Tom Cora

Tom Cora
Cora at the Moers Jazz Festival, 1997
Background information
Birth name	Thomas Henry Corra
Born	(1953-09-14)September 14, 1953 Yancey Mills, Virginia, U.S.
Died	April 9, 1998(1998-04-09) (aged 44) Draguignan, France
Genres	Jazz, avant-rock, experimental, free improvisation
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instruments	Cello
Years active	1979–1998
Labels	No Man's Land, Sound Aspects
Associated acts	Skeleton Crew, The Ex, Curlew, Third Person, Roof

Thomas Henry Corra (September 14, 1953 – April 9, 1998), better known as Tom Cora, was an American cellist and composer, best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock. He recorded with John Zorn, Butch Morris, and The Ex, and was a member of Curlew, Third Person and Skeleton Crew.

Tom Cora was born in Yancey Mills, Virginia, United States. He made his musical debut as drummer on a local television program and in the mid-1970s he played guitar for a Washington, D.C. jazz club house band. He took up the cello while an undergraduate at the University of Virginia and studied with cellist Pablo Casals' student Luis Garcia-Renart and later with vibraphonist Karl Berger. During this time he formed his own group, The Moose Skowron Tuned Metal Ensemble and began constructing instruments for it.

In 1979 Cora moved to New York City where he worked with Shockabilly guitarist Eugene Chadbourne, introducing the cello to the honky tonk circuits of North America. He performed at improvising clubs and venues in New York with John Zorn, Fred Frith, Andrea Centazzo, Butch Morris, Wayne Horvitz, David Moss, Toshinori Kondo and others. Cora also collaborated with George Cartwright and Bill Laswell which led to the formation of the art rock band Curlew in 1979 . Cora remained with Curlew for over ten years and appeared on five of their albums.