Birdland Cafe Jazz Duo

Members:

Tom Jackson is a clarinetist and saxophonist active in London and Europe, largely dedicated to the fields of jazz, contemporary classical music and free improvisation. He maintains an extensive and eclectic performance schedule and has performed throughout Europe, Australia and Hong Kong.

Tom has performed as principal clarinet with many orchestras including New London Sinfonia and British Sinfonietta and National Chamber Orchestra of Wales. He has worked with various contemporary chamber groups such as Apartment House, Lontano, Plus-Minus, ChampdAction, Ictus, Splinter Cell and Cardiff New Music Collective, which he co-founded. He is an active session musician, playing for albums and live shows. He has recently completed a PhD at Canterbury Christ Church University on relational aesthetics and free improvisation.

Tom is vastly experienced in teaching all ages and is regularly consulted on the publication of pedagogical material. He is currently preparing four books of etudes for clarinet and saxophone for 360 Music. He is the recording artist for Schott’s Romantic Clarinet and Klezmer Clarinet series.

Ervin Szabo is a Hungarian guitarist with a very different background compared to Tom. Although he started learning to play on guitar when he was 6, his road to become a musician was much curved. After he graduated in a university as a historian and journalist he started to work in newspapers, he got a job as the press chief of Ministry of Youth and Sport in Hungary and after that he established his own company to make market and public opinion researches, create and implement marketing strategies and other communication tasks for the customers.

During that time music stayed an important part of his life. He formed his own indie band with his friends where he was the lyricist and the songwriter. They had several appearance in TV and radio stations and gave plenty of concerts in Hungarian festivals and other venues. They released an album in 2010.

After his first son was born he moved to Brussels in 2012, and he turned to study and play jazz, especially because he always wanted to be aware of the theoretical background of music and to be able to play with the best musicians in his surroundings. So, he took jazz improvisation courses from the Berklee and the Rochester University and also took lessons from Belgian jazz guitarists for years. Later he also started to play different formations in various styles and to teach children and adults.