2022 · Album
Voices of Bishara
Released: 4 November 2022 · Labels: Nonesuch Records, International Anthem Recording Company, Brownswood Recordings · Personnel: Tom Skinner (drums), Tom Herbert (bass), Kareem Dayes (cello), Nubya Garcia (wind instruments), Shabaka Hutchings (reeds)
Drums and Voices in Conversation
Skinner builds around the drums, letting horns and strings rise and fall like voices in debate.
Voices of Bishara arrived with Tom Skinner at the center of a deliberately chosen ensemble: Tom Herbert on bass, Kareem Dayes on cello, Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings handling the reed and wind work. The session brought these players together to explore what happens when a drummer leads rather than follows — Skinner's rhythmic thinking becomes the architecture, not the decoration. This is an unusual framing for a jazz album. Most records let soloists take turns; here the drums propose, and the other instruments respond, overlap, sometimes agree and sometimes push back.
What distinguishes Voices of Bishara from typical small-group jazz is texture. The cello anchors the low end alongside Herbert's bass, creating density without heaviness. Garcia and Hutchings trade melodic space but rarely both occupy it at once, which keeps the music from feeling crowded even when all five are active. Skinner's approach favors open space and clarity — he doesn't bombard the mix, he shapes it. Several tracks move slowly, letting individual sounds breathe. Others tighten into grooves that feel almost orchestral in how the parts interlock.
The album earned strong recognition on release, with critics responding to both the compositional clarity and the restraint. It stands as a genuinely inventive statement about what a drummer's leadership can sound like when given the right band. This is not decoration around a soloist; it is architecture, and architecture requires listening.
Who's playing
Tom Herbertdouble bass
Tom Skinnerdrums
Kareem Dayescello
Nubya Garciawind instruments
Shabaka Hutchingsreeds
Where next?
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
