one’s internal insights.

Kaleidoscopic Visions chronicles the importance of considering the view from the middle of one’s own life, taking stock alongside memories and family, heroes and friends new and old. Its beauty is not extreme but expert, outside of crisis but informed by it, a document of what the feelings, here and now, sound like.

Tom Skinner, “Kaleidoscopic Visions”

(Brownswood / International Anthem)
By Piotr Orlov