Leon Thomas

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Amos Leon Thomas Jr. (born October 4, 1937 in East St. Louis , Illinois, † May 8, 1999 in New York City ) was an American jazz singer and percussionist of the avant-garde . His best-known stylistic device was the transition to a distinctive three-beat yodeling , which has often been woven into vocal passages since 1968 . Exemplary is the half-hour piece The Creator Has a Master Plan on his album Karma , which resulted from his collaboration with the tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders in 1969 .

Live and act

Thomas initially performed with Grant Green , Jimmy Forrest and Hank Crawford and studied music at Tennessee State University in Nashville . He then sang with Ben Thigpen , toured with Art Blakey and performed with Mary Lou Williams ( Live At Town Hall ). In 1961 he joined the band of Count Basie in place of Joe Williams , with whom he - interrupted from military service - stayed until 1965. He then worked with Randy Weston , Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Archie Shepp , among others , before becoming a member of Pharoah Sanders' band in late 1968 and writing lyrics for his compositions. Since then he has released his own albums in quick succession (with Oliver Nelson , among others ), on which, in addition to pieces from the jazz avant-garde, he interpreted standards such as Bag's Grove or Song for My Father and directed his Damn Nam Blues against the Vietnam War . In 1970 he performed with Nucleus in London and at the Montreux Jazz Festival . After 1972 Thomas increasingly withdrew from the jazz scene and worked more in fusion - and in the blues area, for example with Carlos Santana ( Welcome , 1973 and Lotus , 1974) and on his own album Full Circle (1973). In 1979 he worked at Louis Hayes and Freddie Hubbard . In the mid-1980s he worked occasionally with Sanders again and was part of the Joe Henderson quintet , with whom he performed in many countries and at major festivals. In 1987 he performed with Gary Bartz before recording an album with his own Leon Thomas Blues Band in 1988 . He has also recorded with Louis Armstrong (1970), Johnny Hodges (1970), Teresa Brewer (1972), David Liebman (1976), Jamaaladeen Tacuma (1986) and with Jeri Brown (1998).

The readers of the Down Beat voted him the best jazz singer in their poll between 1970 and 1973.

Thomas died of heart failure in 1999.

Discographic notes

  • Pharoah Sanders: Karma (1969) (Impulse)
  • Spirits of the Known and Unknown (1969) (Flying Dutchman)
  • The Leon Thomas Album (1970) (Flying Dutchman)
  • Live in Berlin with Oliver Nelson (1970) (Flying Dutchman)
  • Gold Sunrise on Magic Mountain (live 1971) (Flying Dutchman)
  • Blues and the Soulful Truth (1972) (Flying Dutchman)
  • Full Circle (1973) (Flying Dutchman)
Compilations
  • Facets (Flying Dutchman, 1969–1973)
  • Anthology (Soul Brother Records, 1969–1985)

Lexigraphic entries

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Leon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thomas, Amos Leon junior (full name); Thomas, Leone
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz singer
DATE OF BIRTH October 4, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH East St. Louis
DATE OF DEATH May 8, 1999
Place of death New York City