John Fordham (Guardian) has described Clowes as “one of the most agile and original jugglers of improv and adventurous composition to have appeared in the UK in recent times”.

Clowes' third album Pocket Compass has just been released on Basho Records featuring her quintet and the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by André de Ridder. Jazzwise described it as “very stylish and heartfelt new music from a rising young sax star" awarding it 4 stars. The album will be launched at the EFG London Jazz Festival with her quintet and the BBC Concert Orchestra on November 18th at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.

Highlight performances this year have included Celtic Connections and her own festival Emulsion 3. Celtic Connections saw Clowes appear as a soloist performing with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, where her orchestral composition ‘Sketch’ was given its World Premiere and her adaptation of Gershwin’s ‘Lullaby’ was described by the Glasgow Herald as "a highlight of the night”. Emulsion 3 festival was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and culminated in a collaboration with internationally renowned ECM artists Food (Iain Ballamy and Thomas Strønen). The Arts Desk gave the festival 5 stars.

Clowes' quintet has been the centre of all 3 of her albums for Basho Records (Tangent, And in the night-time she is there and Pocket Compass). They have toured the UK and Ireland and have regularly appeared in broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, the European Broadcasting Union, Jamie Cullum’s Radio 2 show and ABC Radio Australia.

Clowes’ music draws on a variety of influences to realise her musical vision, most notably saxophonists Wayne Shorter and Iain Ballamy, and anything a bit quirky from the contemporary classical world - think John Adams, Prokofiev, Lutoslawski. The music relishes in angular melodies and complex textures underpinned by intricate grooves, often drawing on inspiration from literature and poetry.

Her quintet comprises some of the most exciting players on the European jazz scene - the virtuosic pianist/composer Gwilym Simcock "melodically enthralling, complex yet hugely accessible”; the ultra-versatile guitarist Chris Montague who can “play like John McLaughlin one minute or Jim Hall the next”(Colin Towns); and the dynamic rhythm section of bassist Conor Chaplin and in-demand drummer James Maddren.

"The quintet of the young Trish Clowes with Gwilym Simcock featured on piano impressed equally for the leader’s adventurous originals and her fluent free-improv soloing.”
Bob Weir, Jazz Journal, August 2014 (Brecon Jazz Festival)