![]() ![]() Two years after the death of his mentor John Coltrane, and just before signing his own contract with Impulse! Pharoah Sanders finally got around to releasing an album as a leader. The album is a tour through the depth and dimensions of Thomas’ vocal abilities, at ease in a wide range of African American musical traditions, proving that he was far more than a free jazz singer. Hear his trademark, otherworldly modal improvisation on Gabor Szabo’s exotic classic ‘Gypsy Queen’ on a record which features fusion giants like Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira, ex James Brown saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis, Bernard Purdie on drums, Neal Creque on piano and guitarist Larry Coryell. Nelson told Joachim Berendt, the German jazz critic responsible for the Berlin Jazz Festival that he had rarely felt so deeply in playing, adding that his work achieved “a new dimension of freedom without ever becoming chaotic”.īlues and the Soulful Truth is among Thomas’ most enduring recordings, either as a leader or sideman. Thomas flew to Berlin for this one-off concert with the great saxophonist Oliver Nelson who was also playing at the festival. Chris Spedding‘s inimitable Telecaster comping is instantly recognisable. Aside from capturing a historically significant performance, it also demonstrates the sheer versatility of Nucleus, who sound like they had been backing Thomas for years not just weeks. This album is important for several reasons. This seemingly unlikely pairing between the British jazz rock pioneers and Thomas was born from a previous collaboration during his two week residency at London’s Ronnie Scott’s Club earlier that year. This album was recorded on June 1970 at the soon to become legendary Montreux Jazz Festival. It’s a truly fantastic trip with long and dramatic build-ups into aural bliss. Thomas lets his imagination and creativity fly as jazz luminaries Roy Haynes and Billy Cobham, Billy Harper, Donald Smith, James Spaulding, Sonny Morgan, Ernie Royal are enveloped in female chorus. This was a far cry from the minimal layers of orchestration in previous works. In contrast to his previous album which features only a small handful of musicians, Thomas really pulls out the stops (and extra budget) to draft in five horns and a rhythm section matched by a strong percussion section. Leon Thomas’ second album for Flying Dutchman expanded on his debut offering. The album features some heavy weight musicians including bassist Cecil McBee, flutist James Spaulding, Roy Haynes, Lonnie Liston Smith, Richard Davis and Pharaoh Sanders and is rightly regarded as one of Thomas’ finest recordings. The song became a hit on FM radio, selling over 100,000 copies, an extraordinary amount for a jazz album by an ostensibly “free” player. It features the visionary track ‘The Creator Has A Master Plan’ co-written with Pharoah Sanders. Thomas’ first album on Flying Dutchman is one of the most important jazz vocal albums of its time. I couldn’t smile, I could hardly open my mouth but I went along anyhow,” said Thomas.Ī raspy, soulful voice that combined yodeling and throaty voice styles and resembled Native American or pygmy chanting, Thomas’ unique vocal style has influenced a huge range of musicians, including James Moody, Tim Buckley and Bobby McFerrin to name a few. ![]() Pharoah came by to see me and said: you can’t pull out. Regarded as a pioneer is his own right, his distinctive yodeling style emerged after an accident where he fell and broke his teeth. He sang for Kennedy and Johnson at their inaugural balls. His full deep sound even made it on to Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman. By the end of that decade he had joined Pharoah Sanders’ group, his work on the legendary album The Creator Has A Master Planpropelling Thomas to stardom and a new role as band-leader. His career began in the early ’60s, as a vocalist in the Count Basie Orchestra. Leon Thomas recorded 25 albums, however his earlier work remains unreleased. ![]() Every bit as exciting now as it was then, for those who are about to discover Leon Thomas for the first time expect to find moments of familiarity as his work has been sampled by many hip hop artists. The city was spectacularly corrupt and Thomas channelled his experience into a form of the blues coloured by the freedom of the avant garde. At the time there was higher than average unemployment in the area, even higher among the black community. Leon Thomas was born at the height of the great depression into the industrial town of East St Louis in the free state of Illinois. Leon Thomas had one of the most distinctive, powerful voices in modern music. ![]()
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