A respected local folk music producer, Tom records at his studio in Chevy Chase, MD and also offers his services as producer for clients recording at other studios.

Some of Tom's recent clients include:

Steve Smith. Tom recorded and produced (and played on) Steve's acclaimed CD of original instrumental music, Desert Night, 2000.

• "The result is a fullness of sound that creates an acoustic feast (this disc sounds really nice on headphones)." -- Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., acousticmusic.com, 2000
• "Smith has created a beautiful musical landscape throughout Desert Night." Dirty Linen, Oct/Nov 2000
• "Desert Night, a superb piece of artistry, is a worthwhile addition to most any music library. Steve Smith has an uncommon mastery of the mandolin and other similar instruments and fans of acoustic variety will enjoy this fine CD." Bluegrass Now

Franklin Taggart. Tom recorded and produced Franklin's CD, Falling All the Way, for which Franklin won the 2001 Washington Area Music Award (Wammie) for  traditional folk instrumentalist. 

• "Falling All the Way has a more rootsy and jaunty sound, flavored by guitars, mandolin, banjo and dobro..." - Mike Joyce, Washington Post 
• "confident songwriting, with deceptively simple themes and lyrics, evocative images, familiar places and situations. spot-on arrangements, beautiful guitar work, a crack band and the feeling that the singer is very comfortable down in the groove...a strong, solid, unhysterical, unassuming presence." - Jonathan Hutchison, Heartsounds

Sense of Wonder. Tom recorded and produced the first full-band project for Rick and Audrey Engdahl. The resulting CD, Open the Gate, has been nominated as Best Debut Recording for a 2007 Washington Area Music Award.

Shosho. Tom produced the band's debut album, Days and Years, which features 14 artfully crafted songs exploring a wide range of human experience.

• "...During the course of these 14 songs they successfully fuse American folk music with progressive, world-influenced ideas. The production here -- done by the band and Hyattsville's Tom Espinola -- makes the songs shine by leaving things out. The sparse, naturalistic sound is in itself bracing, because it's so rarely heard these days. Anyone who has thought that the massive compression used on modern CDs is overkill should wrap their ears around Days and Years." - Tony Sclafani, Music Montly

Peyton Tochterman and High Society. Tom recorded and produced Peyton's solo CD, The Personals, as well as mixing and co-producing tracks on High Society's latest album.

• “Peyton Tochterman’s new CD, The Personals, is the perfect mix of songwriting and serendipity... His voice is in particularly fine form...and the musical arrangements are well done.” -- Spencer Lathrop, The C-ville Weekly

Tom's self-produced music:

Feather River (1988) on Rounder Records: "A high-quality acoustic production that crosses the boundaries between folk, new age, and New Acoustic music."

Which Way Waltz (2001) on his own label, Creative Life recordings.

• "A special kind of traveling music, the latest recording by multi-instrumentalists Tom Espinola and Lorraine Duisit evokes well-spent summers in the South, a series of youthful encounters with the sound and spirit of string band music in the tobacco country of eastern North Carolina.

  It was there that Espinola fell in love with old-fashioned country music, "under a massive, ancient oak tree," as he recalls in the album's liner notes, and there that the seeds for this album sprouted.

  He's found a kindred spirit in Duisit, best known for her tenure with the innovative band Trapezoid, and they travel well together as like musicians, back to a time and place that still nurtures their close-knit collaborations.

  As the sparkling "Blue Dress," the historical musing "Iron Horse Dream," and the melancholy title cut make clear, this is not "ragged but right" country music.

  Intricately and imaginatively woven, these pieces are often marked by a shimmering beauty and exquisite precision.

  Espinola plays guitar, Duisit plays harp, and both draw on various members of the mandolin family to bring additional color and texture to their performances.

  Meanwhile, Ralph Gordon's acoustic bass and cello underscore the music's pulse and soul.

  As tight as they are, though, the arrangements successfully capture the simple charm, heartfelt emotions and rhythmic vitality associated with old-time country music played without any commercial pretense or calculation." -- Mike Joyce, The Washington Post