Welsh trumpeter Tomos Williams tours Wales with one additional performance in London with the third and final instalment of his ground-breaking Cwmwl Tystion project.
International musicians Melvin Gibbs (USA) and Nguyên Lê (France/Vietnam) join young Welsh vocalists Eadyth Crawford and Mared Williams alongside Mark O’Connor on drums with live visuals from Simon Proffitt for an immersive live performance entitled Cwmwl Tystion III / Empathy, exploring Welsh identity and history.
Both Melvin Gibbs and Nguyên Lê are giants on the international jazz scene and their involvement in the project is a real coup. Bringing musicians of this quality and reputation to tour Wales has always been a driving force for Tomos, and their willingness to be involved speaks to the serious intent of the project.
The first iteration of Cwmwl Tystion – Cwmwl Tystion/Witness toured in 2019 and featured a cast of stellar Welsh musicians: Huw Warren, Rhodri Davies, Huw V Williams, while Cwmwl Tystion II / Riot! which toured in 2021 featured two giants of the UK jazz scene: Soweto Kinch and Orphy Robinson. Both tours have been released as albums (TCR029, TCR043) with Cwmwl Tystion/ Witness being nominated for Welsh album of the year in 2021 and the composition The Riot! Suite being nominated for an Ivor Novello Award in Jazz Composition in 2022. This third and final chapter in the Cwmwl Tystion project continues this progression to include international musicians of the highest calibre as well as young, fearless Welsh talent.
The band will be an augmented power-trio and will perform a newly composed ‘Empathy Suite’ incorporating elements of jazz, rock, the avant-garde and Welsh folk music. The name ‘Cwmwl Tystion’ is derived from a poem by the great Welsh poet and pacifist Waldo Williams, while the themes for each movement will be drawn from various events from the past and present of Welsh history. Deeply inspired by the work of Wadada Leo Smith, the band Harriet Tubman and Matana Roberts’s Coin Coin project the third and final iteration of Cwmwl Tystion promises to be a land-mark in Welsh jazz.
The tour will encompass all areas of Wales, with performances in Bangor, Wrexham, Aberystwyth, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhayader, finishing the tour with a performance at Cafe OTO, London.
‘The Cwmwl Tystion Empathy Suite’ has been funded by Tŷ Cerdd, and the tour is made possible by generous Arts Council of Wales financial support.