I just received the sad news from Tom's longtime girlfriend that Tom had passed on Thursday - probably from a heart attack. Tom emigrated to Canada from Czechoslovakia in 1980, when he got off his plane (that was heading to Cuba) when it landed in Montreal (maybe to refuel), and he sought asylum there. He played some pretty technical "newgrass" type stuff (melodic/chromatic style) but eventually got into playing bebop/hardbop style banjo on a 6 string banjo that he built. It was similar to the kind of 6 string banjo used by Sonny Osborne, but Tom tune the lowest string to an "A" note rather than a "G". I have posted 5 recordings of Tom's playing on my banjohangout page - Blues, Donna Lee, Impressions, Lady Bird, and Pent-Up House.
We talked quite often on the phone, but recently less about music and more about our cats and what they were up to. Tom had a great sense of humor though it could be caustic if he didn't approve of who he was directing his humor towards.
It is unfortunate that more people didn't get to hear his playing (when he was playing more - a few years ago). I'll miss our frequent phone calls.
Wow, what a loss. I became aware of Tom's music back when Andrew Conde was posting on here. His bebop phrasing was flawless, and his ability to freely improvise at will was really striking. I don't think anyone could play these tunes any better than he did, he was an inspiration.
Never heard of him, thanks for sharing the recordings - they are amazing.
