Tom Ollendorff

“Where In The World”

(Fresh Sound New Talent FSNT 719)

Tom Ollendorff – guitar, Aaron Parks – piano, Conor Chaplin – bass, James Maddren – drums

“Where In The World” is the third album release from the London based guitarist and composer Tom Ollendorff and follows “A Song for You” (2021)  and “Open House” (2023), both of which were also released on the Barcelona based label Fresh Sound New Talent.

“A Song for You” saw Ollendorff leading a trio featuring bassist Conor Chaplin and drummer Marc Michel. The follow up, “Open House”, saw the trio augmented on some tracks by the great Canadian born, New York based saxophonist Ben Wendel, of Kneebody fame. The addition of Wendel provided greater colour and variety, making this my favourite of the two. Both albums are reviewed elsewhere on The Jazzmann.

Although he is still comparatively young Ollendorff is a musician whose career I have been following for quite some time. He is a graduate of the Jazz Course at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff (RWCMD). During his time in Wales (around 2015) I was fortunate enough to witness him performing with a number of local and visiting jazz artists, among them fellow guitarist Deirdre Cartwright, pianist Atsuko Shimada and bassist Aidan Thorne’s band Duski.

It was also in 2015 that Ollendorff was awarded a Yamaha Scholarship for outstanding jazz musicianship.

Around this time Ollendorff was also responsible for bringing the great Israeli born guitarist Gilad Hekselman over to the UK from New York for a short series of performances, including a memorable trio show (alongside bassist Joe Martin and drummer Jeff Ballard) at a sold out Dempsey’s in Cardiff. Ollendorff continues to maintain his links with Wales and is now a visiting tutor at the RWCMD.

Since moving to London Ollendorff has continued to hone his craft and has become an increasingly significant presence on the British and international jazz scenes, appearing regularly at venues and festivals in the UK and across Europe. He has also continued to work with leading American musicians.

Musicians from both sides of the Atlantic with whom Ollendorff has performed include saxophonists Geoff Simkins and Bill McHenry, drummers Ari Hoenig, Jeff Williams, James Maddren and Billy Pod, pianists Huw Warren and Nitai Hershkovits, vocalist Megan Thomas, bassist Or Baraket and fellow guitarists Dave Cliff and Dekel Bor.

In 2021 he recorded an album in the company of Hoenig and Chaplin, a recording jointly credited to all three musicians. “Enchanted” also appears on the FSNT imprint but it’s a recording that I’ve yet to hear, as is “Solo Volume”, a digital only release on Ubuntu Music featuring a collection of solo guitar performances.

However The Jazzmann was delighted to be able to review “After Hours” (2025) a duo release featuring Ollendorff’s playing alongside the singing of Italian born London based vocalist and songwriter Germana Stella La Sorsa.
Review here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/artists/profile/germana-stella-la-sorsa-and-tom-ollendorff-duo

In May 2024 Ollendorff gave a brilliant live performance at The Hive venue in Shrewsbury where his trio featuring bassist Victor Nyberg and drummer Dave Ingamells was augmented by the celebrated British saxophonist and composer Tim Garland. The event featured original compositions from both Ollendorff and Garland, plus a smattering of jazz standards. This superb performance is reviewed here;

Ollendorff’s collaborations with musicians based in the US continues with this latest recording which sees his current trio featuring Chaplin and drummer James Maddren joined by the American pianist and composer Aaron Parks, a bandleader in his own right who is signed to Blue Note Records. Parks first came to my attention in 2009 with the release of his excellent “Invisible Cinema” album and I’ve also covered some of his work with the ‘supergroup’ James Farm, which teamed him with saxophonist Joshua Redman, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland. As can be seen Parks keeps heavyweight company so it’s quite a coup for Ollendorff to get him on board for this project.

As Ollendorff explains in his album notes Parks joined Ollendorff, Chaplin and Maddren for a ten day tour of the UK and Ireland in March 2024. Such was the rapport that was established that the guitarist decided that he wanted to record the quartet, an opportunity that came about some fifteen months later when the quartet played two night’s at London’s Vortex Jazz Club before heading into the studio.

“Where In The World” was recorded at Livingston Studios, London in June 2025 with Alex Killpartrick engineering. Although Parks is a fine writer on his own account the album features Ollendorff’s compositions exclusively. Citing the influence of the classical composer Gustav Mahler Ollendorff states “I have tried my best to express my whole musical world through this collection of compositions”. He also speaks about trying to “recapture the band energy” of the 2024 tour.

The album commences with “Past Lives”, a track that was actually released as a single. The piece “explores how memory and the weight of past experiences shape the art we create”. It commences with Maddren at the drums, who establishes a quirky rhythmic groove that frames the warmly melodic playing of Ollendorff and Parks. As a composer Ollendorff has a Metheny-like gift for melody, and on the evidence of the pianist’s “Invisible Cinema” recording it would appear that Metheny has also been a considerable influence on Parks. As a pianist Parks also seems to owe something to Keith Jarrett, even to the point of singing along to his own solos. He’s featured here alongside the leader, whose melodic and lyrical guitar soloing is also a feature of this track.

Title track “Where In The World” follows seamlessly and almost feels like a continuation of or a coda to the previous piece. Although loosely structured it’s atmospheric and gently impressionistic.

“Three Bridges” also appeared on “Open House” in a version that featured saxophonist Ben Wendel. Inevitably this interpretation sounds very different with Parks now the featured guest. There’s an even greater focus on melody with the contemporary jazz grooves laid down by Chapman and Maddren acting as the catalyst for fluent and inventive solos from Ollendorff on guitar – he likes to sing along too – and Parks at the piano. There’s also some spirited interplay between the pair.

Ollendorff favours a pure, clean guitar sound with little resource to effects. This is very much in evidence on “Last Leap” which combines elements of bebop with more contemporary jazz virtues. Ollendorff delivers a particularly agile guitar solo while Parks is feverishly inventive at the piano. Maddren is also featured at the drums in a busy series of exchanges with guitar and piano.

The attractively melodic “Tokyo Waltz” cools things down a little and includes a delightful double bass solo from the excellent Chaplin, alongside the usual features for Ollendorff and Parks.

The intimate and impressionistic “West Lake” was inspired by Ollendorff’s visit to the Zhejiang Province in China. It commences with the delicate intertwining of guitar and piano, blending jazz and classical harmonies. With the addition of bass and brushed drums the music gradually gathers momentum culminating in lyrical solos from Ollendorff and Parks.

The (mostly) fast moving “Meaningless Mirror” is another skilful blending of bebop and contemporary jazz influences with 21st century bass and drum grooves fuelling a slippery bebop influenced guitar solo from the leader. Parks’ contribution is more measured and lyrical, with the ever flexible rhythm team of Chaplin and Maddren adapting accordingly as the piece moves up and down the gears.

The brief “Worried World” is gentler, more lyrical and impressionistic with the halting guitar and piano melodies augmented by a finely nuanced performance from Maddren featuring delicate mallet rumbles and atmospheric cymbal shimmers.

The album concludes with “Atlantic Angels”, introduced by Ollendorff at the guitar and with bass, drums and piano subsequently added. As throughout the album the focus is very much on melody and the solos from both Parks and Ollendorff exude an easy lyricism, even Parks’ vocalisations, which are considerably easier on the ear than Keith Jarrett’s!

With its focus unashamedly on melody “Where In The World” is an often beautiful album capable of appealing to a wide range of jazz listeners. Fans of Metheny and Jarrett are likely to be particularly appreciative and it’s difficult not to overemphasise the comparisons with these two artists in particular. Nevertheless these are compositions that are rooted in personal experience and Ollendorff brings a lot of himself to the music, as do his companions, and particularly Parks.

Ollendorff continues to mature as a composer and his technique as a guitarist is little short of phenomenal. It also helps to have a pianist of Parks’ ability and musical stature on the gig and in Chaplin and Maddren he has a rhythm team par excellence, two of the most in demand players of their respective instruments in the country. Maddren has always been a highly inventive and innately musical drummer whilst the unobtrusive Chaplin can sometimes be overlooked, his playing is always ‘just right’ and it’s sometimes easy to underestimate just how good he really is.

“Where In The World” has enjoyed a healthy critical reception and although there might be one or two listeners out there who might find it a bit soporific they’re going to be very much in the minority. This is an album capable of a broad appeal. Tom Ollendorff’s star continues to rise.

 

 

 

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