The life and music of Dr Errol H. Tout is set to be celebrated fondly with the posthumous launch of his album, Small Window Large View, at The Ellington Jazz Club on Monday, January 16.
Errol passed away in November after a courageous, 10-year battle with cancer. As he fought the disease with cheery resilience, the prolific nature that had characterised his career continued, as he recorded and released four albums over that decade. Recorded throughout 2021-22, Small Window Large View is the fourth album of that suite, brought to its fulfilment by Errol’s son, creative collaborator and music curator, Sam Tout.
“It’s what he would have wanted,” Sam says of the posthumous release. “He spent the past few years working on it, so it would have been a tragedy if it didn’t get finished.”
Small Window Large View features the wondrous guitar work of Errol and Mike Gorman, with the rhythm section of Roy Martinez and Ric Eastman and Sam Tout on keyboards. Guitars and keyboards were recorded in Errol’s “modest but tidy studio,” with bass and drums recorded by Lee Buddle at Crank Recording. The album was mixed and mastered by Tony Geballe in New York. Both moving and playful, the 13 tracks are testament to Errol’s unique approach to composition and his dedication to his instrument. The album title itself – Small Window Large View – seems to hint at a design for living.
“I don’t recall him ever telling me a meaning about it,” Sam says, “but I’ve done a little bit of thinking about it myself. And I think it could potentially be about your outlook on life and making the most of things. Which Errol did… because if you think about it, he had a very small window, but he had a large view. He had a lot of barriers and things holding him back, but he just ignored all that and did so much anyway.”
The January 16 launch at The Ellington Jazz Club will see songs from all parts of Errol’s career performed by guitarists Mike Gorman, Glenn Winter-Smith, Graham Greene and Greg Dear, with Ric Eastman on drums and Sam Tout on bass/keys.
All proceeds will be donated to cancer research. Tickets available here
“I thought it would be important that these were all people that Dad had played with in the past and knew and respected,” Sam explains, “and now they’re coming to pay tribute to him.”
Small Window Large View – along with Errol’s entire recorded catalogue – is available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms from January 10.
Read more about Small Window Large View and Sam’s memories of Errol here
Listen to Errol’s last interview from September 2021 with Perth music journalist Bob Gordon here