The Squid's Ear Magazine


Jackson, Tom / T.J. Borden: Parr's Ditch (Confront)

London clarinetist Tom Jackson, active in both free improvisation and contemporary classical music, meets with cellist Tyler J. Borden, who concentrates on the extremes of his instrument through unusual and extended techniques, interpret one of London's "lost rivers"--Parr's Ditch--in three extended, interpretative improvisations of powerful impressions.
 

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Product Information:

Personnel:



Tom Jackson-clarinet

Tyler J. Borden-cello

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Label: Confront
Catalog ID: core 41
Squidco Product Code: 34829

Format: CDR
Condition: New
Released: 2024
Country: UK
Packaging: Cardboard Sleeve in Plastic Sleeve
Recorded at Stamford Brook, in London, UK, in December, 2022, by Dave Hunt.
Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Artist Biographies

"Tom Jackson is a clarinettist and saxophonist active in London and Europe, largely dedicated to the fields of 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 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 entitled "A practice-based investigation of the clarinet through 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."

-Tom Jackson Website (https://musictomjackson.com/)
3/30/2026

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"Hailed for his "technically polished playing" as well as an "endless amount of musical knowledge and creativity", Tyler J. Borden is a rising force in the contemporary music landscape. A dedicated purveyor of modern music, Tyler has performed with many contemporary music luminaries such as the JACK Quartet, the Theater of Eternal Music Brass and String Band, the Slee Sinfonietta, Ensemble Offspring, Tony Conrad, Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky, and Steve McCaffery. He has performed at the Soundways New Music Festival in St. Petersburg, June in Buffalo, the New Media Art and Sound Summit, and the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, and he has been a participant at the Lucerne Festival Academy and the Darmstadt Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik. His performance of Witold Lutoslawski's "Cello Concerto" with the University at Buffalo Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Bassin was praised for how he "mastered the works intricacies with elegant grace." Currently, Tyler is a member of the [Switch~ Ensemble], a group dedicated to the performance of works that incorporate multimedia into live performance

Particularly committed to working directly with composers, Tyler has worked with several established composers such as Brian Ferneyhough, La Monte Young, Alvin Lucier, Phillippe Leroux, and Steven Mackey. He is particularly interested in the music of his generation and has worked extensively with many burgeoning young composers, such as Wojtek Blecharz, Zane Merritt, Ben Isaacs, Lena Nietfeld, and Matt Sargent. As a creative force, Tyler has been commissioned to write and perform by a variety of entities, including the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Hochstein Alumni Orchestra, and hammered dulcimer virtuoso Mitzie Collins He is also an active improviser, having performed in that capacity throughout North America and Europe, and he his improvisations are included in Guggenheim Fellow Kasumi's film "Shockwaves".

Tyler received his BM at Ithaca College, where he studied with Elizabeth Simkin and he received his MM at the University at Buffalo, where he studied with Jonathan Golove. Throughout his studies, Tyler has had the great fortune to be coached by many wonderful artists such as Irvine Arditti, Lucas Fels, Eric-Maria Couturier, Eric Huebner, Marcus Weiss, Rhonda Rider, Joel Krosnick, Peter Wiley,and Gil Kalish, as well as members of the Ying, Jupiter, and Borromeo string quartets. Currently, he is working towards his DMA at UC San Diego with Charles Curtis."

-Tyler J. Borden Website (https://tylerjbordean.com/bio/)
3/30/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:
Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Jazz
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Recordings by or featuring Reed & Wind Players
Stringed Instruments
Duo Recordings

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Confront.


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