Paul Termos was born in Hilversum, Netherlands,1952. He studied composition with Ton de Leeuw at the Amsterdam Sweelinck Conservatory, in the early seventies. In the same period Termos got involved in improvised music with his guitar- and clarinet playing, but changes this instruments a few years later for the alto-saxophone.

From the early eighties Termos took part in the Amsterdam improvisation-scene and played with I.C.P., Guus Janssen, Maarten Altena and many others. From 1985 Termos started to give solo-concerts and made a solo-record (Claxon 86.17).

In 1988 he formed his own 10-piece-band, The Termos Tentet. This goup was followed by a 9-piece-band, called Termos Dubble Express, wich had two sopranosingers in the front.
Both groups were recorded on CD.

In the second half of the nineties Termos went back to pure free improvisation as his main goal (as far as saxophone playing is concerned) and played intensively with Wiek Hijmans and with Misha Mengelberg. See Recordings-page.

As a composer Termos wrote music for musicians like Francis Marie Uitti, Guus Janssen, The Mondriaan Kwartet, Nieuw Ensemble, Maarten Altena Ensemble, Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, The Volharding and The Radio Chamber Orchestra.

Pancreatic cancer took him away from us in 2003. He can be seen as an inspirational musician, and several composers, like Ron Ford, Peter Adriaansz, Piet-Jan van Rossum and Hans Koolmees dedicated works to his memory.

Look here for Paul's children's drawings.