Kneeland has a firm grasp on melody and he knows how to come up with an infectious pulse." -Jerry D'Souza, All About Jazz
About Thomson Kneeland
Acoustic bassist and composer Thomson Kneeland has established himself as a formidable sideman and leader since moving to New York City in 2003. He quickly found himself working with such established musicians as Ted Rosenthal, Kenny Werner, Billy Drummond, Lynne Arriale, Paul Bollenback, Peter Leitch, Jed Levy, and many others as well as leading his own groups. Kneeland is an in demand bassist with a rock solid swing feel and a unique and rhythmic voice; but while delving deep into the jazz history, Kneeland also brings a variety of musical interests to the table from classical counterpoint, and 20th century chamber music, to Indian Karnatic music, Indonesian gamelan, Balkan folk music, electronica, heavy metal, and more. His newest release, Mazurka for a Modern Man, features a quintet of his peers making their marks on the NYC scene of today. In the past decade, Kneeland also released three previous albums as leader of the group Kakalla, a Boston based group that performed weekly for 8 years until Kneeland made the move to New York City. In 2004, Kneeland collaborated with recording engineer Warren Amerman on a techno/electronica studio project, Grid-X, as well as for the electronica movie soundtrack of Magdalena's Brain. Besides composing for various jazz and improvisational idioms, Kneeland also composes chamber music, some completed works including a string quartet and a string trio; he was also commissioned to write three pieces for the Longy School of Music Jazz Ensemble. As a leader, sideman, and composer, Kneeland has appeared on over 40 recordings to date and performed with such luminaries as Jerry Bergonzi, Kenny Werner, George Garzone, Chris Potter, Ted Rosenthal, Lynne Arriale, Rick Margitza, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Joe Maneri, Gunther Schuller, Peter Leitch, Paul Bollenback and many others. He has performed internationally at such venues as The Kennedy Center, Medellin University in Colombia, the Toronto Jazz Festival, the Perth Jazz Festival, the Vancouver Jazz Festival, and more.\\