Trevor Ramsey Tomkins (12 May 1941 – 9 September 2022) was a British jazz drummer best known for his work in a number of British bands in the 1970s, including

Gilgamesh Gilgamesh (, ; ; originally ) was a hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology and the protagonist of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', an epic poem written in Akkadian during the late 2nd millennium BC. He was possibly a historical king of the Sumer ...

Biography

Tomkins was born in London and studied music at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz along with dram ...

. He initially learned to play trombone as a teenager before choosing drums on which he made his first professional appearance. In 1962, he joined Don Rendell working with the Rendell and Ian Carr's quintet for seven years until 1969. He recorded several albums with pianist Michael Garrick and Don Rendell in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the 1970s, he worked with Ian Carr's

Nucleus Nucleus (: nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucleu ...

, Giles Farnaby's Dream Band, David Becker and Henry Lowther's Quaternity. He was a popular choice for visiting musicians including

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his era, recording over ...

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...

and

Lee Konitz Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...

. He appears on the 1971 album ''First Wind'' by Frank Ricotti and Mike de Albuquerque and on Tony Coe's 1978 album, ''Coe-Existence''. Tomkins was the first cousin of Roy Budd (jazz pianist and film composer of ''

Get Carter ''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British gangster film, gangster thriller film, written and directed by Mike Hodges in his directorial debut and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland and Bryan Mosley. Based on Ted Lewis (write ...

'' fame), and Peter C. Budd (jazz guitarist living in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

), and was a member of various trios and other line-ups with his cousin Roy. In 1982 he played on the album ''Before a Word Is Said'' with Alan Gowen,

Phil Miller Philip Paul Miller (22 January 1949 – 18 October 2017) was an English progressive rock/jazz guitarist and a central part of the Canterbury scene. He was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is ...

and Richard Sinclair. The album was released on CD in 1995. Tomkins died on 9 September 2022, at the age of 81.

References

External links

Calyx biography
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomkins, Trevor 1941 births 2022 deaths Canterbury scene English jazz drummers English male drummers Nucleus (band) members Gilgamesh (band) members English male jazz musicians New Jazz Orchestra members Musicians from London