Bassist, composer, performing and recording artist Tomaso Semioli releases his first full-length collection, GROOVE N.Y.C., a song-cycle of D.I.Y. instrumental tracks inspired by the rhythms of New York City.
Tomaso studied bass with Ron McClure, renowned for his work with Charles Lloyd, Blood Sweat and Tears, Quest, and Joe Henderson, among others. At the University of Miami, Tom majored in Communications, with a Studio Music and Jazz Instrumental minor. He did his post-grad work at CBGB, The Bitter End, The Whiskey, and similar establishments. As a bassist, Tom’s most active time was the 1980s wherein he toiled away in many bands, and did session work aplenty in the era before digital home recording – spanning demos, to theater/radio/TV/film soundtracks, commercials, etc. By the 1990s, Tom was a working writer, as it’s much easier to transport a notebook and a digital recorder rather than two basses and an Ampe/Hartke/Acoustic rig.
Every track was composed and performed by Tomaso at his home studio in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Earlier this year, Tomaso released two volumes of AMBIENT SKETCHES – an assemblage of brief instrumental vignettes composed specifically for his art and photographic collages.
Each cut on GROOVE N.Y.C. is motivated by the neighborhoods Tomaso regularly traverses. Variations on many of the musical motifs heard on GROOVE N.Y.C. can also be heard live with Tomaso’s ensemble SPAGHETTI EASTERN DUB (SEED) – a musical offshoot of Spaghetti Eastern Music.
SEED is a dub/work music/improvisatory musical collective which features bandleader Salvatore Cataldi (guitar / EFX), Dawoud “The Renegade Sufi” Kringle (Dautar / EFC), Dirk Drazen (drums/percussion), and bassist Tomaso, along with special guests.
While listening to the album, you can envision a tapestry of urban beats, melodies, and textures reflecting New York City’s diverse, dynamic aural environment…traffic buzz, cooing pigeons, pedestrian chatter, whirling deliveristas, hissing of Central Park summer lawns, subway train rumbles and squawks. For more information on Tomaso Semioli, click here.
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