Hikmah is the astonishing new solo piano work from Pat Thomas - virtuosic sound scientist, deep and compassionate thinker, and UK-based musical treasure. A singular album in his now substantial body of work, it marks his first release for TAO Forms. Born in Oxford to Antiguan parents on July 27, 1960, Thomas belongs to a remarkable generation of piano masters. Just over four months separate his birth from that of Matthew Shipp (December 7, 1960) - whose The Piano Equation inaugurated the TAO Forms label. Thomas is unquestionably among the Black Mystery School Pianists that Shipp illuminates in the title essay of his recently published first book.
Recorded at Fish Factory studio in London, Hikmah comprises eight thoroughly focused pieces - both improvised works and compositions - that draw from a lifetime of devoted study. The album's title means "wisdom" in Arabic, presented in two different forms of calligraphic script on the cover artwork. Here, the vibrantly living jazz tradition meets new modes of expression, emerging from decades of devotion to Sufism and the understanding that music-making itself is an elemental form of spiritual practice.
As William Parker writes in the liner notes, "[the] music becomes the prophet and the prayer all in one gesture." And, "If you haven't yet heard the music of Pat Thomas, get hip to it quickly." For Thomas, the piano holds unique possibilities. "The piano is a great sound source," he reflects. "There's no instrument like it in the Western world because it's so self-contained. And the fact that it's still being used, the fact that you can't replicate it. I've yet to come across any sample that sounds like a real piano. It's still got a mileage of another hundred years at least. It's way ahead of its time."
He continues, revealing deeper connections: "The piano is basically a zither with keys. There is an Arabic instrument called a kanun that had a big influence on it. We've sort of forgotten the Ottoman Empire. Beethoven and Mozart living in that time were well aware of its influence on Western music." US audiences have increasingly encountered Thomas through his work with the quartet [Ahmed], whose mesmeric, long-form explorations of Ahmed Abdul-Malik's compositions have garnered widespread acclaim. Their US performance premiere took place on March 25, 2025 at Roulette in Brooklyn, followed by appearances at Big Ears Festival in Knoxville.
Yet Hikmah stands apart - an intimate transmission of secrets, an encouragement toward spiritual transcendence. "Things may be bad," Thomas observes, "but maybe for 45 minutes, you can help people see there's something that takes them somewhere else. We need to be taken somewhere [else] in these times!"
